All Fours: A Novel
A NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR
A WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR
ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S TOP 10 FICTION BOOKS OF 2024
ONE OF NPR’S “BOOKS WE LOVE” 2024
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY:
THE NEW YORKER ● VOGUE ● FINANCIAL TIMES ● OPRAH DAILY ● VULTURE ● VOX
The New York Times bestselling author returns with an irreverently sexy, tender, hilarious and surprising novel about a woman upending her life
“A frank novel about a midlife awakening, which is funnier and more boldly human than you ever quite expect . . . nothing short of riveting.” —Vogue
“All Fours has spurred a whisper network of women fantasizing about desire and freedom. . . . It’s the talk of every group text."—The New York Times
“All Fours possessed me. I picked it up and neglected my life until the last page, and then I started begging every woman I know to read it as soon as possible.” —The Cut
A semi-famous artist announces her plan to drive cross-country, from LA to NY. Thirty minutes after leaving her husband and child at home, she spontaneously exits the freeway, checks into a nondescript motel, and immerses herself in an entirely different journey.
Miranda July’s second novel confirms the brilliance of her unique approach to fiction. With July’s wry voice, perfect comic timing, unabashed curiosity about human intimacy, and palpable delight in pushing boundaries, All Fours tells the story of one woman’s quest for a new kind of freedom. Part absurd entertainment, part tender reinvention of the sexual, romantic, and domestic life of a forty-five-year-old female artist, All Fours transcends expectation while excavating our beliefs about life lived as a woman. Once again, July hijacks the familiar and turns it into something new and thrillingly, profoundly alive.
A WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR
ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S TOP 10 FICTION BOOKS OF 2024
ONE OF NPR’S “BOOKS WE LOVE” 2024
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY:
THE NEW YORKER ● VOGUE ● FINANCIAL TIMES ● OPRAH DAILY ● VULTURE ● VOX
The New York Times bestselling author returns with an irreverently sexy, tender, hilarious and surprising novel about a woman upending her life
“A frank novel about a midlife awakening, which is funnier and more boldly human than you ever quite expect . . . nothing short of riveting.” —Vogue
“All Fours has spurred a whisper network of women fantasizing about desire and freedom. . . . It’s the talk of every group text."—The New York Times
“All Fours possessed me. I picked it up and neglected my life until the last page, and then I started begging every woman I know to read it as soon as possible.” —The Cut
A semi-famous artist announces her plan to drive cross-country, from LA to NY. Thirty minutes after leaving her husband and child at home, she spontaneously exits the freeway, checks into a nondescript motel, and immerses herself in an entirely different journey.
Miranda July’s second novel confirms the brilliance of her unique approach to fiction. With July’s wry voice, perfect comic timing, unabashed curiosity about human intimacy, and palpable delight in pushing boundaries, All Fours tells the story of one woman’s quest for a new kind of freedom. Part absurd entertainment, part tender reinvention of the sexual, romantic, and domestic life of a forty-five-year-old female artist, All Fours transcends expectation while excavating our beliefs about life lived as a woman. Once again, July hijacks the familiar and turns it into something new and thrillingly, profoundly alive.
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Community Reviews
This book put me through the ringer! The first part read like my mind when I'm having an anxiety attack, so It was overwhelming. As we moved out of the main characters head and into the story, things got much better. The book was weird, the book was kinky, but at the end, I decided the book was good and I enjoyed the laughs It gave me.
This book is poorly conceived and written. It is tedious and in some parts disgusting. I can't imagine why this book is getting the accolaides it is receiving.
Miranda July’s “All Fours” was not an engaging read for me. Perhaps it was never meant to be, and perhaps I may not fit the target demographic. While I enjoy July’s writing and pacing, it was the plot, characters, and tone of it all that did not work for me. “All Fours” is an existential observation of middle-aged life, sexuality, identity, and creation. My problem with it is that those core drivers felt like a series of self-fabricated struggles of an upper-middle-class life.
Our nameless main character navigates a life interrupted and rebirth that could be compelling because that general experience is many ways true to all of us. However, in her searching for meaning and purpose, her actions appear forced when there so much already in front of her. At least from my perspective, which again is skewed. For those interested in the gritty details of unconventional modern relationships, you will get plenty of that.
Ultimately, there are themes in the book I did learn from. Specifically, that sometimes it takes blowing everything up to break through in relationships. I also appreciate the perspective of this part of a woman’s journey through life. I just cannot accept this deeply unsympathetic main character. Not just her desires and struggles but her absolutely messy and entitled decision-making. The book offers a unique voice that challenges ideas of entitlement while also parading them in celebratory fashion.
As a woman who made an intentional and complete life change at 45 (one that I had never previously anticipated), I definitely related to the main characters’ thoughts and even some actions, but the very alternative lifestyle she spoke about as if it were everyday made even me feel like a dried up prude. The sexual exploits, the bizarre un-feeling relationship with her husband seemed over the top at times. All in all, I’d recommend for women my age who truly believe turning 50 is the same thing as jumping off a cliff into oblivion.
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