The First Bad Man

A Novel

By: Miranda July

Narrated by: Miranda July

Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

From the acclaimed filmmaker, artist, and best-selling author of No One Belongs Here More Than You, a spectacular debut novel that is so heartbreaking, so dirty, so tender, so funny - so Miranda July - that listeners will be blown away.

Here is Cheryl, a tightly-wound, vulnerable woman who lives alone, with a perpetual lump in her throat. She is haunted by a baby boy she met when she was six, who sometimes recurs as other people's babies. Cheryl is also obsessed with Phillip, a philandering board member at the women's self-defense nonprofit where she works. She believes they've been making love for many lifetimes, though they have yet to consummate in this one.

When Cheryl's bosses ask if their 21-year-old daughter Clee can move into her house for a little while, Cheryl's eccentrically ordered world explodes. And yet it is Clee - the selfish, cruel blond bombshell - who bullies Cheryl into reality and, unexpectedly, provides her the love of a lifetime.

Tender, gripping, slyly hilarious, infused with raging sexual obsession and fierce maternal love, Miranda July's first novel confirms her as a spectacularly original, iconic, and important voice today, and a writer for all time. The First Bad Man is dazzling, disorienting, and unforgettable.

©2015 Miranda July (P)2015 Simon & Schuster

The book we've been fighting for

Where does The First Bad Man rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Brilliant first novel. Are there really so few that stream the consciousness of lonely people?

What was one of the most memorable moments of The First Bad Man?

whatever moments inspired my meditations on impaired narrators and the readers' superior insight; on how lost souls are driven by biology, since they have no other compass; on how playing games opens one up, and then its not a game.
And the crtical recognition that exactly what we do in bed, the specific acts, with others and with ourselves, emerge from and are continuations of who we are, our wishes, fears and fantasies, and so very important in understanding these things, every bit as important as our speech and our acts, and our non-sexual thoughts and dreams..

Have you listened to any of Miranda July’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

yes, yes

Any additional comments?

This is, of course, a dirty book, a very dirty book. It could not be otherwise.
Fortunately we are in the hands of a generous author, and all that dirt, and the hot sex, and the other kind, are all in the service of an honest and warm showing of life, and how it works out, rewarding some very satisfying consolations to those who open to it.

Um, like, what did I just listen to?!

To sum up this book- it's a mix of Fight Club and someone's awfully super personal diary. And I liked it.
I never buy a book without combing the reviews first. And I saw that this book was raunchy, and I'm pretty ok with raunchy. But, I have to say, this book made me more uncomfortable than American Psycho... Maybe I have issues, but I'm not here to talk about that. This book was funny- like made me laugh out loud funny. Embarrassing, if anyone saw me, but I couldn't help it. I loved the awkward, dry humor that ran through this whole book. And I liked the story in its self- everything that happened was weird, uncomfortable, funny and made me happy for the lead character. I really do recommend this read.

Original and touching

Complex characters with many inspected neuroses fill this wonderfully bizarre story. If you are a fan of Miranda July, you will love this one. However, this book was incorrectly filed under 'horror'. If you're looking for a horror story, you'll be extremely disappointed... unless you also appreciate the regular life horrors involved in being a human.

Not what I expected, but an interesting story.

Really weird story, but loved the progression and ending.

Great performance by the author. Would recommend.

This book was not the story I expected but it was still good

First off I think the book was very entertaining. The book was also very shocking and parts. I think it had some interesting concepts that I haven't read about before.

underrated gem

so intensely funny, emotional and riveting! This is one of the best novels i’ve read in years

Miranda July is a real genius

Sucked this book down in two days, which is kind of insane. Highly recommend it, and anything Miranda July makes.

Truly unique voice and imagination

She's so unusal. Who knew Cyndi Lauper was singing about Miranda July? The fact that she reads her own fiction and makes it better shows that these thoughts she has are truly hers. This book has troubling parts for sure but it also has laugh out loud parts that will make people on the bus turn and look at you.

Wish there were more books this weird, yet not sucky.

Amazing

I am so happy I finished this so I can listen to it all over again! It is so captivating.

Sad, quirky, beatiful

This book is perhaps a late-in-life coming-of-age story of a lonely woman, a story about imperfect relationships, where getting what you want isn't what you expected, a story told in the signature quirky observational style of Miranda July.