*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Took me awhile to get into this book but it was overall not a bad read, different from what i thought it would be lol

What a brilliant novel.

I went into this one fairly blind, and honestly, I don't read a lot of contemporary literary novels without a genre twist, so I was pleasantly surprised when this worked as well as it did. Dinosaurs is witty, heartwarming, and deeply moving while not afraid to make the reader ponder some deep questions.

Is it a little aimless? Yes. Does it feel like the other shoe is always about to drop? Absolutely. Does it feel like a modern classic in the making? Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Do yourself a favor, read this when you get the chance.

This was a really great book. The writing is fantastic, effervescent, and engaging. The characters we well-developed and feel real. Millet also is able to really capture the atmosphere of Phoenix. Everything was just so well done. Beyond that, the story is fantastic as it explores climate issues, emotions around starting over, and themes of family and friendship. There was just so much...also the audio narration was really beautifully done.

I loved this book! 4.5 stars

Uber wealthy, our main character, Gil, leaves behind his life and ex-girlfriend and WALKS to his new house in Arizona. He's kind of a loaner as he's learned to be suspicious of people's motivations for dating and friendships.

Instead of just playing golf and spending his money, Gil contributes to society by working for charitable organizations (e.g., refugee centers and battered women shelters).

Once he settles in the Arizona desert, he befriends his neighbors. And things start to get interesting.

There's plenty of social commentary regarding hot topics! Author Lydia Millet covers climate change; business jets and their carbon footprint; politics and the election of 2016 in 2020; battered women; to have or not to have children; loneliness; grief; and betrayal in relationships; bullying; nosy neighbors and HOA rules; organ donors; extreme wealth; alcoholism and Neo-Nazi's.

Being from Phoenix, I very much enjoyed the author's descriptions of our monsoon season, swamp coolers, jumping cholla, desert washes, the birds and wildlife, our airport, the mountains, the aquarium in Scottsdale; and the fact that our schools start in early August.

The dry humor is the best part of the book. There are loads of inside jokes and funny stories. One of my favorites was the annual anti-Christmas letter that Gil wrote with his former live-in girlfriend. (It was not well received).

Regarding the title, Millet writes about the evolution of dinosaurs, insects and birds. Personally, I'm not much into birds, but if you are, you'll appreciate the tie-in.

Dinosaurs, by Lydia Millet, is a beautiful piece of literary prose centered around a forty something man named Gil. As his story unfolds, the reader learns he was orphaned as a young child, raised by a cold grandmother until her death, then by the oversight of an attorney and caretakers as well as a boarding school education. It isn’t until Gil comes of age that he learns the extent of the family wealth or the oil and gas legacy he wants nothing to do with. At the encouragement of his attorney, rather than giving it all away, Gil has an investment team, a generous stipend, and the ability to donate of his wealth and services as he sees fit.

When life in New York City looses its luster, Gil decides to make a huge change selling his large condo and buying a house in Phoenix, viewing it only online. Then, Gil decides to walk to his new home. The story then follows Gil in his new Phoenix life, the friends he makes, and the snippets that occur.

This is a most unique novel. I found it reminiscent in some ways of Mark Twain’s The Mysterious Stranger and others of Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge in its cadence and its vignette presentation. This is a very interesting story that captured me quickly. I did enjoy this book and recommend it, especially to those wanting something very different.

A seemingly simple novel with a ton bubbling below the surface. This is not a long book, but there is so much going on. Dinosaurs is about Gil, a man who seems to have no direction, finding his way through his friendship with the family next door to his new home in Arizona. It is poignant and scathing at times. The narrator only added to the experience. This was my first Lydia Millet, but it will not be my last.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an review copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I don't know if I understood this book? The listening experience itself was fine, but I can't think of a single person I know who I would tell to read this book.

The audiobook of Dinosaurs was a fantastic book, exploring themes of starting over, knowing other people, and exploring purpose. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the main character and the others; it helped that the story only had a few characters to really dig into. The landscape of the desert really brought nature into Gil's life, in all its harshness and unforgiving nature. However, Gil also found beauty in it. I really loved how Millet brought Gil to life, and made him a complex character. Even Tom, a child in the book, had a fleshed-out character study. It was fantastic and I can't wait to read more of Millet's writing.

4.5⭐️: Gil is a middle-aged, wealthy man who moves (walks) from NY to Phoenix following a painful breakup. First, when I read this, I wondered if this is going to be like “Wild”. It is not, we actually don’t learn much about this journey except that it was quite boring – a lot of sameness most of the time. In Phoenix, he buys a large house that he calls his castle in the desert. Soon after, his new neighbors move into the house next door, which has almost entirely glass walls. His neighbors are a family with two children and soon after, their lives start to mesh into each other. Gil is wealthy and privileged, but not oblivious to people’s lives and suffering – quite the opposite, he actually puts a lot of effort and thinking into how he can help those in need, either in monetary means, or through volunteering. This novel is about friendships and family (born into and acquired), but also about our past and how we move on after we face destruction. How do we survive extinction?
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The title – “Dinosaurs” – is metaphoric and mainly embodies the theme of extinction and survival which are woven throughout the book. My dinosaur-obsessed 6-year-old was fascinated that I was reading a book about dinosaurs. I had to explain to him that the title is basically a symbol as the book is not “literally” about dinosaurs.
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I would like to thank @netgalley and @w.w.norton for providing me with the ALC for this book. Books like this always leave me amazed as I cannot pinpoint what I liked exactly. It is a short read – 230 pages and not much happens in this book. Yet, for some reason I could not put it down. I think there is something about forming adult friendships that really fascinates me in a book. (Another example of such a novel is Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner.) This book is funny, emotional and very, very smart. Millet builds characters who feel so alive and so likeable. Full review up in my blog: https://wanderingcharacters.wordpress.com/2022/12/18/lydia-millet-dinosaurs/

I've read so many good things about Lydia Millet's books over the years but strangely "Dinosaurs" is my first foray into her work. The book opens as Gil, looking for a new start after a difficult breakup, relocates from New York City to Arizona by walking across the country to his new home, a palatial residence that he nicknames "the Castle." He calls the house next door "the Glass House" because of its many glass walls, which give him an unimpeded view inside. And when a family moves in with a young son and daughter, I thought I knew exactly where this book was going, and it was my sense of unease and discomfort with that expectation that gave the early pages of "Dinosaurs" an unsettling sense of suspense. And then Millet doesn't go there at all--is it a spoiler to say that there are no spoilers?

The novel becomes instead a quiet character study of Gil, whose ambivalence about his vast inherited wealth (and its provenance) shapes the central question of his existence: Can he still find ways to live a worthy and valuable life? The rest of the book chronicles the ways he chooses--by becoming friends with the family in the Glass House and a sort of surrogate parent to Tom, their son; by volunteering in a shelter for battered women and befriending a socially awkward coworker there; by investigating who is killing the beautiful birds on the land abutting his property. Things definitely happen in "Dinosaurs," but with a kind of quiet drama that I found almost mesmerizing and which confounded my expectations in the best way. A note: I listened to the audiobook of this title and was initially put off by the narrator's almost affectless voice, but soon settled in and ended up feeling that he was a perfect choice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me with the ARC audiobook of this title in return for my honest review.

This was a pleasant audiobook that I listened to over the course of a couple of weeks of walks. It's a quiet book and I've seen reviews say "meditative", which it was, but unfortunately for me, it also felt a little lifeless, a little flat. I wanted to love it -- I'm a huge fan of Lydia Millet's other work -- but I finished (or at least stopped listening) to this one a while ago and I genuinely can't recall much of what it was about. I think this is partly on me-- a few things felt like they were set-ups for something terrible to happen -- the way he could see every detail of his neighbour's lives, for example -- but ... nothing happened. Maybe my brain has been ruined by listening to too many books where Big Terrible Things take place, but I found my mind wandering while I listened. The sentences, the language, the flow -- all of that was lovely. Lovely! I found certain sentences that felt like a genuine pleasure to listen to, but overall I didn't connect to Gil and I can't remember enough of this to really recommend it as a novel, beyond recommending it for the quiet, lovely flow of words. That sounds like an insult, but it isn't really. It was pleasant, but forgettable. (Gorgeous cover though.)

3.5 stars

Reading this book felt a lot like reading a Jennifer Egan novel. Great characters, beautiful prose, firmly grounded in the realistic details of daily life, but kinda weird & quirky. I enjoyed it.

[What I liked:]

•Gil is a great MC. We start by learning some very unusual facts about him, but as the story progresses he becomes more & more relatable.

•This book deals with some heavy themes (grief, helplessness in the face of mass tragedy, infidelity, etc.) in nuanced ways without getting bogged down in sentimentality or melodrama. That was refreshing.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•The book has a bit of a slow start, & it took me awhile to get into it

CW: infidelity, bullying, child abuse, domestic violence, terminal illness

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

Gil is a rich man raised as an orphan by his chilly grandmother and then by guardians assigned by the estate. A good man, struggling to find purpose and activity and love. After the disintegration of his relationship with a selfish woman, Gil literally walks from NY to AZ to heal and restart. He slowly begins to find a place within his neighbors family, and within desert wildlife. With new friendships and the passing of old friends, Gil learns that surrender in life’s battles may take more strength and bring more peace and resolution.

Beautifully written and quietly political Millet unfolds a careful, hopeful soul in Gil. Gil’s quiet protection of victims and also his subtle forgiveness of those who victimize, displays humble goodness we should all aspire to. With equal measure he cares for the quails nesting over his door and the drunk who killed his parents. Surrender, appreciation, comfort. A lovely book.

A story of loneliness, found family, lost/misplaced love, the concept of home, and the purpose of life. Narration was pleasing. Structured with chapters named after birds (descended from dinosaurs) the main character encounters in the nature preserve near his home.

Audio ARC from the publisher via NetGalley but the opinions are my own.

I read the author's previous work, The Children's Bible, and found it a very interesting read. So I was eager to pick up her latest work and it did not disappoint.

This book really is a short character study about Gil, who is living off his trust fund and moved to a new house in the Southwest United States. When a new family moves into the house next door, Gil begins to spend time with them and is soon enmeshed in the family. I kept thinking some dramatic or terrible turn of events would happen. But, it doesn't and I liked this book for that. Gil is just a nice normal guy and the family is a nice normal family.

I was at first intrigued by the aimlessness of the protagonist but wondered where the novel was going, and how long it was going to take before something HAPPENED….but then, somewhere along the way, I realized that the aimlessness was the point. That these everyday simple interactions were leading me somewhere profound, hand in hand with the hapless-seeming protagonist. And then? I fell in love with this novel. Reading it gave me one of those aha moments , where I remembered anew that the experiences of everyday life—making connections with others, trying to understand and appreciate their good qualities (and forgive them their trespasses), and doing your best to be a good person day by day, are the stuff of life. The audiobook is superb. The ending is one of the best endings I’ve ever read.

This is the first book that I’ve read by Lydia Millet and it won’t be the last. “Dinosaurs” is literary fiction and tells the story of Gil, who has an enormous amount of inherited wealth that became his after his parents tragic death when he was a child. After a breakup he walks from NYC to a new home in Arizona. He develops a found family with his new neighbors and in his own way reconciles with the burden of wealth he has been carrying around and opens himself to others. The characters in this novel explore issues of privilege, what it means to be truly free, and the natural lives of birds. Gil is a little bit like Ted Lasso in his interactions with people and in resolving conflicts. This book left a lot to reflect on and would make an excellent book club pick.

Thank you to NetGalley for this audiobook to review.

Thanks #netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narrator. I enjoyed this more than I expected. It's a slow moving listen. Highly recommend.

Was very excited to get the ARC of this novel, as I greatly enjoyed The Children's Bible. Thank you, Net Galley for the opportunity to read/listen to this It didn't disappoint! It was very enjoyable to listen to. I found myself caring for the characters and especially loved young Tom's character. This novel examined themes of grief, community, found family, perseverance, climate change and gave us a believable character who was kind, nurturing and well meaning. The narrator was solid as well.

This book is subtle, its' depth builds up while reading chapter after chapter of mundane interactions between Gil, the protagonist, and his network of seemingly average acquaintances. This is NOT like the author's previous book, A Children's Bible, Millet makes a much gentler case for being a good person here. While not the most impactful work I've read this year, Millet achieved something notable, she made me care deeply about an extremely average independently wealthy white man.