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nmcannon's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
After witnessing the scrapped raw humor of Hyperbole and a Half, I was curious where Brosh would go with this sequel memoir. Also: a library shelf was left unattended in my vicinity.
Like its predecessor, Solutions and Other Problems is a collection of comics. The memoir has no plot per se: only a journey. It took me a bit to figure out where Brosh was going. Hyperbole’s intense exposure and authorial vulnerability carries over this sequel. At first, these stories seemed like lone fragments with little connection. Then came the chapter where Brosh discusses her younger sister’s sudden, violent death and I went oh.
I have a brother. He is not dead. But, my God, I cannot imagine any greater, utter shattering of the self than the loss of him. I cannot imagine ever again feeling the earth’s spin the same way. Each of Brosh’s chapters were spokes on the crushing wheel of grief, and the central hub was the gaping wound of her sister’s absence. Stack that on top of Brosh’s own health problems, the pandemic, the 2016 USA Election, and damn. It’s a wonder Brosh can get out of bed.
Solutions and Other Problems is funny—but the humor is bleak. Nihilism threads itself through each piece. Brosh’s “nothing matters, life’s not fair, and everything’s absurd, so we might as well have fun” philosophy seems to get her through the day, so kudos to her. Thankfully, the book ends on a hopeful note and urges the reader to befriend oneself in all one’s weird glory.
Overall, I’d recommend this comic to adults who need someone to be with them in a dark place. Check the content warnings, and best of luck out there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Chronic illness, Excrement, Stalking, Grief, Mental illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Death, Vomit, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Car accident
The level and description of triggering content in Solutions and Other Problems is either similar or one notch above the previous memoir, Hyperbole and a Half.
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