Dave Eggers says "Fans of Lorrie Moore will want to take Miranda July's 'No One Belongs Here More Than You' and rub it all over themselves." Or something like that. So there.
This is a picture of Ms. July:
I like the idea of Ms. July very much. She grew up in Berkeley, moved to Portland and became a performance artist, then did a movie, then a book of stories, then some kind of artistic interactive website called "Learning To Love You More." I think she put out a record too. It seems like she experiments (and succeeds with) different media because she likes to try new things. What a great reason to do anything.
A Renaissance Girl.
What I do not like is the idea of the Reading Itself. I think I pretty much hate readings. I hate the Appreciative Noises. I hate the Knowing Nods, the audience wanting to participate, VERY MUCH LIKE A JAZZ SHOW, THE JAZZ NODDING, WTF IS THAT??? And by jazz I don't mean the Utah Jazz, of course. I hate the Q & As: "Where do your ideas come from?" I hate the Performance of it all. I hate the Pandering to the Audience by trotting out the Short Funny Stuff. I Hate The Person Who Tries To Show Off By Assuming Familiarity With the Author's Work.
Most of all, I hate sharing the story experience with 150 other people. I want to experience it by myself with no one else in the room clucking their tongues and nodding appreciatively.
July actually commented about this: "Well," she said, "I'll let you go now. I know how it is to be trapped in a reading." Then she laughed. "Readings. Maybe they're actually good for us, or something, otherwise why would we keep going to them?"
4 comments:
I agree. Readings for the famous author a pretty much all about someone in the audience trying to impress their date or whoever. Where are the readings where someone storms out in disgust? Where are the tough questions like "what the hell was that shit?"
Maybe I'll take the profession of the "bad audience" up next.
Why does Miranda July kind of put me off? Have you read the book? Is it any good? I LOVE Lorrie Moore and am a bit doubtful that MJ is all that.
Have not read the book. I am doubtful also. I read one of her stories in Zoetrope and listened to two and a half and they were fine...
Fine...
But I couldn't really concentrate because I was focussed on audience reaction and things like that.
I used to love Lorrie Moore but might not if I read her today (since I hate everything now).... Moore gets grandfathered in though in the love category, so yes, I think you're right to be a little skeptical.
I love Lorri Moore and while I didn't exactly hate "you, me" etc, I found it annoying. It had no arc. It was interesting and clever, but it had a lot of beginnings with no middle, and then an end, because the film had to end.
MB and I saw MJ in her previous incarnation collecting and distributing chain movies (a tape of movies others sent her). I bought one and so I have one of her short movies, which I actually kind of liked. I think you can do no arc in three minutes, but not for 90.
I also hate readings, though I continue to go. Why? Because I love the writer. Usually. I think the last reading I went to was James Galvin. It was cool to meet him, but the reading wasn't that great.
So I don't think MJ is all that (and by "that" I mean "Lorrie Moore."). I actually read the MJ story in the New Yorker. I think it was published because it had lesbians in it. Or she knows someone. Whatever.
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