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latenightthoughts's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
roanfrancis's review against another edition
4.0
I really like Allie Brosh’s weird brain and the way she writes about mental illness and trauma. I think I wanted more of the latter and less random anecdotes - but also that’s a lot of self-disclosure to expect from anyone.
allysther's review against another edition
5.0
Painful. As in, filled with pain
This was difficult to read, but needed. I’m thankful to the author fir sharing her impossible days with us. I’m glad she is here and hopes she continued to share as she works through her own personal minefields.
This was difficult to read, but needed. I’m thankful to the author fir sharing her impossible days with us. I’m glad she is here and hopes she continued to share as she works through her own personal minefields.
orissa's review against another edition
4.0
Heartbreaking. Inspiring. There were some stories that I absolutely loved, and some that I thought could have been left out - not because they were bad, but it felt like Allie was still in the midst of those feelings and was communicating them to the reader as best she could, but the story would sometimes get lost in all of that. I found it helpful to remember that I don't need to 'get' every single story. Just like when reading Hyperbole and a Half, some stories will reach us as readers, and others won't.
So, yes, there were parts I felt lost - but I also felt incredibly Seen by other stories (or specific panels!) where Allie is able to encapsulate all the terror of being an adult or child into a singular image. I appreciate Allie's honesty with her mental health and I think a lot of people would benefit from reading this. I hope that Allie Brosh is able to process her grief, find community (whatever that might look like for her). I loved reading the stories about her sister, and I hope that writing and drawing those were healing. It felt healing to read them!
I hope Allie continues to share stories. They really are such a treat to read.
"So, for the first time in ten years, there was nothing around but me. I thought that's what I wanted. But when the relief wore off, it was actually a little weird not having anything around that wanted to interact with me. This was confusing, but in a way, I kind of missed it. I think what I'm trying to describe is loneliness."
So, yes, there were parts I felt lost - but I also felt incredibly Seen by other stories (or specific panels!) where Allie is able to encapsulate all the terror of being an adult or child into a singular image. I appreciate Allie's honesty with her mental health and I think a lot of people would benefit from reading this. I hope that Allie Brosh is able to process her grief, find community (whatever that might look like for her). I loved reading the stories about her sister, and I hope that writing and drawing those were healing. It felt healing to read them!
I hope Allie continues to share stories. They really are such a treat to read.
"So, for the first time in ten years, there was nothing around but me. I thought that's what I wanted. But when the relief wore off, it was actually a little weird not having anything around that wanted to interact with me. This was confusing, but in a way, I kind of missed it. I think what I'm trying to describe is loneliness."
brittbat's review against another edition
5.0
Like so many people, I read Brosch's first book, Hyperbole and a Half, years ago and loved it dearly, and was sad when Brosch kind of disappeared for so long. And so I met the news that Solutions and Other Problems was to be published with surprise and excitement.
It's been long enough since read Hyperbole and a Half--with the exception of isolated essays (can I call them essays?)--that I can't really compare the two reliably, which is probably good. I'm happy to judge Solutions and Other Problems largely on its own merits.
There are some similarities, of course. There are still stories about dogs doing dumb things, and there are still the intentionally grotesque illustrations that can reduce me to laughter in one panel. But this book feels like it was written from a different perspective, and I mean, it has. The family tragedy and health problems that Brosch describes are the kinds of events that irrevocably change a person.
So along with the dumb dogs and stories of 3-year-old Brosch sneaking into her neighbor's house, you get a very strong sense of an author who has come to view life as inherently meaningless. Which is fine. I agree. But when you arrive at the conclusion that life has no inherent meaning, you're confronted with a decision to either descend into nihilism or to construct meaning for your own life. There are moments when Brosch seems to have chosen to descend rather than to construct, but one could interpret the existence of this book in and of itself to refute the claim that she's a nihilist. Even if that's a claim that I think Brosch might make about herself.
It's been long enough since read Hyperbole and a Half--with the exception of isolated essays (can I call them essays?)--that I can't really compare the two reliably, which is probably good. I'm happy to judge Solutions and Other Problems largely on its own merits.
There are some similarities, of course. There are still stories about dogs doing dumb things, and there are still the intentionally grotesque illustrations that can reduce me to laughter in one panel. But this book feels like it was written from a different perspective, and I mean, it has. The family tragedy and health problems that Brosch describes are the kinds of events that irrevocably change a person.
So along with the dumb dogs and stories of 3-year-old Brosch sneaking into her neighbor's house, you get a very strong sense of an author who has come to view life as inherently meaningless. Which is fine. I agree. But when you arrive at the conclusion that life has no inherent meaning, you're confronted with a decision to either descend into nihilism or to construct meaning for your own life. There are moments when Brosch seems to have chosen to descend rather than to construct, but one could interpret the existence of this book in and of itself to refute the claim that she's a nihilist. Even if that's a claim that I think Brosch might make about herself.
amelia_horseman's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
h3mmy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
rc2's review against another edition
2.0
DNF about halfway thorugh. Not as funny as the first one. Lame review, sorry, but that's where I'm at.