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A review by mariball
All Fours by Miranda July
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
What I enjoyed most of this book is the writing- Miranda’s words are engaging, filled with interesting and heartbreaking observations about aging, femininity, desire, and motherhood.
However I had issues with this book too- mainly with how limited in scope this narrator’s experience is. With a vague, artsy career that never gets fully explained, she leads a privileged life- her husband is a music producer, a company pays her $20,000 to use her work for their product, and their home is valued at $1.8 million, casually dropped like it’s no big deal. I’m not against reading about rich women (in fact it’s one of my guilty pleasures, I love it!) but I bristle at the thought of this being touted as THE “universal” experience critics exclaim when reviewing this book. There’s no direct confrontation, consideration, or critique about her very weathly lifestyle that affords her to engage in her emotionally charged affair. Hardly anyone can drop $20,000 in remodeling a motel room just because she can. It almost veers into ridiculous territory at points and it doesn’t help that the narrator is too selfish and egotistical to see it. In fact, the only characters I wholeheartedly enjoyed were her child, Sam (precious!), and her best friend Jordi (give her a gold medal for putting up with the narrator’s disastrous midlife crisis).
However I had issues with this book too- mainly with how limited in scope this narrator’s experience is. With a vague, artsy career that never gets fully explained, she leads a privileged life- her husband is a music producer, a company pays her $20,000 to use her work for their product, and their home is valued at $1.8 million, casually dropped like it’s no big deal. I’m not against reading about rich women (in fact it’s one of my guilty pleasures, I love it!) but I bristle at the thought of this being touted as THE “universal” experience critics exclaim when reviewing this book. There’s no direct confrontation, consideration, or critique about her very weathly lifestyle that affords her to engage in her emotionally charged affair. Hardly anyone can drop $20,000 in remodeling a motel room just because she can. It almost veers into ridiculous territory at points and it doesn’t help that the narrator is too selfish and egotistical to see it. In fact, the only characters I wholeheartedly enjoyed were her child, Sam (precious!), and her best friend Jordi (give her a gold medal for putting up with the narrator’s disastrous midlife crisis).