read by Miranda July
Audacious, provocative, and breathtakingly read by the author, this tour de force justly won plaudits and not a little envy from all sides when it appeared in book form in 2007. Now the performance artist has recorded these short stories in a beautifully packaged audiobook that just screams out to be owned. It is a work of art in itself - another piece of magic from Heavy Entertainment. Pink and black script on canary yellow on the outside, the five CDs are minimalist yellow on pink in all-pink sleeves on the inside.
Bur Miranda July is not just packaging - the prose is deft, slightly off-beat, tantalisingly funny, sad and complex. From the couple who get work as film extras and slowly realise the emptiness of their romance as they mime to each other across a table, while the filming goes on around them, to the factory worker seduced by his work mate as he gradually realises the man's sister he has been invited to meet doesn't in fact exist.
Dreams and reality figure large, as does the despair of the human condition: 'Sometimes I lie in bed trying to decide which of my friends I truly care about. And I always come to the same conclusion: none of them. I thought these were just my starter friends and the real ones would come along later. But no. These are my real friends.'
These pieces fascinate, linger and resonate.
Exceptional.
* * * * *
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