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A review by kjboldon
All Fours by Miranda July
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Really great, fun, audacious book about a woman artist, motherhood, birth trauma, marriage, creativity and more.
Trying to prove something to her husband, the narrator plans to drive cross country. Instead she sees a cute stranger and stops nearby and wacky hijinks ensue. One of the great strengths of the novel is it's female friendships and it's radical sexual honesty, with some truth bombs about menopause thrown in. Also, I thought the book was going to be what it was in the first third, and really enjoyed how it changed and morphed as it went on.
A few criticisms: one big one small. Her portrayal of a 7yo kid is all cute and no tedium/annoyance, though there was a great line about the reality being different.
Second, and more serious, is that there is a lot of fat shaming in this book, and the way that July writes about her body and eating and losing weight felt uncomfortably disordered to me.
Third, this is about a wealthy white woman, and does nothing to question the privilege inherent in that, which felt myopic.
Trying to prove something to her husband, the narrator plans to drive cross country. Instead she sees a cute stranger and stops nearby and wacky hijinks ensue. One of the great strengths of the novel is it's female friendships and it's radical sexual honesty, with some truth bombs about menopause thrown in. Also, I thought the book was going to be what it was in the first third, and really enjoyed how it changed and morphed as it went on.
A few criticisms: one big one small. Her portrayal of a 7yo kid is all cute and no tedium/annoyance, though there was a great line about the reality being different.
Second, and more serious, is that there is a lot of fat shaming in this book, and the way that July writes about her body and eating and losing weight felt uncomfortably disordered to me.
Third, this is about a wealthy white woman, and does nothing to question the privilege inherent in that, which felt myopic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Medical content, Pregnancy