Lydia Millet on Writing a Double Novel of Grief and Loss

Lydia Millet is an American author known for her sharp, sardonic writing style and themes often tied to climate change and extinct creatures, as seen in her 2022 novel Dinosaurs and her 2025 story collection Atavists. Her latest work, Fair Ones, marks a shift from these themes to explore gun violence and its emotional aftermath. The novel is structured as a double novel, meaning it consists of two interrelated books. Fair, narrated by Mara, begins immediately after the murder of their close friend Claire, while Ones, told from Jen’s perspective, starts a year later. The story is set in New York City and follows Mara and Jen as they navigate grief, shock, and the lingering presence of Claire in their lives. Millet’s writing is characterized by ultra-human characters, swift pacing, and sharp dialogue, aiming to capture the complexity of human relationships in the face of loss.

The core of Fair Ones revolves around the grief and emotional turmoil experienced by Mara and Jen after the sudden death of their lifelong friend Claire, a high school guidance counselor who was shot in a seemingly random act of violence. The novel explores the stages of grief—shock, numbness, denial, anger, isolation, regret, and depression—as Mara and Jen grapple with Claire’s absence. Their bond is central to the story, with Claire described as an "invisible third party" in their interactions. The novel delves into how friends and family of Claire, including her parents, brother, and ex-boyfriend Jase, react to her death. Millet uses the setting of a wake in a restaurant bar to introduce these dynamics, highlighting the social and emotional complexities that arise when a close friend is suddenly gone. The title Fair Ones plays on multiple meanings of the word "fair," including beauty, mediocrity, and justice.

Millet’s Fair Ones is structured as two separate but interconnected novels, Fair and Ones, each told from the perspective of a different character. Fair, narrated by Mara, begins immediately after Claire’s murder, capturing the raw shock and disorientation of the moment. Ones, narrated by Jen, starts a year later, focusing on how she has adjusted to life without Claire. Millet describes this structure as two people walking side by side, distinct but overlapping, reflecting the interdependency of close friends. The novel is written in a realist style, with a focus on dialogue and social interactions among a small group of people. Millet aimed to avoid boredom while writing, experimenting with a format that relies more on conversation than interior monologue. The pacing is swift, and the dialogue is sharp, contributing to the novel’s fluid and engaging narrative style.

Millet drew inspiration for Fair Ones from her personal experiences and observations of grief, though she did not map out the novel’s structure in advance. She describes her writing process as a form of "groping around with a blindfold," emphasizing spontaneity over planning. The novel’s party scenes, including a chaotic gathering at Jase’s loft in TriBeCa, were influenced by literary and cinematic models, such as the works of Robert Coover, Donald Antrim, and Virginia Woolf, as well as movie party scenes. Millet also included a cameo appearance by actor Jon Hamm, who plays himself in a hot tub scene. She chose New York City as the setting for its association with social life, sped-up time, pedestrianism, and Europeanism, contrasting it with other settings she has used in her previous works, such as the Sonoran Desert or Los Angeles.

Jase, Claire’s ex-boyfriend, serves as a central character in Fair Ones, embodying traits such as arrogance and self-centeredness. Millet describes his behavior as a reflection of broader societal issues, noting that "Jase is running the country," a comment that underscores the novel’s exploration of contemporary social dynamics. The novel also touches on themes of addiction, as Jen impulsively revisits drugs from her younger years during a party scene. Millet’s approach to character development is rooted in realism, with a focus on how people mimic each other and absorb traits over time. The ending of Jen’s story, which Millet describes as softened from an earlier version, highlights the novel’s emotional depth and the euphoric nature of crafting endings in fiction.