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bibliobrandie's review
5.0
I loved this graphic novel which takes a deep dive into loneliness in America. The author looks at longing and isolation through different lenses like art, history, and personal narrative. It is wonderfully researched and beautifully illustrated.
nhazra1's review
3.0
I think this was a really interesting sociological examination of loneliness, although for some reason I found myself sort of lagging while reading it? I don't read graphic novels very often so it may have been that but also I sometimes found myself wanting the author to go even deeper, to let the soul-crushing existence of loneliness really inhabit every page.
that being said, did the section on Harlow's monkeys ruin me? yeah of fucking course it did, and i loved and hated every page of that section. I really enjoyed the examination of Harlow's life and its ties to his work and also just. so heartbroken. over those little guys. so win on this book's part for making me cry
Spoiler
that being said, did the section on Harlow's monkeys ruin me? yeah of fucking course it did, and i loved and hated every page of that section. I really enjoyed the examination of Harlow's life and its ties to his work and also just. so heartbroken. over those little guys. so win on this book's part for making me cry
itacuz's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
An emotional exploration through the author's experience with loneliness, backed up by scientific studies that lead down pathways of the researcher's own perceived experiences.
There were times when the "human experience" went on a little longer than I would have liked. I tended to glaze over reprints of news headlines or blurbs from caricatures of people reiterating their own version of a point the author had already made. It's a graphic novel though, so glazing over sections is a lot easier to do. You're visually told when a new section begins.
The scientific studies on the monkeys was hard to take in. I don't think it was wrong to include, but I personally could have done without the humanization of utterly abused monkeys. Rough stuff for a book on loneliness.
There were times when the "human experience" went on a little longer than I would have liked. I tended to glaze over reprints of news headlines or blurbs from caricatures of people reiterating their own version of a point the author had already made. It's a graphic novel though, so glazing over sections is a lot easier to do. You're visually told when a new section begins.
The scientific studies on the monkeys was hard to take in. I don't think it was wrong to include, but I personally could have done without the humanization of utterly abused monkeys. Rough stuff for a book on loneliness.
dinasamimi's review
4.0
This was a really unique look at loneliness. Loved the structure and the art. Radtke provides a lot of room for introspection -- it is equally evocative and bleak. I was deeply disturbed by the Harry Harlow history and had a hard time getting through the parts on his experiments and just his general toxicity as a person.
fairiesdust's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
kschilke's review
5.0
SO good. The illustrations, the references, the incorporation of research... Definitely makes you reflect on loneliness as a reader, and how shifts in communication and advances in technology (and more reliance on tech) has had such a huge impact