Magnificence: A Novel

Magnificence: A Novel

<p><strong>A woman embarks on a dazzling new phase in her life after inheriting a sprawling mansion and its vast collection of taxidermy.</strong></p> Pulitzer Prize finalist Lydia Millet is "one of the most acclaimed novelists of her generation" (Scott Timberg, <em>Los Angeles Times</em>). <em>Salon</em> praised her for writing that is "always flawlessly beautiful, reaching for an experience that precedes language itself." The <em>Village Voice</em> added, "If Kurt Vonnegut were still alive, he would be extremely jealous." <p>This stunning new novel presents Susan Lindley, a woman adrift after her husband€s death and the dissolution of her family. Embarking on a new phase in her life after inheriting her uncle€s sprawling mansion and its vast collection of taxidermy, Susan decides to restore the neglected, moth-eaten animal mounts, tending to €œthe fur and feathers, the beaks, the bones and shimmering tails.€ Meanwhile an equally derelict human menagerie€•including an unfaithful husband and a chorus of eccentric old women€•joins her in residence.</p><p>In a setting both wondrous and absurd, Susan defends her legacy from freeloading relatives and explores the mansion€s unknown spaces. Funny and heartbreaking, <em>Magnificence</em> explores evolution and extinction, children and parenthood, loss and revelation. The result is the rapturous final act to the critically acclaimed cycle of novels that began with <em>How the Dead Dream</em>.</p>