All Fours

Author: Miranda July

Rating: ⭐ 2/5

Date Read: 2025/03/22

Pages: 333

This book is insufferable.

All Fours is competently written but lacks substance. Its entire schtick is that it’s edgy. I probably would have pretended to like it when I was 25 and trying too hard.

Sometimes conventional and ordinary people cultivate friendships with quirky, artsy people to make themselves feel interesting. All Fours is the book version of that, an ogling caricature of a manic-pixie dream friend that exists to be viewed (and lightly judged) from the perspective of someone who is deeply boring.

All Fours is ultimately a book about a privileged middle-aged white woman who says outrageous things and who sees working class people as less-than (when she deigns to see them at all). If I wanted that kind of story, I’d be better served by watching Real Housewives on Bravo. At least those shows are edited to be entertaining.