Love in Infant Monkeys - review in Quill and Quire

My review of Love in Infant Monkeys, Lydia Millet's absolutely fantastic collection of short stories (from Soft Skull Press), has been posted on the Quill and Quire website:

Stories involving animals can often be a mixed blessing. At their worst, like the manipulative treacle of Marley & Me, such tales use animals as a contrivance through which human characters may better themselves. A quick glance at Love in Infant Monkeys, a story collection that revolves around the tabloid fodder of celebrities and their pets, might suggest that Lydia Millet is following that same path...Millet, however, is a shrewd storyteller, and the stories in this collection are penetrating narratives that lay bare the complexities of life in all its folly and glory. Millet is unconcerned with easy homilies, instead crafting subtle studies of the existential crises humankind faces. That the stories are often very funny only adds to their effectiveness.

Read the rest of the review here, and check out a sample of the collection here.

And buy the book. Seriously. I'm not a huge short story lover, but some of Millet's tales have stuck with me for weeks now. Monkey LOVES this book.