Reviews

Te elige by Miranda July

missloflipo's review

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5.0

Cuando hace años vi El futuro, la película que estrenó Miranda July en 2011 sobre la crisis existencial de una pareja de treintañeros -y esto es resumir el argumento mucho, pero mucho- no supe que un año después la directora publicaría este libro. Lo sabría bastante tiempo después y hasta hace un par de semanas no he tenido la oportunidad de leerlo.

Ni siquiera estaba segura del tipo de libro que es Te elige, pero que fuese obra de July era todo lo que necesitaba para estar interesada. El caso es que después de devorarlo sigo sin poder clasificarlo del todo. Esta maravilla es a la vez un ensayo, un diario y un reportaje social tan excéntrico como la propia autora.

Miranda sufrió una crisis creativa durante la escritura del guión de El futuro pero todo lo que podía hacer al respecto era ver videos en YouTube y leer compulsivamente los anuncios clasificados de la revista Pennysavers. Estaba totalmente intrigada por saber quiénes vendían a través de esas páginas cosas tan prescindibles como secadores de pelo viejos, álbumes de fotos ajenos o chaquetas desgastadas.

Abandonada totalmente a la procrastinación, decidió que tenía que entrevistar a esas personas y saber qué lugar ocupaban en el mundo. Se acompañó de la fotógrafa Brigitte Sire y se plantó en las casas de varios desconocidos sin tener claro el fin de todo eso. El proyecto tomó forma al mismo tiempo que se desarrollaba. Tanto es así que este experimento terminó siendo todo un viaje de autoexploración y un retrato de esas personas alejadas del glamour y del ritmo frenético de Los Ángeles. De hecho incorporó su experiencia al guión de la película y consiguió profundizar en un personaje que tenía atascado dotándolo de un motivo.

No puedo contar mucho más al respecto sin estropear el factor sorpresa del libro, pero sin estas entrevistas la película hubiese sido otra totalmente diferente. Estoy deseando verla de nuevo ahora que tengo una visión mucho más amplia de la directora y del proceso de creación que llevó a cabo. Va a ser divertido comprobar cómo hemos envejecido tanto la película como yo.

Ojalá podáis leer Te elige alguna vez porque la dosis de realidad contra la que se estrella Miranda es la misma con la que me ha golpeado en la cara, y de verdad, el puñetazo merece la pena. Ni la dulzura, ni la genialidad ni el fantástico sentido del humor de la autora me han librado de él.

ingridboring's review against another edition

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5.0

Well this just made me cry at work.

gimchi's review against another edition

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4.0

more than halfway through, waffling a little.

the premise is that she's working on a film and is stuck, so she starts interviewing people in the pennysaver. and these people are, to put it mildly, somewhat cray. they're not quite seedy, but they're people who are poor, who aren't digitally/electronically literate, who are or who have someone close to them suffering from a mental illness.

i want to irritated at her weird innocence, how she's weirded and grossed out by the woman with the ravaged face and fecund home, but wouldn't i probably be the same? maybe it's her utter self-knowledge. like those friends who are huge activists and relate to themselves in a way that shows that they REALLY think HARD about how they are and WHY they react the way they do and what's CULTURED and SOCIALLY ingrained. it's exhausting. but also leads to interesting revelations. i'll probably rewrite this later, if i'm not too lazy. spoiler alert: i will be.

colinreedmoon's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

mostlymetaphors's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.5

hereistheend's review against another edition

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4.0

As an experimental distraction from her slowing down screenplay manuscript, Miranda decides to interview every person who has placed an ad in The Pennysaver. (every person who will allow her to, anyway). By doing so she meets thirteen people, thirteen different, quirky, interesting and sometimes just creepy people. She touches leopards and tadpoles, and also an old man who makes (erm… interesting) cards for his wife (nine each year, to be exact). Through her interviews with each person, she discovers a window into their lives, how they live and how they survive. She also contemplates the thoughts and themes that nudge into her mind, sometimes creeping along her spine (like how many years she’ll spend crying).
This book was so interesting and told an interesting story, many many stories within the story of Miranda creating her movie. It’s rather sad and pretty creepy sometimes, but was an interesting read.

alisarae's review against another edition

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4.0

Miranda July can do no wrong.

This book is a catalogue of a side project that Miranda July worked on while she was trying to overcome her writer's block while writing the screenplay for The Future. It's witty, touching, characteristically L.A., and full of innocence and wonder.

p.s. this book is not for everyone, and if you don't know who Miranda July is then you might be surprised in a turned-off way. But anyways, I think she's a genius and everything she makes is amazing.

gerda7's review against another edition

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4.0

I like it that there are people like Miranda July in the world. I think she met people how they are, and said how she thought about that - really. A real book. I shed a tear at the end.

smrankin5's review against another edition

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2.0



Lots of potential in concept. Reality fell short for me

rackle's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

4.5