Lydia Millet on Writing a Double Novel of Grief and Loss

In Lydia Millet's new double novel, Fair Ones, two Brooklyn women, Mara and Jen, navigate grief and loss after their longtime friend Claire's murder. The novel shifts from climate change to gun violence and draws inspiration from Millet's earlier life in New York City. Set in the aftermath of Claire's death, Mara is the narrator of the first part, followed by Jen's perspective a year later.

Despite the tragedy, the women remain connected, as Jen muses, "Claire was the invisible third party. We didn't have to bring her up. She lived on the residue of who we used to be."

Millet's writing style in Fair Ones centers around ultra-human characters, swift pacing, fluid action, casual yet precise plotlines, and sharp dialogue. She aimed to create a realistic narrative with primarily dialogue and social interactions among the characters, avoiding both boredom and excessive excitement in her writing. The novel opens with a wake in a restaurant bar, where Mara and Jen grapple with the sudden loss of their dear friend, Claire, who was shot by a thirteen-year-old boy in a seemingly random act of violence.

The structure of Fair Ones is unique, with the first novel told from Mara's point of view, capturing the initial shock and grief. The second novel, Ones, is told from Jen's perspective, focusing on the passage of time and the evolving nature of their grief. Millet's writing process was more of a blind exploration rather than a meticulously planned one, allowing her to experience the shock firsthand as her characters did.

The novel explores the complexities of grief, the interdependency of close friends, and the influence of shared experiences on their individual arcs of mourning.