Beautifully strange, strangely beautiful

I loved this book!

Full of odd, funny imagery.
Interesting characters just this side of acceptably bizarre.
So dirty at times I had to switch to headphones even inside the house!
The narration was fantastic.
Book hangover for days & desire to read everything July has ever written...

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So funny - brilliantly read

Bizarre, brilliant, deeply funny while also being kind of heart-breaking. Author reads and she is perfect. Very dry, unusual comic manner.

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an amazing story so much better to hear

absolutely relentlessly inventive and incisive story that Miranda July's reading takes to the next level by revealing and allowing the humour to show through.

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Absolute brilliant story telling

It's been such a long time since a book has truly surprised me and this is one of those. Not through plot but the story itself. The protagonist is complex and weird and lovable in a way I just didn't expect. I also love the imperfect nature of the characters. The story is free from cliche and covers modern love and family and womanhood. I love July's performance too. If you haven't already, you should read All Fours after this.

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Funny and disturbing

A unique literary voice, a story like no other. Funny, disturbing, intriguing and touching. A very human story. July rocks.

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4 people found this helpful

Loved it

The strangest book I have ever ‘read’ but it was compelling. A bit graphic in places which made for an uncomfortable listen but it became clear that this was an important part of the development of the story.

Well read by the author. I’m not sure if anyone else could have given it the justice it deserved.

*Spoiler alert*
It had the ending I was hoping for. Made me teary, just as the imagined scene had earlier in the book.

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A phenomenal book

This is an incredible read/listen. To hear Miranda July performing the book herself is great, with all her iconic expressions and inflections.

The story itself edges just up to bizarre but still manages to feel grounded. The way the plot weaves and pulls together is masterful and I had a tear in my eye by the end. Maybe even did a little air punch for Cheryl!

I can't recommend it enough. It's up there, definitely one of my top ten.

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1 person found this helpful

What it is to be alive

It has moments of weirdness, but in the end it is touching and very human. I enjoyed it.

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Wonderfully weird and intimate

I loved this book, and everything else I've heard or read from Miranda July. Her characters are strange, troubled, deeply flawed, and endearing, and she reveals their inner worlds in very relatable way

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Anything but kooky

What made the experience of listening to The First Bad Man the most enjoyable?

It is always special when a writer reads their own work, but July's use of tone and verbal inflection is so important in her writing that it was exciting to hear what kind of voice *she* imagined for each character, how this whisper would sound or that shout.

What other book might you compare The First Bad Man to, and why?

This is difficult as July has such a unique style, but perhaps Camus' 'The Stranger' or Calvino's 'If on a winter's night'? Narratively and structurally 'The First Bad Man' is completely different to both books, but they come the closest to the slightly disturbing, hallucinatory, disconnected, dream-like feeling that July conveys so well.

Which character – as performed by Miranda July – was your favourite?

Probably Cheryl herself - July performs her with enormous empathy and kindness.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There we moments when I almost wanted to stop listening - some of the sexual imagery is very graphic and the violence can be unnerving...but - without revealing what happens - the end of the book made me punch the air with delight. I want to listen to the whole thing all over again.

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11 people found this helpful