In Lydia Millet’s latest novel, Gil leaves New York and walks across the country for five months until reaching his new home in the Arizona desert where the family next-door lives in a literal glass house. Gil’s life becomes enmeshed with his neighbors. Dinosaurs is a tricky book to write about as it covers so many prescient topics including issues of privacy, politics, climate change, trust funds and birds, the relatives of dinosaurs, all without following a traditional linear novel structure. We go back and forth in time, from the Gil that existed in New York before the election, the one who had friends and a girlfriend, to a newly awakened Gil living in a different America. Millet’s observational prose breezes by like beautiful desert clouds offing social commentary and reverence for nature, moving from melancholy to humor. Millet gets to the heart of what matters to Gil and perhaps what should matter to the rest of us. Certainly, one of my favorite reads of the year! Thank you to W. W. Norton & Company and to NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

I requested this book because it promised a man who walked from New York City to Phoenix after a breakup. The walk ended up being a small part of the book, in terms of narrative space, and I wound up reading a fascinating book I might not have picked up otherwise. It can be hard to make me care about a character-driven novel focused on a rich, straight, white man, but protagonist Gil is compelling in his haplessness, his constant desire to do something good in the world. He lost his parents and grandmother at a young age, we find out, and he is raised essentially lonely with a large sum of money, so large he never works and only volunteers.

The peeling back of the breakup that spurs his walk is probably the least interesting part of the book. Far more interesting are his relationships with the family of four who moves in next door to him in Phoenix—in a literal glass house—and with whom he becomes increasingly entangled. Where are the lines between his relationships with them and his volunteer work? Also wonderful is his relationship with a close friend from New York, which suddenly turns tragic and absolutely gutted me.

And the dinosaurs of the title? They’re birds, modern-day dinosaurs, desert birds and a scientific-empathetic love for them serving as the animating feature of each chapter. The environments of Arizona really clinch this novel’s craft. Who are we? Where do we come from? And what do we do, now that we are here? This is a philosophical novel that works because it remains rooted in shining but not self-congratulatory prose and characters that are just specific enough.

For whatever reason, I kept waiting for something sinister to happen in this quiet book. Maybe it's the stage of the glass house or the constant descriptions of dead animals. I don't know. This book felt more like a thought experiment than a story. What would you be like if you were incredibly rich but lonely? There were touching parts, but I always felt oddly disconnected from the characters and the story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Wow, what a special little book. I am honestly surprised how quickly and fully these characters grabbed a piece of my heart! And in only 240 pages! Lydia Millet's writing is exceptional. This is a nuanced look at grief and purpose, with a strong found family trope that I'm always a sucker for.

Our main character, Gil, is man in his forties who inherited a large family fortune upon reaching maturity. His parents died early in his childhood, and he was raised frugally by his grandmother, who died when he was a teen. Gil is a thoughtful, tender soul who dedicates his time to volunteering and his fortune to various charities. After his long term romantic relationship ends abruptly, Gil decides to buy a house in Phoenix and walk there — yes, you read that correctly — from New York City. His Phoenix house is next to a strange, all-glass one that is home to a young family from Colorado, and he becomes close to the parents and the son, Tom, who has yet to make friends in this new neighborhood. Gil finds himself fascinated by the wildlife in his new backyard, especially the birds, and he is outraged to find that someone has been poaching them at night and leaving them to die. This storyline sounds a bit chaotic, I know, but just trust me!

This narrative moves quickly and is packed with emotion. There is love, loss, hope, pain, betrayal, and true happiness. I never expected so much from such a short novel! At times, the story is a bit choppy, switching abruptly between past musings and present actions, but it's not hard to follow and adds to the quirkiness of the tale. I've never held a particular fascination for birds, but this book really did make my heart swell for them. I read this in under three hours, but it will stay with me for far longer!

Thank you to Lydia Millet, W.W. Norton & Company, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

I loved her last book “A Children’s Bible” so I was excited to read this one. It did not disappoint! This is what I call a “slice of life” read. We are reading about Gil and his life…his past and present by reading about what he is doing and his thoughts. I love these type of books when done right. I loved the writing, the characters, and the relationships between the characters. Also one similarity with A Children’s Bible is the approach to nature and the changes to our environment. I also really enjoy fiction that has that element in it. So this book was a winner for me and Lydia Millet is an auto buy author for me now. My only negative…I did not want the story to end. I wanted more! What backlist of hers should I read next?

Will be posting to my Instagram @carolinehoppereads

You can’t change the facts, Gilbert, his grandmother had told him. All you can change is how you behave. In the face of them.
from Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet

I was utterly charmed by the protagonist in Dinosaurs. Gil is almost too good a man to be true. He lost his mother and was raised by a parsimonious aunt, only to discover upon her death that he was wealthy. Gil was talked out of giving away all his money; he could use it for good.

With no need to forge a career, Gil volunteers his time. His girlfriend of fifteen years left him without warning. He later discovers her selfish motivation for staying in their relationship.

The breakup left him depressed. He decided to leave New York City and bought a house in Phoenix, AZ. Then spent four months walking to his new home, leaving behind a few good friends.

Gil’s new neighbors, a family of four, become his new family and best friends. Gil finds new volunteer work, makes more friends. But there is evil in this place, too. Gil worries about the birds that mysteriously are shot at night, and about the neighbor’s boy who is bullied. There are adult bullies in the neighborhood, too. And the man responsible for his mother’s death reaches out with devious purpose. He loses a dear friend, a gruff ex-Navy Seal with a heart of gold. A lady shows interest in him.

Gill meets every need without self-interest.

The theme is so subtle, you might miss it.

Gil muses on the end of the dinosaurs, but for those that developed into the birds who delight him. He worries that if the birds don’t survive the ensuing environment crisis, what will? Insects, perhaps. What other things are threatened by extinction?

Is civility dead in this world we live in today? Are people out for themselves only, rudeness and aggression become the norm? Gil and these characters are not perfect, but they do strive towards perfection. They understand that it’s not every man/woman for himself/herself, but we are all connected.

Then you could see what was true–that separateness had always been the illusion.
from Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet

What a gentle, lovely read.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

This subtle, understated novel follows Gil who’s decided to put his New York past behind him and move to Arizona, captivated by footage of the Arizonan landscape and having nothing better to do, decides to walk there. Shortly after he arrives, a family moves in to the modernist glass house next door, walking around their beautiful glowing home as if on stage. Gil finds himself drawn into to this handsome family, asked by Ardis if he might play basketball with ten-year-old Tom who’s missing his friends. Over the course of the next two years, Gil becomes part of a community, making friends in Arizona, and losing one in New York, hesitantly edging towards a new relationship, Ardis and Ted’s family a beacon of happiness shining brightly across the way. Nothing is perfect, however, not least the hunter who is shooting the beautiful birds flitting through his garden Gil has come to love.
A multitude of themes underpins Lydia Millet's novel – state of the nation, violence against women, family, friendship and coupledom, nature and our destructive interference with it not least climate change – all done with a light touch. We see events from Gil’s perspective: compassionate, at first socially awkward, embarrassed by his wealth, gentle, well-meaning and idealistic, he’s a man who listens, learns and grows. I thoroughly enjoyed this thoughtful, contemplative novel whose gentle humour reminded me a little of Katherine Heiny’s Early Morning Riser.

Lydia Millet is a treasure. For years he has been telling stories about a world where humans, animals and the landscape are intertwined with varying degrees of optimism and pessimism but always in stunning prose. Following the dystopian and complex A Children's Bible, Dinosaurs comes as a beath of straightforward goodwill that should appeal both to those who know and love Millet's diverse output as well as new readers. Highly recommended.

I couldn't put this down! Dinosaurs tells the story of Gil, a wealthy middle-aged man who, when he moves to Arizona from New York City, decides to walk there. His new neighbors live in a house with a glass wall facing his own house. The story centers around the friendship Gil forges with the family of four that lives there and explores themes of family and belonging. Lydia Millet does a beautiful job of creating multi-dimensional complex characters and of carrying us along on their journey, with writing that is simple yet so articulate and insightful. I really enjoyed her last book, The Children's Bible, and I think this one is even better. 4.5 stars - highly recommend!

While I enjoyed this novel, I had a few moments of contemplation. Where some ideas felt a little forced, like the family immediately entrusting a stranger to care for their young son and the familiarity of the seemingly picturesque surrounding, I appreciated how Millet fused everything seamlessly and made the story work.

I didn’t particularly care for Gil’s new neighbors initially, as they didn’t seem authentic. There was a bit of a wall I never felt fully came down once they invited Gil into their lives. Not to mention their eagerness to capture and maintain that suburban life I’m sure they were all too familiar with.

How Millet had taken on Gil’s character and represented him as a bit of a wealthy recluse that wanted to give back to the community with his numerous volunteer opportunities must have been challenging. He has varied life experiences that should have molded him into a spiteful and resentful human being, yet he chose to find the diamonds amongst the rubble of each encounter. While still a bit hardened and reserved, I feel like he has adopted the family next door as an extension of his own. Wanting to get away from city life and retire alone and in peace with nature, he seemed to have unknowingly found what he desperately needed.

Excellent and heartwarming read. I thoroughly enjoyed the character and plot development.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Throughout Dinosaurs, I kept reflecting on the seeming unworkability of the idea – a very rich man, bruised by a bad break-up, moves to a mansion in Phoenix where he engages in birdwatching, volunteers at a women’s shelter, and gets to know his neighbour’s family. I simply couldn’t see what would inspire a writer (other than perhaps a romance writer) to sit down and hash out such a story.

So it’s a testament to Millet’s skill that it works very well. Like I suspect quite a few people, I had heard of Millet’s work with all the praise surrounding The Children’s Bible (which I haven’t read). I suspect this is a much quieter book, but it’s told in elegantly hewn prose with what I can only describe as confidence – it’s that kind of writerly voice that reassures you, it doesn’t matter if you don’t know what to expect, if this will be a domestic tale or suddenly spiral into violence or turn into a fantasy (spoiler, it remains a domestic tale, though domestic on a level most of us don’t inhabit), you’re in good hands, the author knows what she’s doing.

And it's a kindly enough tale about neighbours and friendship, a story that's benevolent but not saccharine. It's not 'uplit,' but it's on the cheerier side of literary fiction.

Thanks to Netgalley and W.W. Norton and Company for the ARC

What a lovely book!
Gil is in his mid 40's and incredibly wealthy. He grew up orphaned and received a trust as an adult. This has stunted him, it seems, and his view of the world and others around him is quite simple. After a break up, he leaves NYC, literally on his feet, and moves to Arizona where he slowly enmeshes himself with the family next door. We experience all the ups and downs of the suburbs through his eyes.

This is a smooth, quick moving novel that should be read slowly. No drama, few conflicts, just a snapshot of life via a series of vignettes named after birds that Gil sees in his yard. Lydia Millet has created a beautiful work of art and I am excited for you to read it. If you love great prose, suburb tales, contemporary observations on life and the future for us all, Dinosaurs is for you! #LydiaMillet #Dinosaurs #WWNorton #Netgalley

DINOSAURS is such a beautiful, quiet book that manages to also be absolutely page turning. Lydia Millet is one of the best novelists we have right now.

Enchanting story of finding connections and making a difference in the world. Gil, though a man of few words, is reminiscent of Susanna Clark's' Piranesi in his innocence and big heart.

Gil, our protagonist, is an extremely wealthy man of forty-five. His inherited wealth has given him an easy life (he admits that his only paying job was a short stint as a bartender). He has few friends, and no family ( he was orphaned at a young age a raised by a grandmother until her death when was still a teenager). However, his outlook toward life is uncomplicated as are his perceptions of the people and places around him. He seems to be burdened by his wealth, guilty even and does his best to give back to society as much as possible. He fills his time serving the community through philanthropy and volunteer work, where he meets most of his friends. His decision to move from Manhattan to Phoenix and his decision to walk all the way (two thousand five hundred miles over a period of almost five months), to experience life as he has never known it surprises everyone who knows him.

As the novel progresses we see how Gil adjusts to a new life in the suburbs, finding his place in a new environment. His friendship with his neighbors – a family of four- takes center point in the novel as we follow him as he forms new friendships and opens himself up to new possibilities. The narrative switches back and forth between the present and flashbacks from Gil’s life – his friendships, his romantic attachments and much more.

Lydia Millet’s writing is beautiful, though some might find it a bit heavy on metaphors. With simple yet elegant prose with short chapters, the narrative at times feels like a collection of vignettes. Each chapter is named after a bird that Gil encounters in his immediate environment. The vividly descriptive details of nature in all its beauty and Gil’s reaction to it- his actions, thoughts and emotions are beautifully expressed. This is a slow-paced, meditative novel that needs to be read slowly. No shocking twists and minimal drama – a story about real, relatable people and their daily lives and the challenges they face trying their best to find their place in their families, in their communities and world, in general. I found Gil’s way of relating to nature, especially the birds he loves watching ( after a life spent in the city) particularly moving. The abrupt switches between past and present ( even between settings in the present) were a tad confusing at times, but not so much that it detracted from the overall reading experience. My only complaint is that I would have loved to read more about his experiences from his adventures/ reactions during his journey to Arizona.

Overall, I found Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet a beautifully-written, thought-provoking novel – the kind that you would want to read more than once.

Many thanks to Lydia Millet, W.W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this beautiful novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Millet's newest novel is very much in harmony with her 2019 "A Children's Bible," in that where "A Children's Bible" s a speculative/borderline-allegorical flood narrative with a thrillingly dark sense of humor, Dinosaurs is less flashy, more a meditation on what individual engagement with this endlessly spiraling world can look like. It’s hopeful. It's quiet. No big/massive events, just small dramas that aren’t small to the people living through them (eg, a child being bullied, someone getting over a breakup) as well as larger, distressingly commonplace traumas (eg, life in a shelter for victims of domestic violence, someone hunting birds at night while the birds are sleeping). And, just like real life, all of this taking place while the biggest event of any of our lives—the climate emergency—unfolds!

She is giving a blueprint for what can be possible in everyday lives, especially for those who are “comfortable” enough to not have to worry about things like rent and food.

Gil, the protagonist, is a wealthy, unassuming man who distributes his inherited fortune on a local level, anonymously, alongside the actual 40 hours a week he puts in doing menial volunteer work at various shelters for women or for refugees. Gil doesn’t have to be wealthy to do the small yet meaningful kinds of things that, when added up, make for something like community, something like people caring about their environment and about people other than themselves. He struggles to reconcile the enormity of everything happening with the tiny interventions he makes but he doesn’t give up.

Throughout all this runs a compelling domestic novel, with neighborhood dramas and mysteries. I loved it!

I wish I could read this again for the first time. This novel is not for thrill seekers, but if you enjoy atmosphere, character development, and satisfying closure then this is your JAM. I loved the way we were privy to the meandering thoughts of the main character and how they all led to reveals that made sense and mostly felt good. I was sad when I came to the end even though I knew it was exactly where and when the ending belonged. Can’t remember the last time I wanted to be part of a book’s ensemble cast. Soothing and hypnotic.

I didn't have any idea what to expect from this book. I was just intrigued by the title, the cover, and then the premise. It gives you the perfect amount of information and leaves the plot and the characters entirely to be discovered.

It had me pleasantly surprised actually! A lot of reviews seem to say that Dinosaurs has an uneventful plot, with very little happening - and it definitely is a quiet book - but I think that Millet managed to seamlessly fit a lot into these pages.

Gil is a lovely character. A man with too much money who moves to a new place and ends up entangled in the lives of the family next door, whilst trying to be as good a person as possible. I really liked following Gil. I read so many books with unlikeable main characters and big dramatic events moving the plot along, and so this was a nice change. This book focuses on 'smaller' problems, the problems that people all over the world probably face every day, and Lydia Millet weaves everything in so nicely.

Gil actually does have some very traumatic experiences in this book, but it's handled very well, and I enjoyed following him as he slowly worked out his life and found more meaning.

I love a good found family story. All of the characters that Gil interacts with have flaws but they fit together so nicely. They are warm and funny and feel quite real. This, combined with beautiful nature writing, really kept my attention. I wanted to speed through and read the entire book, but also to take my time, and try to savour the writing.

I think I'll be thinking back to and considering this book for a while. I'm very interested in the family that lives in a house with an entire wall made of glass, and I would love to go bird-watching with Jason. Gil made me think of one of my favourite characters in literature: Vonnegut's Mr Rosewater. I'm intrigued by this exploration of wealthy characters who want to help by giving all of their money away, and how much of an impact they can make.

I will hopefully be looking into Lydia Millet's backlist in the future because this definitely piqued my interest!

Thank you so much for the review copy.

Each spare, whittled sentence in this compelling novel delivers a rich reward for the reader. Lydia Millet's masterful, quiet portrait of a man who transplants himself and finds new meaning in his life is--on the surface--quiet and common, but, once started, it's almost impossible to put this novel down. Highly recommended--a haunting and unique work.

My thanks to Norton and to Netgalley for the opportunity and pleasure of an early read.

I loved Lydia Millet's new novel, Dinosaurs. Millet gave her main character Gil a quiet character, a soft voice, and a loving heart. Gil is a wealthy forty-ish man from New York who decides to move to Arizona. Once there, Gil becomes friends with his neighbors, Ted, Ardis, and their children, Tom and Clem.

Because Gil inherited a fortune from his grandmother, he doesn't need to work but he always finds a good place to volunteer, usually a whole work week amount of time. In New York, Gil made friends with two guys in similar situations and now in Phoenix, he volunteers at a women's shelter. Socially, Gil grows close to the family next door. Gil takes a new interest in the bird life in his desert environment and discovers that someone is shooting birds at night. The core of the plot revolves around the nasty deed of shooting birds at night and helping a young friend deal with a bully at school.

Lydia Millet has a special talent for connecting humans with animal life. I loved this novel and enjoyed the message Dinosaurs offered. Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for this ARC.