Kelsey - I am simultaneously obsessed and also temporarily in need of a break from motherhood books. I recently read A Life's Work by Rachel Cusk, All Fours by MJ, etc. I see Nightbitch referenced by so many readers I admire but I don't think I am in the space to read another take on breastfeeding and sleepless nights. However, your Art Monster reference has me intrigued... is the book more about THAT?
It’s a very interesting book - definitely about motherhood and being a wife but in a very surrealist way. It’s conceptual and strange and much more concerned with the main character’s interior life than the mundane details, in my recollection. Having now read All Fours, it seems quite similar to that except even more fantastical and unreal. I liked it a lot, and it’s also not very long - I’d recommend giving it a try!!
All Fours knocked me off my feet as well. Men have been writing books with similarly “unmanageable” male characters for ages. More public discourse about the freedom in menopause highlights how women experience creativity across the lifespan and phases of partnerships. I appreciate the connections you make to 20th century feminist art movements and Judy Chicago, who explicitly decided to remain child free to focus on her art.
Thanks, Abra! I’m glad you enjoyed both the book and my take on it. It’s been so enlightening to discover more narratives around the creative effects of menopause and women’s lives. Judy C is a legend! :)
This is such an insightful and well-written piece. All Fours sounds like such a profound and unique book, it’s great to see more books that look at menopause and mid-age. I love the links you’ve made here between other feminist pioneers and that fascinating idea of “art monsters”. Thank you for sharing :)
Thank you so much! :) Yes, it is totally unique…and profound. I can’t even quite put it into words (although I tried in this essay!) Thank you for reading :)
I’ve been wondering about possible connections between All Fours and Djuna Barnes’ Nightwood, potentially? Also going to check out the podcast you’ve recommended. What a novel!
Also worth mentioning/little fyi: you write that July’s narrator refuses to gender her child, but she also states that Sam is non-binary, so this is less a grammatical/narrative refusal, and actually the correct use of Sam’s pronouns and identity! July herself also has a trans kid and she and her ex have spoken really supportively about the rights of trans youth.
You have increased my to-be-read, and my to-be-watched, lists Kate!
Thank you for this essay pulling all the strands together and bringing it bang up to date. I've always loved Miranda July's stories and had been menaing to get hold of her novel. Recently I saw a woman reading it in the middle of a music festival, so wrapped up in it that she was oblivious to her surroundings!
The same theme connects women writers and artists: how to claim space for their creativity. It has taken me until well into my post-menopausal years to achieve this, but I think it's a growing trend and maybe a social movement.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments, Kathy! I think it’s so wonderful to hear that you are claiming your creativity now, and this is why it is so important to keep sharing the stories of women, so that we can all learn from one another. I love the image of the woman reading the book in the middle of a music festival!! :)
I am obsessed with this essay. One of things that I have been struggling to describe but you do so well here is how All Fours (but also Lauren Elkin's work, and Chicago's)... does such an amazing job refusing to reduce the midlife experience to any ONE thing. It IS about sexual awakening but it's also not about that at all. It is about the physical changes we go through... but also, not at all. It's about giving yourself fully to your deepest creative/professional fantasies but also feeling primal (feral?!) in your body. Goosebumps reading this and adding the Netflix documentary in my queue. I can't believe I've missed it somehow.
I am so glad you enjoyed the essay, Petya, as you convinced me to read the book with such conviction! I really wanted to do it justice. You are so right that it is about so many things, and I think your choice of the word “feral” is spot on! The documentary is amazing, especially the photography of the women from the 1970s 💕
I used one of her short stories from her brilliant collection in my MFA thesis. Her other novel, The First Bad Man, features an obsessive character. July really nails it.
That phrase Art Monster always reminds me of Nightbitch!
Haha, not read it but looks amazing! :)
I think you would like it!
Kelsey - I am simultaneously obsessed and also temporarily in need of a break from motherhood books. I recently read A Life's Work by Rachel Cusk, All Fours by MJ, etc. I see Nightbitch referenced by so many readers I admire but I don't think I am in the space to read another take on breastfeeding and sleepless nights. However, your Art Monster reference has me intrigued... is the book more about THAT?
It’s a very interesting book - definitely about motherhood and being a wife but in a very surrealist way. It’s conceptual and strange and much more concerned with the main character’s interior life than the mundane details, in my recollection. Having now read All Fours, it seems quite similar to that except even more fantastical and unreal. I liked it a lot, and it’s also not very long - I’d recommend giving it a try!!
All Fours knocked me off my feet as well. Men have been writing books with similarly “unmanageable” male characters for ages. More public discourse about the freedom in menopause highlights how women experience creativity across the lifespan and phases of partnerships. I appreciate the connections you make to 20th century feminist art movements and Judy Chicago, who explicitly decided to remain child free to focus on her art.
Thanks, Abra! I’m glad you enjoyed both the book and my take on it. It’s been so enlightening to discover more narratives around the creative effects of menopause and women’s lives. Judy C is a legend! :)
What a wonderfully researched and written piece. I need to increase my reading horizons now.
I can definitely recommend a few books for you… :)
This essay makes me want to run out to the bookshop - thank you for this recommendation and the fascinating insights!
Good! Thanks for reading :)
This is such an insightful and well-written piece. All Fours sounds like such a profound and unique book, it’s great to see more books that look at menopause and mid-age. I love the links you’ve made here between other feminist pioneers and that fascinating idea of “art monsters”. Thank you for sharing :)
Thank you so much! :) Yes, it is totally unique…and profound. I can’t even quite put it into words (although I tried in this essay!) Thank you for reading :)
I’ve been wondering about possible connections between All Fours and Djuna Barnes’ Nightwood, potentially? Also going to check out the podcast you’ve recommended. What a novel!
Oh, not read Nightwood! Will have to check that one out, thanks :)
Also worth mentioning/little fyi: you write that July’s narrator refuses to gender her child, but she also states that Sam is non-binary, so this is less a grammatical/narrative refusal, and actually the correct use of Sam’s pronouns and identity! July herself also has a trans kid and she and her ex have spoken really supportively about the rights of trans youth.
Thanks, Tia. I have to admit, I don’t recall July stating that Sam is non-binary in the novel, I must have missed that.
You have increased my to-be-read, and my to-be-watched, lists Kate!
Thank you for this essay pulling all the strands together and bringing it bang up to date. I've always loved Miranda July's stories and had been menaing to get hold of her novel. Recently I saw a woman reading it in the middle of a music festival, so wrapped up in it that she was oblivious to her surroundings!
The same theme connects women writers and artists: how to claim space for their creativity. It has taken me until well into my post-menopausal years to achieve this, but I think it's a growing trend and maybe a social movement.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments, Kathy! I think it’s so wonderful to hear that you are claiming your creativity now, and this is why it is so important to keep sharing the stories of women, so that we can all learn from one another. I love the image of the woman reading the book in the middle of a music festival!! :)
I am obsessed with this essay. One of things that I have been struggling to describe but you do so well here is how All Fours (but also Lauren Elkin's work, and Chicago's)... does such an amazing job refusing to reduce the midlife experience to any ONE thing. It IS about sexual awakening but it's also not about that at all. It is about the physical changes we go through... but also, not at all. It's about giving yourself fully to your deepest creative/professional fantasies but also feeling primal (feral?!) in your body. Goosebumps reading this and adding the Netflix documentary in my queue. I can't believe I've missed it somehow.
I am so glad you enjoyed the essay, Petya, as you convinced me to read the book with such conviction! I really wanted to do it justice. You are so right that it is about so many things, and I think your choice of the word “feral” is spot on! The documentary is amazing, especially the photography of the women from the 1970s 💕
Very thought-provoking, thank you Kate.
😀
This book fell off my radar, so I’m glad you wrote this. Miranda July’s work is so wild and so good.
Thanks, Linda! This is my first encounter with her work but wild is definitely the word I would use to describe it! 😀
I used one of her short stories from her brilliant collection in my MFA thesis. Her other novel, The First Bad Man, features an obsessive character. July really nails it.
I can't wait to check out her other work now! Thank you for reading 😀