Who Are The Main Characters In 'It Chooses You'?

'It Chooses You' is this gem of a book where the characters feel like they’ve wandered in from a lost Jim Jarmusch film. Miranda July’s protagonist is hilariously self-aware, almost cringey in her attempts to connect with the strangers she interviews. There’s this one guy, a retired magician selling his old props, who steals every scene he’s in—his stories about performing for kids in hospitals are equal parts whimsical and gut-punching. Then there’s the teenage girl who’s selling her old diaries, and her blunt honesty about her chaotic family life is both shocking and tender. July’s knack for finding poetry in mundane interactions is what makes the book sing.

What I love is how these characters aren’t just 'quirky for quirky’s sake.' Their eccentricities reveal something deeper—about isolation, or the ways we try to make sense of our lives. Like the woman who insists July take her antique teacup collection, then admits she’s moving into a nursing home. It’s these moments that stick with you, like postcards from a world most people ignore. The book’s messy, imperfect, and all the more human for it.

Reading 'It Chooses You' felt like peeking into someone’s private diary—raw, unfiltered, and weirdly relatable. Miranda July’s self-deprecating humor as the protagonist had me laughing one minute and tearing up the next. The characters she meets are unforgettable: there’s this middle-aged woman selling her wedding dress, who delivers this unexpectedly sharp monologue about marriage and regret, and a shy guy who collects toy trains and talks about them like they’re his friends. July’s genius is in how she frames these encounters as both absurd and deeply meaningful. The book’s structure—part documentary, part memoir—lets these strangers shine, and their stories become these little life lessons wrapped in awkward small talk.

I particularly loved how July doesn’t romanticize poverty or loneliness; she just observes it with this mix of curiosity and compassion. The scene where she buys a cheap lamp from a struggling single mom, only to realize it’s broken, is heartbreaking and funny in equal measure. And the way she captures the rhythm of these conversations—the pauses, the tangents—makes you feel like you’re right there with her, shuffling your feet in someone’s cramped living room. It’s a book that celebrates the beauty of ordinary people, and that’s rare.

The heart of 'It Chooses You' beats with its quirky, deeply human characters, and I adore how Miranda July crafts them with such tenderness. The protagonist, a version of July herself, is this wonderfully awkward artist grappling with creative block, and her journey to interview strangers from classified ads is both hilarious and poignant. Then there’s Joe, this elderly man selling his old belongings, who’s equal parts charming and melancholic—his stories about lost love and fading memories really stuck with me. And don’t forget the teenage boy who’s obsessed with his pet snake; his earnestness is oddly endearing. The book’s magic lies in how these seemingly random encounters weave together into this tapestry of loneliness, hope, and connection. It’s like July holds up a mirror to the weird, beautiful mess of being human, and I couldn’t put it down.

What’s wild is how these characters feel so real—like you could bump into them at a thrift store or a bus stop. The way July captures their voices, with all their hesitations and quirks, makes you forget you’re reading fiction. There’s a scene where Joe shows her his collection of vintage cameras, and it’s this quiet, profound moment about how objects hold memories. And the kid with the snake? His monologue about reptile care somehow becomes this metaphor for wanting control in a chaotic world. The book’s not about plot twists; it’s about these tiny, luminous interactions that linger long after you finish. I still think about Joe’s crooked smile when he talks about his late wife.