Novel of the week: Ghost Lights by Lydia Millet
In Ghost Lights, an IRS agent sets out to find real estate mogul T., who disappeared in Millet's previous novel, How the Dead Dream.
(Norton, $25)
Lydia Millet’s “dark, fiercely intelligent” new novel picks up where her last one left off, said Tricia Springstubb in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. A quasi-sequel to How the Dead Dream, Ghost Lights introduces readers to IRS agent Hal Lindley, who has taken on the task of solving the previous novel’s unfinished business, namely the disappearance of its protagonist. Real estate mogul T. was last seen somewhere near Belize, and Hal, who’s just learned that his wife is cheating on him, jumps at the chance to undertake a Conrad-esque journey to find the missing man. Once Hal is near the equator, his quest gets “surreal and satiric,” and the mistakes of his old life come into sharp focus. So do Millet’s talents. She’s “that rare writer of ideas” who can seamlessly insert ideas into a compelling story. I didn’t even mind that the ending left me “utterly mystified,” said Brock Clarke in The Boston Globe. This is the kind of book that writes its own rules. You follow along “willingly and happily” even when its author’s motivations are mysterious.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
What's behind Trump's last-minute merch push?
Today's Big Question With just weeks to go before the election, Donald Trump is spending the waning days of his campaign hawking a suite of new products, from silver coins to cryptocurrency
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Kamala Harris' plan to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy
the explainer Tweaks, rather than sweeping overhauls, characterize the Democratic nominee's proposals
By David Faris Published
-
Rowan Jacobsen's 6 favorite books that explore our relationship with food
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by Harold McGee, Kristin Kimball, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Also of interest...in picture books for grown-ups
feature How About Never—Is Never Good for You?; The Undertaking of Lily Chen; Meanwhile, in San Francisco; The Portlandia Activity Book
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Author of the week: Karen Russell
feature Karen Russell could use a rest.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The Double Life of Paul de Man by Evelyn Barish
feature Evelyn Barish “has an amazing tale to tell” about the Belgian-born intellectual who enthralled a generation of students and academic colleagues.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Book of the week: Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis
feature Michael Lewis's description of how high-frequency traders use lightning-fast computers to their advantage is “guaranteed to make blood boil.”
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Also of interest...in creative rebellion
feature A Man Called Destruction; Rebel Music; American Fun; The Scarlet Sisters
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Author of the week: Susanna Kaysen
feature For a famous memoirist, Susanna Kaysen is highly ambivalent about sharing details about her life.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood’s Golden Age by Robert Wagner
feature Robert Wagner “seems to have known anybody who was anybody in Hollywood.”
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Book of the week: Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire by Peter Stark
feature The tale of Astoria’s rise and fall turns out to be “as exciting as anything in American history.”
By The Week Staff Last updated