No one belongs here more than you.

Over the past week (and some days coming up) short reads are on the front burner.  I have to say, I haven’t laughed so loud as I did reading the first few shorts, truly!  This poet is a “whack-job” in the truest sense of the word.  No one belongs here more than you. by Miranda July is a real treat for those who abhor the short story genre.  I will say that after the third story it became a replay of the first story.  Here’s her style…. “I walked into the house and found Julie... we had grown close together over the years.  The years have gone by fast for me when I think of how old I am now.  I look in the mirror and realize that I have wrinkles on my face.  My friend John always was complimented for his smile.  One time when I was walking with John from the pizza parlor on Madison Avenue I remember meeting these two people holding clipboards.  They were asking whether I had a minute of time for women’s rights.  I thought it would be funny to pretend I did not understand English so I spoke in my best German that I didn’t understand English.  Shocking when the person responded in German about how much money I’d be willing to give to support the movement.  So Julie then thought we should get close to each other and she started touching me in a sexual way…” you get the point???  She is completely stream of consciousness writer and then BAM let’s talk about sex, heavy on the same sex relationships, although she certainly showcased heterosexual sex as well.  This repetition of style got boring quickly after story number 4.  Miranda, I think your work has something there, but you need to shake it up a little bit.  Luckily this collection was short, or else I think I would have gotten pretty bored.  Again, there was some funny situations used as a back drop for the stories.