Recommended by the Reviewers Club

All Fours, by Miranda July

Cover of All Fours, by Miranda July.

This book has been described by many as hilarious, erotic, sexy, horny, creative and realistic. It has also been described by many as ridiculous, smutty, pornographic, sad and vulgar. This very graphic novel is definitely not for everyone. There are explicit sex scenes and lots of profanity.

The title is described towards the end of the novel. Whilst chatting to her best friend, Jordi, whom is a sculptor she suddenly notices a green marble figure veined with black and asks: “Is this new?” Her friend replies: “It’s been here for months.” It’s a headless woman on her hands and knees. “Everyone thinks it’s doggy style so is vulnerable,” Jordi said, “but it’s actually the most stable position. Like a table. It’s hard to be knocked down when you’re on all fours.”

If it wasn’t for writing this review, I probably wouldn’t have finished this novel. There is nothing remotely interesting about it. The author tries to make it erotic, but the sex scenes are totally uncomfortable and gross. It references plenty about aging and menopause, but I didn’t find anything funny in fact I thought it was ridiculous. There were plenty of great themes to work with in this novel: gender identity, birth trauma with infant death, PTST, suicide, and depression. Instead, the protagonist went on this gross, erotic, soul searching journey which made menopause look like a psychotic episode.

2.5/5 Stars