Sign in with Facebook
Jonna Higgins-Freese's Reviews > All Fours
All Fours
by
by
As so often, I wish I could give different stars in different categories.
July's writing is flawless, propulsive, and laugh out loud funny.
She's telling a story (middle aged mother as erotic protagonist) that is too seldom told.
I read it in one night, staying up until 1:30AM to do so, which for this middled aged mother is a mark of high praise and willingness to set aside other critical tasks that needed to be done early the next morning.
And when I was done I felt like you do after eating too much Halloween candy: it tasted really good at the time, but afterwards you feel kind of empty and sick.
The title of this book could have been _Menopause for POPs (the Privileged One Percent)_.
The protagonist not only has no problems that can't be solved by fucking someone different while having different fantasies, she does not seem to be AWARE of any problems that can't be solved by fucking someone different while having different fantasies.
Actually, she doesn't seem that aware of other people (outside her nuclear family and occasionally her parents) at all, so I suppose it stands to reason that she might not be aware of their problems. That it's not normal to live in a house that's worth $1.8M (an oddly specific number thrown in at random, perhaps to impress us, because financial considerations never enter into her decision-making). That lots of people don't have houses to live in at all. That there are folks whose child care problems are not even partially solved by having a nanny. That, I don't know, climate change is happening.
Maybe part of the radicalism of the book is that it unapologetically puts the problem of women as artists in a misogynistic world front and center. But the problem of wealthy white American women as artists in a misogynistic world is a big problem for those who have it, but not that many have it.
July's writing is flawless, propulsive, and laugh out loud funny.
She's telling a story (middle aged mother as erotic protagonist) that is too seldom told.
I read it in one night, staying up until 1:30AM to do so, which for this middled aged mother is a mark of high praise and willingness to set aside other critical tasks that needed to be done early the next morning.
And when I was done I felt like you do after eating too much Halloween candy: it tasted really good at the time, but afterwards you feel kind of empty and sick.
The title of this book could have been _Menopause for POPs (the Privileged One Percent)_.
The protagonist not only has no problems that can't be solved by fucking someone different while having different fantasies, she does not seem to be AWARE of any problems that can't be solved by fucking someone different while having different fantasies.
Actually, she doesn't seem that aware of other people (outside her nuclear family and occasionally her parents) at all, so I suppose it stands to reason that she might not be aware of their problems. That it's not normal to live in a house that's worth $1.8M (an oddly specific number thrown in at random, perhaps to impress us, because financial considerations never enter into her decision-making). That lots of people don't have houses to live in at all. That there are folks whose child care problems are not even partially solved by having a nanny. That, I don't know, climate change is happening.
Maybe part of the radicalism of the book is that it unapologetically puts the problem of women as artists in a misogynistic world front and center. But the problem of wealthy white American women as artists in a misogynistic world is a big problem for those who have it, but not that many have it.
Sign into ŷ to see if any of your friends have read
All Fours.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Started Reading
May 31, 2024
– Shelved
May 31, 2024
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-10 of 10 (10 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Barbara
(new)
-
rated it 3 stars
Jun 05, 2024 06:22AM
“The title of this book could have been _Menopause for POPs (the Privileged One Percent)�-OMFG, yes! I wanted to love this book for so many reason, but I kept feeling a low-key rage and couldn’t quite put my finger on; this is the source of my rage. Thank you for pointing it out. I feel better now :)
reply
|
flag
This is the only negative review I agree with. I rode out the privilege and set it aside so still really loved the book, but this was in the back of my mind the entire time.
1,000%. And since we're on the topic of random numbers thrown in... the "106 pounds / 102 pounds" specificity really bothered me, too. Perhaps it was intentional?? But she could've easily been specific about the number of pounds lost vs. actual weight. Not sure if it was included due to lack of self-awareness or being TOO self-aware � or maybe she just thinks she should be able to state such a weight without shame. It still felt...icky.
And in reference to her very specific numbers. I kept trying to imagine a 102 pound woman deadlifting 80 pounds.
Bewildering that your critique of this book is that it doesn’t concern itself with homeless people or climate change. As if every novel should cover every type of issue or person??
I agree with Andrew B, if a book has a plodding plot, wooden characters, boring, trite language, unresolved conflict, too boring to even finish, etc…I get the two stars. But you read it in one night. Your issue is with the personality of the character in a book you couldn't put down, and you gave a talented author two stars to drag down her rating because you feltthe protagonist was over privileged? Youre feelings about these things are totally valid of course! And as an author and sexy, menopausal woman, I may not read this book now because of your thoughtful review. BUT that is not what the stars are
for, and if you read it in a night and it stayed with you enough to make you queasy and emotional and it was beautifully written and executed, maybe consider changing to a four star review with the same written review you have here, and reward the artist for what she probably
worked tirelessly for a year to achieve (a book you read in one night)? All best to you and happy holidays!
In fairness to July... the median home price in Los Angeles is now $1.6 million so her home is just a tad over the median. She may well have bought it 20 years ago when it was far less expensive (or another house she could have "traded up with"). BUT... yes, just to afford a median price home in LA makes a person very, very wealthy. You'd need an annual income of about $375,000 to afford such a home OR to have inherited most of that $1.6 million. That puts you in an extremely elite class -- the literal top 1% of all Americans.
For someone who is an artist, with a low output of products (when was that last film of hers? YEARS ago)... she has a lot of chutzpah to be bragging about this. And trust me when a MENOPAUSAL WOMAN weigh as much as a child (102 lbs???)... that's bragging and VERY rare. It is either an eating disorder OR she is only 4'6" tall.
I try really hard not to judge writers about their choice of subject matter. Wouldn’t we criticize Miranda July if she attempted to write about underprivileged women of color if the result was a novel that showed how out of touch she was with underprivileged women of color? I think we would; however, I found myself having the same response as you to this book. I found it nearly impossible to overlook the narrator’s privilege and seeming disconnect with even the smallest amount of what we would call real adversity. It was so disconnected for me that more than once, I was asking myself, out loud, “Is this a joke?� I’d appreciate the book so much more if it were satire.
I understand the reasoning for some of what happens. My kids are grown but there are days I just want to take off and see where it leads me. For me it was too much. I understand wanting more/different from a partner—almost crossed that 7 years ago but not worth it. For me it was just too much. Some have liked it and that’s great but definitely not for me
Just because her character has a normally priced home for her area and a job that gives her stability doesn't make it 2 stars because some people don't have this! Does every book have to be about starving children in china?? She also obviously has people she cares about because she reaches out to them quite often wanting their opinion on things, especially things like menopause that we don't get to talk about openly. I realize the book isn't for everyone , but your review puzzles me.
