The New York Times bestselling author of The First Bad Man returns with an irreverently sexy, tender, hilarious and literary novel about a woman upending her life

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
A BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS PICK
A BEST SUMMER READING PICK FOR THE TIMES, THE DAILY MAIL, THE FT AND THE GUARDIAN
A 2024 BOOK OF THE YEAR PICK FOR BBC R4 OPEN BOOK, THE OBSERVER, THE GUARDIAN, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE NEW YORKER, GQ, GRAZIA, HERO, i-D, NYLON, VULTURE, READINGS
A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST FICTIONAL VOICES OF 2024 PICK

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, beds down in a nondescript motel and immerses herself in a temporary reinvention that turns out to be the start of 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 45-year-old female artist, All Fours transcends expectations 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.

Details

ISBN13: 9781838853488
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 400
Edition: Main
Publication Date: 26 Aug 2025
Publisher: Canongate Books
Publication City, Country: Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 19.8(H)x12.9(L)x2.3(W)274
Weight (gm): 274

Author Biography

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. Her writing has appeared in the Paris Review, Harper's and the New Yorker. July lives in Los Angeles.

@mirandajuly | mirandajuly.com

Reviews

'A book of vast scope, taking in men and women, the mind and the body, and society and solitude. ... July is playing with expectations in a tradition that runs from Marguerite Duras through Christopher Isherwood to Rachel Cusk. But she's funnier and more peculiar than any of them' - The Observer
'Wry one-liners and and home truths that at times took my breath away. ... Kudos to July for writing about what it really feels like to experience sex and intimacy when you're no longer young' - Financial Times
'A guidebook to female liberation' - Telegraph
'July comes into her own [and] brings a new perspective . . . A menopause novel that's never boring' - Sunday Times
'Savvy introspection and bawdy comedy collide with exhilarating results' - Mail on Sunday
'A fresh, oestrogen-fuelled take on the midlife crisis, but the prose is smart, sharp and deliciously readable. It's sexy, it's funny, but it's also warm and tender in the best ways' - Prospect
'A witty, raw tale about freedom and reinvention' - iPaper
'Nobody sees the world as Miranda July does; her way of interacting with every human emotion, from rage to desire to heartbreak, is so unique as to be sometimes breathtaking, like her writing itself can be' - Buzz
'A frank novel about a midlife awakening, which is funnier and more boldly human than you ever quite expect....the bravery of All Fours is nothing short of riveting' - Vogue
"Fascinating, jarringly funny...and strangely powerful." - The Atlantic
'All Fours...showcases July's wry observational powers about marriage, sex, aging and creative workaholism, along with her bawdy and philosophical sense of humor.' - San Francisco Chronicle
'An irreverent and brilliantly touching story of a woman's quest for freedom' - Oprah Daily
'Atmospheric, sexy and totally unexpected' - People Magazine
'July's novel is hot and weird and captivating and one of the most entertaining, deranged, and moving depictions of lust and romantic mania I've ever read' - New York Magazine