The First Bad Man

Cheryl Glickman lives alone and works at a women's self-defense nonprofit, adhering to rigid systems that give her life structure. Her carefully maintained routines are disrupted when her bosses ask her to take in their adult daughter, Clee. The two women develop an unconventional relationship that transforms both their lives. Their dynamic evolves from hostility to an arrangement neither could have predicted, forcing Cheryl to confront her long-held beliefs and behaviors. The story follows Cheryl's journey as she navigates her changing home life, her crush on an older board member at work, and her complex inner world of fantasies and self-imposed rules. July's novel examines isolation, intimacy, and the unexpected ways people can form families and find connection. The book challenges conventional narratives about love, sexuality, and motherhood while maintaining a distinct balance of darkness and humor.

Readers find this book peculiar, uncomfortable, and polarizing. Many describe it as unlike anything they've read before. Positive reviews highlight July's raw honesty about female sexuality and loneliness. Readers praise the dark humor and the evolution of the protagonist. Several note the book made them laugh out loud while dealing with serious themes. "Manages to be both weird and relatable," notes one Goodreads reviewer. Common criticisms include the slow first third, deliberately odd characters, and graphic content that some found off-putting. Multiple readers mentioned struggling to connect with or like any of the characters. "Too strange and unsettling," appears in several reviews. Ratings: Goodreads: 3.6/5 (24,000+ ratings) Amazon: 3.7/5 (500+ ratings) LibraryThing: 3.7/5 (600+ ratings) The book receives particularly strong ratings from readers who enjoy experimental fiction and July's other work, while those expecting conventional narrative structures tend to rate it lower.

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🔸 Miranda July wrote the first draft of The First Bad Man while pregnant with her first child, and the novel's exploration of motherhood and unconventional family structures was deeply influenced by her own impending parenthood. 🔸 The novel's protagonist, Cheryl Glickman, follows a peculiar system of organizing her home called "No-Waste Motion," which was inspired by July's own mother's efficient household management techniques. 🔸 Before becoming a novelist, July was already an accomplished performance artist, filmmaker, and short story writer, directing award-winning films like Me and You and Everyone We Know and The Future. 🔸 The character of Clee, who becomes Cheryl's unexpected houseguest, was partially inspired by July's fascination with female fighters and the physical dynamics between women. 🔸 The book's unique narrative style, which includes detailed descriptions of imagined self-defense scenarios, draws from July's research into actual self-defense manuals and classes.