Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

58 reviews

emilyinherhead's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

4.5

If you know Allie Brosh, you know. Her art style is quirky and recognizable and perfectly suited to the stories she tells. This collection is very personal, and it swings back and forth between funny and incredibly sad—there were many parts that made me chuckle, but I flat-out sobbed through chapter 10.

Comparing this book to her previous one, Hyperbole and a Half, I'd say that this one has a darker undercurrent. Brosh has lived through some really tough years since Hyperbole was published, and it shows. I'm grateful to her for sharing these experiences—folks with depression and mental health struggles will definitely identify with some of the feelings she describes. (But again I will say: chapter 10 is a hard one, so if you're not in a solid place mentally, maybe wait and revisit that one when you're feeling more stable.)

The one small thing I didn't totally love was the way some of the chapters just seemed to... end. There was no feeling of conclusion, like Brosh wasn't quite sure what the point of the story was or what she wanted to say by sharing it.

But overall, I recommend this graphic memoir, especially if you're already a fan of Allie Brosh and her work. It's one I plan to treasure and revisit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Mental illness

Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

caramiaculpa's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Drug use

Minor: Suicide

nixieba25f's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

5.0

Allie Brosh does it again with another brilliant, funny, and devastatingly relatable book about life as a weirdo.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, and Death

stromjm's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Medical content

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Death

dytiscusfriend's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Moving and delightful. Always a profound experience to spend some time in Allie Brosh's mind. This book made me feel less alone in my own. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, and Drug use

Her sister died in a train to car collision while she was recovering from a major illness and she describes a surgery in graphic detail. This is only a few pages but it's intense.

cnohero's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

4.0

This graphic novel made me laugh til I cried but it’s not all fun there’s some heavy hitting emotional content too. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief

racheloddment's review against another edition

funny lighthearted sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Grief

Moderate: Death

coffinfinite's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

5.0

I loved the original Hyperbole and a Half, so when I learned Brosh had a new book out buying it was a no-brainer. I recall laughing hysterically through most of HAAH, and went into Solutions and Other Problems expecting more of the same. What I encountered instead was something far more thoughtful and emotionally complex. Brosh perfectly captures the absurdity and tragedy of being alive, her illustrations (all 1,678 of them) each being worth a thousand words. Her tales of trying to befriend a sardine, of coping with a neighbour mysteriously hammering before 8am, and of experiencing profound loneliness, are all witty and poignant. Despite being eternally self deprecating, Brosh comes off as an incredibly likeable human being. She shares the stories of her life with an intimacy that makes it feel like she is confiding exclusively in you.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Grief

madamepincers's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This book is incredibly funny, heart-wrenching, wonderful, unique, and bizarre. It really enjoyed it. I've seen many reviews saying offhandedly that "there's so much dark humour/passively depressing stuff that it's clear this author should get help" and like... yeah-- it's a perfect follow up to Brosh's musings on depression and anxiety and feeling out of place in Hyperbole and a Half. It explains a lot of context. It deals with extremely difficult topics (like her sister's death, her own very serious surgeries and almost bleeding to death from internal bleeding, etc).

It's hard to categorise it as funny or sad. It's both. It's overwhelmingly emotional and all over the place and brilliant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Suicide, Medical content, Mental illness, Death, and Grief

seawarrior's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, and Drug use