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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
Started strong but then just went seriously off the rails. I joked about how physically heavy this book was when I bought it, but now that I’m done, I’m just baffled that an editor/publisher thought this over-long, glum book with too many rambling, barely coherent chapters was ready for publication. It’s a sad,sad mess.
Still love everything she puts out into the world.
A wonderful collection of essays interspersed with Brosh's high-energy illustrations.
People who read Brosh's previous collection, 'Hyperbole and a Half', will know that she is excellent at mixing the serious and the absurd. H&H spent a while examining Brosh's experiences of depression, mixed in with funny stories about her pets and childhood. S&OP takes a similar tack - we have comic stories about child-Allie trying to fit into a bucket, or adult-Allie dealing with the strange neighbourhood child, but they are mixed with serious essays about her health and the trauma that hits her family.
Somehow it all works. Life is such a mixture of bizarre weirdness and unexpected pain, and the overall experience feels like a slice of Brosh's life, presented to us in bright colours and carefully chosen words. It's not always an easy read but it feels true and rewarding, and there are many truly funny stories.
People who read Brosh's previous collection, 'Hyperbole and a Half', will know that she is excellent at mixing the serious and the absurd. H&H spent a while examining Brosh's experiences of depression, mixed in with funny stories about her pets and childhood. S&OP takes a similar tack - we have comic stories about child-Allie trying to fit into a bucket, or adult-Allie dealing with the strange neighbourhood child, but they are mixed with serious essays about her health and the trauma that hits her family.
Somehow it all works. Life is such a mixture of bizarre weirdness and unexpected pain, and the overall experience feels like a slice of Brosh's life, presented to us in bright colours and carefully chosen words. It's not always an easy read but it feels true and rewarding, and there are many truly funny stories.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
2.5 stars. Solutions is better but still not good. I still have a bone to pick with the whole r word thing. She doesn’t outright say it in this one but the “simple” dog is back and she uses the word “tard” near the end. Why?? I will die on this hill. I guess she will die on that hill.
Some of the other chapters were funny and they were less heavy handed than her first book. I don’t know what it is about white women comics who really really want to be my therapist. That’s what turned me off from Jenny Lawson (she also makes a joke at the expense of people experiencing homelessness and Inuit and Yupik people). I am so down to read about the ups and downs of living with mental illness and trauma and I really respect Brosh for being so vulnerable with everything that’s happened to her. At the same time, she feels patronizing in certain chapters.
The drawings are excellent. I think she’s a total genius in that regard.
I’m hopeful. I think it’s possible that she will eventually write something I’ll like.
Some of the other chapters were funny and they were less heavy handed than her first book. I don’t know what it is about white women comics who really really want to be my therapist. That’s what turned me off from Jenny Lawson (she also makes a joke at the expense of people experiencing homelessness and Inuit and Yupik people). I am so down to read about the ups and downs of living with mental illness and trauma and I really respect Brosh for being so vulnerable with everything that’s happened to her. At the same time, she feels patronizing in certain chapters.
The drawings are excellent. I think she’s a total genius in that regard.
I’m hopeful. I think it’s possible that she will eventually write something I’ll like.
I never read Hyperbole and a Half and I was only marginally aware of Allie Brosh before picking this book from the library’s New Releases list but holy shit is she hilarious and insightful. I need to read her first book. I have some hermetic tendencies and Allie made me feel less alone.
I know it’s very strange to say you love someone that you have never met and never will, but here it is: I love you, Allie Brosh. Thanks for sharing your weirdness, it really makes this other weirdo happy.