Title: Review: Miranda July's 'All Fours' - A Novel of Midlife Discoveries and Humor
Date: Published on May 14, 2024
Author: John Self
Film-maker, artist, and writer Miranda July’s second novel, "All Fours," continues to showcase her unique narrative style combining humor, sadness, and idiosyncratic elements. The narrative is led by an unnamed narrator, an artist turning 45, similar to July in her achievement across multiple mediums. Initially centered in California with her husband, Harris, and their child, Sam, the story soon transitions into a solitary midlife road trip that the narrator embarks on, heading for New York but halting unexpectedly in Monrovia.
The plot unfolds in a rundown motel in Monrovia where the protagonist, while engaged in renovating a room, encounters and subsequently falls deeply for Davey, a man she repeatedly comes across. As the story progresses, July skillfully integrates the narrator's comedic reflections on aging and her intimate distance with her husband into the deeper, melancholic strains of her past and present. The layered narrative brings forth themes such as the cyclical patterns of her family’s tragic history, the lingering trauma from her child’s birth, and artefacts of a stagnant marriage, culminating in a transformation both unnervingly real and humorously absurd.
Miranda July, in "All Fours," presents a tapestry of life that melds trivial daily humor with profound personal history, examining individual identity within familial and societal frameworks. The novel is marked by moments of comedic relief which, rather than detracting, enrich the narrative’s heavier emotional undertones. This technique is emblematic of July’s storytelling prowess, noted as well in her acclaimed debut, "The First Bad Man."
"All Fours" is published by Canongate and is available for purchase at £20, offering a narrative that promises vast scope and a keen examination of life’s multifaceted emotions through July’s distinctly playful yet poignant prose.