All Fours by Miranda July audiobook review – the frank, sexy novel everyone's been talking about
In the second novel by writer, actor and film-maker Miranda July, a nameless Los Angeles-based artist who has had success 'in several mediums' leaves behind her husband, Harris, and their young child, Sam, to drive across America. She is due at a meeting in New York and has decided to get there via a leisurely road trip. But what starts off as a fleeting break from the mundanity of marriage and motherhood turns into a wild and wonderfully odd unravelling. Just half an hour into her journey, she impulsively leaves the freeway and checks into a scruffy motel. There she is electrified by a younger car hire worker who has 'a Huckleberry Finn/Gilbert Blythe look that I used to flip out over as a teenager.' After the two lock eyes while he squeegees her windscreen (not a euphemism), she decides to pursue him in an unusually chaste love affair.
All Fours – which has been shortlisted for this year's Women's Prize for fiction – is narrated by July whose pacy, hypnotic reading skilfully evokes the internal monologue of her protagonist, who pinballs between drily funny and existentially bereft. The book has been called a menopause novel on the basis that it centres on a 45-year-old dismayed at being halfway through her life and past her peak (both her grandmother and aunt killed themselves and she worries she is next in line). But there's more than just dwindling oestrogen in this frank and subversive tale which reflects on desire, freedom and creativity, and shines a light on the complex inner life of a woman.
Available via Canongate, 10hr 13min
Maternity ServiceEmma Barnett, Penguin Audio, 1hr 50min
The Today presenter narrates her manifesto for rethinking women's maternity leave based on her own experiences on motherhood's 'frontline'.
Sign up to Inside Saturday
The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend.
after newsletter promotion
Character LimitKate Conger and Ryan Mac, Penguin Audio, 15hr 20min
This blistering behind-the-scenes account of Elon Musk's catastrophic Twitter takeover is read by Edoardo Ballerini.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
41 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
JoJo Siwa's ex Kath Ebbs gets very close with Apple Cider Vinegar actress Aisha Dee as they enjoy a night out in LA - and star together in steamy new G Flip music video
Kath Ebbs and actress Aisha Dee appeared to be getting very close and cosy on Friday night as they went out line-dancing in Los Angeles. The Aussie stars could be seen cuddling up on the dance-floor and swaying seductively together as they enjoyed a night out at a Stud Country event. In videos shared to Instagram, Kath, 27, danced with their friends, with one clip showing Aisha, 31, behind them as they grabbed their hips and swayed together. Kath, who recently split from US star JoJo Siwa, appeared to lean into the touch and sang the lyrics 'I'm a slave for you' to the Apple Cider Vinegar star. Moments later in the same clip, Kath could be seen dancing with the same affection with their other friend musician Gatlin. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Kath Ebbs and actress Aisha Dee appeared to be getting very close and cosy on Friday night as they went out line-dancing in Los Angeles It's not the first time Kath and Aisha have been seen getting close, as the pair starred together in G Flip's new all-queer star-cast music video Big Ol' Hammer. The clip briefly saw the friends together, with Kath admiring and squeezing Aisha's muscles as she flexed her arm. G Flip's new song releases on June 11, with the music video jam packed with queer celebrity cameos as they dance and kiss in a mechanics shop. The video begins: 'In the heart of Scissortown, where the streets are wet and the dreams are bold, join G Flip and the crew on a journey of friendship, rebellion, and the horsepower of pride. 'This summer, G Flip has a tool belt with a big ol' hammer!' The non-binary artist can be seen wearing a white tank top as they show off their biceps and dance around with the other queer stars in the shop. As well as Kath and Aisha, other stars appearing in the clip include comedian Fortune Feimster, TikTok star Kate Hina Sabatine, musician Siena Liggins, and model Olly Eley. The L Word star Jacqueline Toboni, songwriter Julianne Hope, YouTuber Shannon Beveridge, and songwriter Jesse Thomas were also included. It's not the first time Kath and Aisha have been seen getting close, as the pair starred together in G Flip's new all-queer star-cast music video Big Ol' Hammer Kath's outing with Aisha comes after after her ex JoJo, 22, confirmed her relationship with Celebrity Big Brother co-star Chris Hughes. JoJo and Chris, 32, formed a close bond during their 19-day stint in the house earlier this year, with viewers convinced there was more to their friendship. After leaving the house in April, JoJo broke up with Kath at the CBB wrap party, but went on to insist Chris was not to blame and their relationship was strictly platonic. However, JoJo confirmed last month she's made her relationship with Chris official, as she gushed she's 'head over heels' for him after weeks of speculation. While JoJo has been grilled many times on her relationship status, she had been noticeably coy, simply branding Chris her 'favourite person in the world'. But in a new interview with Capital Radio, JoJo confirmed she and Chris have made their relationship official, and she's started calling him her boyfriend. Speaking in a video for the channel's new series Capital Buzz, the dancer admitted she's had to explain her viral 'dream guest on my podcast' moment to Chris. She then added: 'I'm sure it's no secret to people, I am in a lovely relationship with a sweet boy named Christopher Hughes.'
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
What we know so far about Glasgow's newest culture hub
Clydeside Containers, a food, drink, and culture venue, is set to launch at 61 Broomielaw this summer. The venue aims to become a new Glasgow city centre landmark and anticipates to attract high footfall due to its location next to the Riverboat Casino on the Broomielaw. 3D-renders of Clydeside Containers (Image: Supplied) Read more: Glasgow to host romantic candlelight concert based on hit Netflix show Constructed entirely from modified shipping containers, the venue will include an open-plan bar, six independent food vendors, a breakfast kitchen, and flexible space for public events, performances, and activations. The venue's retractable roof will shelter some of Glasgow's best street food, alongside a curated drinks menu featuring major spirits brands, beer, and affordable classics. Food vendors set to feature at the venue include the Crumbleologist, Pizza Cult, Café XO, Rabbit Food, Greek Street Yeeros, and Sub 126. Meanwhile, the final unit within the hub is set to become a rotating guest pitch, showcasing independent traders and pop-ups. Any operator looking for a chance to highlight their concepts at the venue are encouraged to apply online here: Clydeside Containers is also designed to become a cultural hub with community programming, live podcasts, acoustic sessions, and up to 12 larger live music events planned for every year. The venue has partnered with organisations such as the RNLI to become a Water Safety Ambassador, with more partnerships to be announced. 3D-renders of Clydeside Containers (Image: Supplied) Read more: New park could become 'destination' attraction for Glasgow families The team behind Clydeside Containers is made up of Glasgow-based hospitality operators and cultural creatives with experience in delivering successful venues and community-driven projects. It is led by the team behind venues like Max's Bar, La Cheetah Club, Mikaku, and Room 2. The venue will be open seven days a week, starting with breakfast from 7am on weekdays, with core hours running until 10pm. An official opening date is due to be announced soon, with a full launch expected in late summer.
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Why your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man gives you the ‘ick' factor
That shimmering street grid, and those sandstone bases of unbuilt skyscrapers, will host the most everyday superhero of the current Marvel Universe. Everyday, in every way. It's not just Peter Parker's tentative romance with Mary Jane Watson (and her variants), or his wracked grief on the deaths of his adoptive parents, or his humdrum job as a freelance photographer. But it's also his powers; they too partake of the everyday. In his earliest incarnation, Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, escaped from an experiment. Spider-Man first appears in the nuclear-haunted, cold-warring mid-60s, where the lingering effects of radiation on babies and animals were well known. Not to mention the beginning of plausible genetic engineering. Watching the precursor to the forthcoming Glasgow-based movie, 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, it's notable that all the villains assembled – Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Sandman, Lizard, Electro – have gained their malevolent powers through exposure to radiation, or biological/cyborg experiment. Just like Spider-Man. READ MORE: 'Ludicrous': BBC bias claims reignite as majority of panellists back Labour Doth this 'good' mutant protest too much against the 'bad' ones? The citizens are consigned to the role of spectators (or squished collateral damage) as these super-humans fight for supremacy. No amount of Peter Parker homeliness – he is your 'friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man', after all, happiest when arresting street thugs – can hide his posthuman weirdery. No Way Home might be the eighth-biggest-grossing movie of all time, but it's lame in the way it resolves this tension – where body modification turns towards good or ill. Parker and friends test-tube up some remedies for the villains, transforming them back into their humdrum, benign human selves. But then Doctor Strange – played by a somnolent Benedict Cumberbatch – has to then 'magic' them back into the parallel universes they've come from. The current Spidey-verse – with a guileless Tom Holland in the title role – is, at this late stage in the Marvel franchise, a bewildering mix of superpowers. Under the techno-influence of Tony Stark, the old struggles with the Spidey costume – stitching it together, hauling it on, repairing rips – are now an automated swoosh from suit to suit. There's also a very funny sequence where previous Spider-Men from parallel universes (Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield) explore their web-making powers. Garfield and Holland have to keep refilling their cartridges, while Maguire produces it subcutaneously from his wrist (which was creator Stan Lee's original mutation). 'Does it come out anywhere else?' asks Holland guilelessly. This is a nod to the obvious metaphor: the yearning young adult Parker suddenly suffers a condition where white sticky fluid unpredictably erupts everywhere … The actors are given enough room to riff on it. So we're laughing, these days. But I don't think any amount of irony and eyebrow-raised referencing can reduce the essential strangeness of Spider-Man – and for that matter, X-Men, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Black Widow, Ant-Man, I could go on. All of them are the victims of science and technology either gone wrong, or consciously applied to the body, resulting in imposed or desired superpowers. As the box office shows, the appetite is there for stories, however fantastic, of human biomodification. You could render them as giant compensation fantasies. We're coping with our everyday sense of bodily vulnerability to the outcomes of sci-tech, through entertainments that show us gaining power from it – not being polluted and made more fragile and dependent by it. Yet it strikes me that we are much more resistant to the transformations of bioscience than we are to the transformations of AI and automation. We consume all manner of creative narratives, both desirable and cautionary, about computers becoming conscious or purposeful – and it all seems more like a lubricant to the spread of AI in our lives than an inhibitor. When it comes to us and our bags of skin, however, we're just not as embracing of the radical bio-changes that the superheroes undergo, willingly or unwillingly. The safest vector is through disability or health. The pills and therapies that suppress appetite, attack viruses, enable pregnancies, and (who knows) slow down cell decay to prolong life. Even that avatar of techno-weirdness, Elon Musk, who wants to neurologically link brains and computers, does so first in service of the paralysed, giving them some much-needed agency and purchase in the material world. Yet we appear to have an unarticulated, deeply-set norm that kicks back against too much of this. The 'ick' factor is certainly present. Take the Enhanced Games that took place in Singapore the other week. Sportspersons competed in athletics which ignored the fuzzy line between legal performance-enhancing substances and illegal ones. But the games languished under waves of aversive, sometimes even revulsed press coverage. So we revel in the superheroic cavortings of cyborgs and mutants on our screens, while objecting to already finely-calibrated athletic bodies taking a few seconds off a track record, by expanding the pharmacopoeia of their drugs. I'm not complaining! Indeed, I'm desperately grateful that there seems to be some kind of natural, intuitive limit to the kinds of transformations we moderns of the 2020s are willing to undergo. Even the blockbuster entertainments are telling us something obvious, as the Earth is (yet again) threatened with total annihilation in their narratives. Which is that it ultimately, terminally matters how we humans consciously deploy our transforming powers in the world. I will admit to enjoying these bionic characters as modern mythological gods, cartoonishly laying out important dilemmas for us. However, I sometimes crave sci-fi tales in a much subtler register. Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go is interesting to set alongside these bombastic tales. In its way, it's hardly less monstrous. The whole society in this novel is stable, settled, orderly and utterly cruel: the institutionalised children in it are clones, being grown to adulthood so that they their organs can be harvested for clients. The supportive relationships that comprise much of the novel are to support the weakening young adults, as they are weakened by the surgeries they undergo. This is body modification, but all about submission to the process, accommodating its demands. It's far from radiation, gene therapy or prosthetics enabling you to leap tall buildings with a single bound. Bio-heroes in the blockbusters conduct their sparring in the public sphere, as if they're conducting an oblique argument about the society they're in. For No Way Home, they literally battle across the surface of a scaffolded Statue of Liberty. They're also constantly pursued by an Alex-Jones-like vlogger, casting Spidey as a public enemy. In Never Let Me Go, the bio-subjects are held in a pastoral enclosure, erased from the world that depends on their sacrifice. The crowds gawp at the superheroes: faced with Ishiguro's bureaucratic horror, the crowds avert their eyes. The superheroes at least ask: What happens when your body has power and potential, when what you can do with it amplifies your agency? Ishiguro asks: what happens when the body simply becomes somebody's property? The Spider-Man producer Amy Pascal says the new film will be about 'Peter Parker going to focus on being Spider-Man, because being Peter Parker was too hard'. Cute: his pursuit of Zendaya, as his girlfriend with a now wiped memory of him, will no doubt humanise the story. But Spider-Man – and we haven't even touched on arachnophobia (or is that arachnophilia?) – is properly odd, if you scrutinise him closely enough, and line him up with all his bionic pals. There are important tensions about humanity, technology and the future, hidden behind that bug-eyed mask.
