All Fours: A Novel

Written by Miranda July

Narrated by Miranda July

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: May 14, 2024
• ISBN: 9780593828977

Miranda July

Miranda July is a writer, filmmaker, and artist. Her debut novel, The First Bad Man, was an instant New York Times bestseller, and her collection of stories, No One Belongs Here More Than You, won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and has been published in twenty-three countries. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Harper’s, and The New Yorker, and she is also the author of the novel All Fours, a finalist for the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction. In 2025 she was named one of the 100 most influential people by Time and received a Guggenheim Fellowship. July lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews for All Fours

[Rene · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

As much as I wanted to like this story… I was a DNF at chapter 12. Besides grammatically disorienting, I could not muster up an iota of empathy for any character. For the first time ever I looked up the ending to make sure I wasn’t missing out on anything. So relieved I did and saved so much time.

[angellaj.alchemist · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful writing. It takes a minute to get used to the audio (listen at 1.2 speed or higher), but after a few minutes, you get used to the cadence and insider perspective of the author, and you're hooked. It's a great depiction of what it's like to be in perimenopause and the many aspects of navigating mid-life. I really enjoyed this book.

[muddyboy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a novel about obsession and freedom in my opinion. The protagonist is a married woman with a small son but decides to take a cross county trip by car for a job where she meets a much younger man, develops a relationship and is totally smitten to the point that for much of the novel she is trying to continue the relationship even though her boy toy has moved on to another woman. As her relationship with her husband sours she and her spouse develop a creative way to stay together.

[jscape2000 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Maybe this was even good? But certainly did not live up to the hype.

[Sherrill Smith Hudson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very mixed feelings about this one. Appreciated the actual writing craft but couldn’t embrace the characters or the underlying premise. It m confused about why though. I guess that means it was skillfully thought provoking but I didn’t like the thoughts it provoked.

[paulahart-60603 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

All I will say is that this book won't make much sense to any woman under the age of 40.

[kylekatz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

2024. This was well written and entertaining. I can’t exactly say I liked it. The main character seemed annoying and unstable. I didn’t like her and I was continually surprised by her every thought and action. She was human and flawed, which felt believable in some way and not believable because I wanted to yell at her a lot. It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. There was kind of a lot of sex. Or a lot of almost sex, talking about sex, thinking about sex, and masturbating. It was so heteronormative for a book about a bisexual. The ending felt a little tacked on and unsatisfying. I didn’t believe the main character had the ability to fundamentally change. I think this book is a good read, but basically meaningless fluff. Oh, except for menopause. So much good stuff about menopause. And kudos for the nonbinary child too. The whole effect was a little bit like the L Word. Hollywood lesbians are not the real world, and it’s hard to relate to them.

[kalliegrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars, I should have guessed this would but quite be for me when within the first few sentences the main character says "no, please, bother me!". Absolutely not, leave me alone.
I enjoy the writing, and this definitely takes you strange places, but I don't think an open marriage is ever going to be understandable to me.

[kayanelson · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I stopped reading shortly before part 1 ended. I just didn’t lime the protagonist. I jumped ahead a little to see where the story was headed and also read a few reviews.

[nivramkoorb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Based on the reviews I read this. The subject is first person with a nameless narrator. This is a device that many novels use now. Not sure what this adds to the book. The main character is a 45 year old L.A woman who is a minor celebrity as a multi-dimensional artist. She is married to Harris who is a music producer and has a 7 year non-binary they named Sam. Very LA. On a road trip to New York she diverts to Monrovia about 20 minutes from her home and begins a 3 week stay at a local Motel which she decorates while becoming fixated a young man(Davey) who works at Hertz. She lies to her husband about where she is. She is totally into her freedom but it is so over the top that I had trouble buying into her trip. July is an excellent writer and the book has lots of humor but the main characters focus on herself is so overwhelming that at the end it is hard to connect with her mid life crisis. The appeal of this book. may be generational as I am older and a product of a long stable marriage. This book deals with alternative relationships beside marriage. I suggest reading some reviews about it and see if it appeals to to you. Doubt if I would read anything by the author.

[mav1n1libby · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was not what I expected at all. Some things I could relate to being a 40-ish year old female, but sometimes going into books blind can throw you for a loop and this one certainly did. I enjoyed some parts because I could relate to them. And others, I was just like what road did I just go down? I rated it a 3. Middle of the road. I read it a bit ago, so I can't remember all the details anymore either. But the woman was a bit crazy. How she redecorated an entire hotel room. I was like, what is happening? And then she hooked up with a woman, I remember that. But then I think she was or wanted to hook up with the younger guy. And she was married. And she was supposed to be in New York City, but instead she was at this hotel room not far from her house, redecorating it. I related to some things and then completely confused in others!

[dcoward_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't think I received from this what others seem to have. I didn't dislike it, but from the quotes "spawned a whisper network of women fantasying about desire and freedom" I expected something a little sexier.

[dooney-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I get how this novel has become so popular, and it speaks to many experiences while at the same time being completely outside other experiences. Beautifully written, thought-provoking, provocative, but I think it is ultimately very much of the moment and ultimately forgettable. Will I want to pick it up in five years? in ten? who knows. At the moment I am unconvinced. And my own criteria for a good book is how much more depth is discovered on the reread.

[shazjhb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What was this book about. Menopause, serious birth issues, bisexuality, marriages, love, dancing, decorating rooms, road trip, sex, strange relationships, teaching sex, etc etc. it was if the author thought she would never write another book and so threw in everything

[vive_livre · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I should say upfront that Miranda July is definitely not cup of tea. Her twee style of movies and writing send me running but, I was compelled to read her latest novel due to the reviews, and I did enjoy it far more than expected.

The saccharine tendencies of her previous work have been tamed somewhat and this works to her benefit (or at least my benefit).

This is a book with a lot of midlife sex & midlife anxiety. Humor too. I enjoyed it.

[libraryhead · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well written and interesting, but I hated the main character so much.

[spiritedstardust · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3

Bi Wife and mother in her forties decides to renovate a motel room and get freaky deaky with some married dancer dude and calls it love.
I am not a fan of infidelity/adultery books unless the writing is phenomenal or it makes sense for the story.
This reminded me of Melissa Broder but more icky. The tampon/pee scene was gag worthy - I get that it was meant to symbolise their intimacy and be something they only experienced with each other but

[tanyatomato · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Thank you for holding my hand through this story Miranda.