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The First Bad Man

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The First Bad Man

By: Miranda July
Narrated by: Miranda July
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A New York Times bestseller
A Guardian literary highlight for 2015
A Huffington Post 'One to Watch' in 2015

'Astounding' LENA DUNHAM, creator of Girls and author of Not That Kind of Girl

'The First Bad Man brings together all of July's talents - it's a book that must be read, a book that must be purchased - in duplicate - one for you, one for a friend. Don't think you can loan this book - you'll never get it back' A. M. HOMES, author of This Book Will Save Your Life and May We Be Forgiven

The first novel by the filmmaker, artist and bestselling author Miranda July confirms her as a spectacularly original, iconic, and important voice today, and a writer for all time. The First Bad Man is dazzling and unforgettable.

©2015 Canongate Books Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Women's Fiction Funny Heartfelt Mind-bending Scary Witty Comedy
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Critic reviews

"Perpetually surprising and subversive: first, funny, then strange and, finally, emotionally devastating"
"A masterpiece"
"The novel exploded my expectations and became unlike anything I've ever read . . . hilarious . . . A wry, smart companion on any day. It's warm, it has a heartbeat and a pulse. This is a book that is painfully alive"
"Astounding . . . she will make you laugh, cringe and recognise yourself in a woman you never planned to be . . . Never has a novel spoken so deeply to my sexuality, my spirituality, my secret self. I know I am not alone" (LENA DUNHAM)
"I am in awe of Miranda July . . . The First Bad Man brings together all of July's talents - it's a book that must be read, a book that must be purchased - in duplicate - one for you, one for a friend. Don't think you can loan this book - you'll never get it back" (A. M. HOMES)
"Miranda July's heroine in this unforgettable novel is one of the most original, most confounding and strangely sympathetic characters . . . This novel is almost impossible to put down, and confirms July as a novelist of the first order" (DAVE EGGERS)
"July's storytelling skills crackle to life"
"If I ever start to doubt the power of language and intelligence, I only have to read a few lines of July to have my faith restored" (GEORGE SAUNDERS)
"The first novel by the filmmaker and artist Miranda July is like one of those strange mythological creatures that are part one thing, part another - a griffin or a chimera, perhaps, or a sphinx . . . An immensely moving portrait of motherhood and what it means to take care of a child . . . July writes of Cheryl's discovery of maternal love with heartfelt emotion and power" (Michiko Kakutani)
"A book that I love. It is heartbreakingly sad, and thoughtful, and disgusting and hilarious" (Eva Wiseman)
"Immensely moving"
"Weird, hilarious and heartbreaking"
"Astonishing . . . in one novel, July tells us more about our universal need to be loved, and our ability to love and be loved, than most earthbound authors will in a lifetime"
"The First Bad Man is not like other books . . . It's weird. In the most brilliant way. That type of weird that fills you with the urge to tell the whole world about it and to find fellow readers to discuss it with relentlessly"
"Brilliant . . . Within the context of the wider world - in which all speech is policed, but especially women's stories about their uniquely feminine personal experiences - The First Bad Man feels visionary . . . Few have Miranda July's . . . particular talent for couching what feel like naked, universal truths in clouds of the imagined and the impossible"
All stars
Most relevant
Funny bits aren't very funny. The characters are unbelievable. The mid-book lurch to middle-aged bildungsroman left me cold. I am making it sound worse than it is.

Mediocre

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Maybe not for everyone, but I was sucked in from the beginning. complex and interesting characters bizarre yet relatable, I so wanted to hug the main character and take away her loneliness.

beautifully read by the author helped form and sustain the bond between character, writer and reader.

loved it. x

A different life

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loved it. hilarious and shocking and heart breaking in equal measures. will vertainly listen again

awesome

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I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. The narration was perfect, the inner dialogue of the characters that Miranda concocted are mindbendingly funny and a brilliant commentary on the Human psyche.

Funny, disturbing and most excellent

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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.

A phenomenal book

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