“But being alone was also a closed loop. A loop with a slipknot, say. The loop could be small or large, but it always returned to itself.
You had to untie the knot, finally. Open the loop and then everything sank in. And everyone.
Then you could see what was true--that separateness had always been the illusion. A simple trick of flesh.” 

I love these slice of life, hyper realistic, character driven novels. It’s a slim and straightforward story, but full of complexities. So much to chew on with themes exploring the environment, family, patriarchy, fidelity, belonging, love, and loss.  It reminded me so much of Jennifer Egan‘s work, like it could’ve been a chapter out of The Candy House. Which leads to my only critique, in that I wish there was MORE. The protagonist, Gil, is a man who walks from New York to Arizona (!!) after a bad break up and forms a unique attachment with the family next door. And every one of the characters in this novel had the same idiosyncratic potential for more exploration.
In similar works of fiction, I feel as if something terrible usually happens, and I had a low level of anxiety for Gil throughout the book. There were some unpleasant and surprising turns, but it concluded in a sort of hilarious and profound way. It is a really thoughtful and vivid human story.
If you enjoy Jennifer Egan’s writing, I would definitely recommend this novel, and for fans of similar short and poignant books like Claire Keegan’s work, and Zorrie by Laird Hunt. I am definitely diving into Lydia Millet’s back catalog, too!