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Quick answer: If you read All Fours, read Miranda July's The First Bad Man, then Fleishman Is in Trouble, Heartburn, Weather and The Days of Abandonment. All are bold, funny novels about women in midlife, desire and the strange things we do to feel alive.
Miranda July's 2024 novel follows a forty-five-year-old artist who sets out on a road trip, stops in a motel near home and upends her marriage and sense of self. It is frank, comic and sexually explicit. Please note it contains adult themes. The books below share its candid voices, domestic unrest and offbeat honesty.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The First Bad Man | Miranda July | Adult | more July |
| No One Belongs Here More Than You | Miranda July | Adult | short stories |
| Fleishman Is in Trouble | Taffy Brodesser-Akner | Adult | modern marriage |
| Heartburn | Nora Ephron | Adult | funny betrayal |
| Outline | Rachel Cusk | Adult | conversations as novel |
| Motherhood | Sheila Heti | Adult | deciding about children |
| The Days of Abandonment | Elena Ferrante | Adult | marital collapse |
| Weather | Jenny Offill | Adult | fragments of anxiety |
| Dept. of Speculation | Jenny Offill | Adult | marriage in fragments |
| The Years | Annie Ernaux | Adult | memoir as time |
| Vladimir | Julia May Jonas | Adult | desire and campus |
| My Year of Rest and Relaxation | Ottessa Moshfegh | Adult | numbed existence |
| The Bell Jar | Sylvia Plath | Adult | classic breakdown |
| Mrs. Bridge | Evan S. Connell | Adult | quiet portrait |
| Pizza Girl | Jean Kyoung Frazier | Adult | restless young woman |
1. The First Bad Man by Miranda July
A lonely woman's ordered life is upset by a new housemate. Strange, tender and original.
Best for: more July.
2. No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July
July's first collection about misfits and longing. Quirky and deeply humane.
Best for: short stories.
3. Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
A divorced doctor is left with his children, and the story shifts to a surprising point of view. Sharp and honest.
Best for: modern marriage.
4. Heartburn by Nora Ephron
A cookbook writer discovers her husband's affair. Witty, bitter and delicious.
Best for: funny betrayal.
5. Outline by Rachel Cusk
A writer listens to people she meets during a trip to Athens. Cool, precise and original.
Best for: conversations as novel.
6. Motherhood by Sheila Heti
A woman debates whether to have a child. Reflective and unconventional.
Best for: deciding about children.
7. The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante
A woman unravels after her husband leaves. Raw, intense and unforgettable.
Best for: marital collapse.
8. Weather by Jenny Offill
A librarian worries about family, politics and the climate. Short, funny and sharp.
Best for: fragments of anxiety.
9. Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
A marriage is told in short, striking pieces. Poetic and heartbreaking.
Best for: marriage in fragments.
10. The Years by Annie Ernaux
Ernaux tells a life through photos and memories. A Nobel-winning author at her best.
Best for: memoir as time.
11. Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
A professor becomes obsessed with a colleague. Dark, funny and daring.
Best for: desire and campus.
12. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
A young woman tries to sleep through a year in New York. Dark and funny.
Best for: numbed existence.
13. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
A young woman unravels during a summer in New York. Honest and enduring.
Best for: classic breakdown.
14. Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell
A woman's constrained life in 1930s-40s Kansas City told in short vignettes. Subtle and sharp.
Best for: quiet portrait.
15. Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier
A pregnant pizza delivery girl becomes obsessed with a customer. Funny and tender.
Best for: restless young woman.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with All Fours: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
How to Choose
For more July choose The First Bad Man or her stories. For funny betrayals pick Heartburn or Fleishman Is in Trouble. For fragmentary, intelligent novels try Weather, Dept. of Speculation or Outline. For raw emotion read The Days of Abandonment. For classic midlife restlessness read Mrs. Bridge. All Fours is explicit, so choose your next book with that in mind. Book clubs often pair All Fours with Fleishman Is in Trouble and Weather, since all three explore what women are allowed to want at different ages. If you like the confessional, funny tone, Heartburn and Fleishman Is in Trouble are the easiest follow-ups. If you like the experimental form, Weather and Outline are short and unusual. If you want to read more midlife fiction, Mrs. Bridge shows an earlier version of a woman's constrained life. Audiobooks can help with July's conversational voice.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is All Fours about?
A middle-aged artist leaves for a road trip, stalls near home and reconsiders her marriage and desires.
Who wrote it?
Miranda July.
When was it published?
2024.
Is it explicit?
Yes, with frank sexual content.
Is it funny?
Yes, in a dry, uncomfortable way.
Did it win awards?
It was widely praised and named on several best-of-year lists.
Is it a quick read?
It is around 330 pages but reads fast.
What should I read next?
Try The First Bad Man or Heartburn.
Is All Fours a comedy?
It is funny, but also emotional and often uncomfortable.
Is All Fours based on a true story?
It is fiction, though many readers connect it with July's themes of art, marriage and desire.