No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: shared patio, Miranda July, Tell Stories, Making Love (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's a testament to July's artistry that the narrators of this arresting first collection elicit empathy rather than groans. "Making Love in 2003," for example, follows a young woman's dubious trajectory from being the passive, discarded object of her writing professor's attentions to seducing a 14-year-old boy in the special-needs class she teaches, while another young woman enters the sex industry when her girlfriend abandons her, with a surprising effect on the relationship. July's characters over these 16 stories get into similarly extreme situations in their quests to be loved and accepted, and often resort to their fantasy lives when the real world disappoints (which is often): the self-effacing narrator of "The Shared Patio" concocts a touching romance around her epilectic Korean neighbor; the aging single man of "The Sister" weaves an elaborate fantasy around his factory colleague Victor's teenage sister (who doesn't exist) to seduce someone else. July's single emotional register is familiar from her film Me and You and Everyone We Know, but it's a capacious one: wry, wistful, vulnerable, tough and tender, it fully accommodates moments of bleak human reversals. These stories are as immediate and distressing as confessionals. (May)
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From Bookmarks Magazine

Miranda July's impressive accomplishments include two exhibits at the Whitney Biennial, an award-winning film (Me and You and Everyone We Know), two albums on the record label Kill Rock Stars, and now her praised collection of short stories (encouraged by her literary mentor Rick Moody). The stories, previously published in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Harper's, Tin House, and other literary journals, won July praise as "a strange and compelling new voice" (Seattle Times). Even those who found the collection uneven and the narrative voices of each story eerily similar admire the best ones as "funny and insightful, offering moments of utter heartbreak through deeper, more sophisticated storytelling" (New York Times Book Review).

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; First Edition edition (May 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743299396
• ISBN-13: 978-0743299398
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,584 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Addictive, August 11, 2007

By	Gina Pell (San Francisco, CA<P>San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are some very private, strangely beautiful moments in these short stories. It's an almost perfect little tome although a writer friend of mine made a very interesting observation. He said that he often felt that Miranda's quirkiness superseded substance as was the case in "The Swimming Lesson." In retrospect I agree with him but I still loved this book and bought copies to give to friends. It's worth a read.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars borrow this book , July 26, 2007

By	Feminist Review blog "various writers" (worldwide) - See all my reviews

Full disclosure: I'm a longtime fan of and contributor to Miranda July's collaborative website, Learning To Love You More. Last year's Me and You and Everyone We Know is a film I regularly dream of making. So despite my anticipation of July's premiere short story collection and real fascination and appreciation for her work as a writer, filmmaker and performer; I give this anthology a centrist's recommendation. If you aren't familiar with July's media, suffice to say she's one of the more brilliant working artists of her generation, and this collection wouldn't be the worst place to get acquainted. I'd just probably recommend a smaller dose of her quirky formula.

One of July's greatest strengths is her ability to tease out the strangeness of everyday life and the bizarre interactions we take for granted. While in this compendium she certainly includes the usual intense encounters - the return of a once-removed birthmark or tragedy involving the people with whom she is forced to share an apartment patio - most of the stories in No One Belongs Here More Than You are full of awkward sexual interactions or unrequited fantasies. Not bad or even or out of character, I still found myself yearning for more offbeat anecdotes and metaphors than lustful musings. However, what I do cherish are July's introspective reflections on love: women who cry together in group romance therapy, informal childcare surrogacy, the couple who knew subconsciously they would sacrifice each other in the face of a killer, taking a sewing class to spy on your boss's mysterious wife. My favorite story, "This Person," also drew to mind a 1999 Dismemberment Plan song, "You Are Invited." Random reference, I know, but the two are so comparable, if you like the story "This Person," you'll love the song too. Both refer to unrestricted social access and how, ultimately, if given such a gift, many of us would opt out and head home anyway.

It's important to note that several of these stories were previously published, so if you've been following July's work in periodicals like the New Yorker, Bridge or the Paris Review, you may have seen some of this material before. Best method for intake: borrow this book from a more overzealous, Miranda-loving friend and read it in already awkward social spaces like crowded transportation.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I hope that I did not belong there or here in this collection, July 30, 2008

By	Elizabeth L. Biska (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories (Paperback)

While this book has received some rave reviews, again and again, I felt the narrator of each story was interchangeable. While ages, genders, and demographics differed, each short story had virtually the same voice as all the others. This collection lacked narrative variety. After a couple stories, I tired of reading a somewhat monotonous literary style.