The First Bad Man in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Nov 22, 2014 Jeff Scott rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, surreal, netgalley, short-books, female

I picked this up after listening to Miranda July read Janet Frame's "Prizes" on the New Yorker Podcast. I hadn't read any of Frame's work before, but I found a new uncollected work Between My Father and the King. Much of Frame's work is that eternal child looking at the adult world confused and fearful. Her writing, however, would get her through. July stated she was largely inspired by Frame. I also watched July's film The Future and enjoyed that as well. When I finally saw her book I picked it I picked this up after listening to Miranda July read Janet Frame's "Prizes" on the New Yorker Podcast. I hadn't read any of Frame's work before, but I found a new uncollected work Between My Father and the King. Much of Frame's work is that eternal child looking at the adult world confused and fearful. Her writing, however, would get her through. July stated she was largely inspired by Frame. I also watched July's film The Future and enjoyed that as well. When I finally saw her book I picked it up early on NetGalley. Her first novel, The First Bad Man, carries over many of the themes of Frame's work. However, in a very millennial way, she has an element of, "I don't know how to adult" aspect to her characters. They seem lost and not sure what the right thing is to do in their situation. Many could probably relate to Cheryl, but it wouldn't be a book by Miranda July of it didn't take really strange twists melding fantasy with reality.

Cheryl is a single 40-something year old woman who has been single for quite some time. She lives a quiet efficient existence working as a manager of a non-profit for women’s self-defense. She has a vivid imagination resulting in a relationship with Phillip (a major donor and board member at the non-profit) that goes back several lifetimes and a baby Kubelko Bondy that resides in many other babies. Much of the beginning of the book fleshes out these imaginary scenarios. It reminded me of Anne of Green Gables with Katie Maurice (Katie in the Glass) who is Anne’s imaginary friend who resides in every glass reflection she sees. It was an imaginary balm for her loneliness, but July’s approach to her character makes it more eccentric. This imaginary world is brought down by the introduction of Clee, a daughter of two of the founding board members who don’t know what to do with her. Her introduction would seemingly bring Cheryl out of her imagination, but it only makes it that much stranger. There are times where the reader is unsure what is imaginary and what is real and July can just skirt the boundaries without leaving the reader completely lost.

Miranda July’s films also can be hard to follow. There is a deeper meaning and she goes to bizarre lengths to make her point. In the film The Future, she uses an ill cat, a doomed relationship, and the ability to stop time. The film's main theme is that what's happening in the moment doesn’t mean that it will continue on that way forever (also one of the most poignant lines in the film, this isn’t the end; this is only the end of the beginning). In The First Bad Man, no one can prepare you for adulthood and yet you will be surprised at how adept you are in handling most situations. Fear of what to do next is a more of a paralyzing fear than what comes from taking action. In the end, Cheryl has these instincts as well, they have been there all along.

Favorite passages:

...because imitating crass people was kind of liberating, like acting like a child or a crazy person...p16

I popped her for being young without humility, when I had so much humility at her age~too much p. 67

This was the opposite of being mugged. I'd been getting mugged every single day of my life and this was the first day I wasn't mugged. P67

My favorite moments were right before the assault--lounging on a park bench, walking casually to the front door...Dana could have had a career making videos like this for all occassions--waking up, answering the phone, leaving the house; a woman could follow along and learn what to do when she's not being attacked, how to feel the rest of the time p. 73

our lives are filled with childish pranks,Cheryl. dont run from your playing, just notice it p114

I was staring at the moon cradling someone else's child who had stolen my one life. Every night my plan was to make it to dawn and then feel out the options. But that was just it—there were no options. There had been options, before he baby, but none of them had been pursued. I had not flown to Japan by myself to see what it was like there. I had not gone to nightclubs and said Tell me everything about yourself to strangers. I had not even gone to the movies by myself. I had been quiet when there was no reason to be quiet and consistent when there was no reason to be quiet and consistent when consistency didn't matter. For the last twenty years I had lived as if I was taking care of a newborn baby. P166

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Dec 07, 2015 Clementine Ford rated it it was amazing

Very few books live up their hype. This one does. At certain points I thought, "what am I reading?!" At others, "Please don't end." It is as close to perfect as anything I've read. I LOVE the choice to stay "solipsistic", to quote the Times review. So simple, so complex, just like all of us. ...more

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