Drop everything you are doing and pick up a copy of this book. I absolutely couldn't put it down, right from the beginning. It's a beautiful and unusuDrop everything you are doing and pick up a copy of this book. I absolutely couldn't put it down, right from the beginning. It's a beautiful and unusual memoir, a meditation on intimate partner violence between queer women, and partly a choose-your-own-adventure story.
It's a book I will be thinking about for a long time. ...more
I was really excited about the premise of this book - the Smiley Face/Jack Daniels killer being investigated by a therapist and his sort-of patient; aI was really excited about the premise of this book - the Smiley Face/Jack Daniels killer being investigated by a therapist and his sort-of patient; a therapist with a dark past in the Satanic ritual abuse repressed-memory craze of the 1970s that led to the incarceration (and subsequent release) of his foster brother; a disaffected, heroin-addled teenager struggling to make sense of his place in the world . . . and it definitely was a compelling novel, I'll give it that. I had a hard time putting it down. But so many of the characters seemed to be just the rough edges of a person rather than a fully-formed, considered human being.
Some of Chaon's choices with the text are interesting - some odd spacing here and there, a couple of chapters appearing as columns with narratives that parallel, converge, diverge - but I'm not sure to what purpose. The only thing I can really guess is that he was trying to evoke something along the lines of muddled memories? But mostly all it did was make me flip pages and skim columns, trying to see which things connected where.
I enjoyed the process of reading this book, but I wasn't especially satisfied by the way it wrapped up. ...more
Read this through the library, without hearing the album it is supposed to accompany. The lyrics are included as the only text -- god DAMN, can Jeff LRead this through the library, without hearing the album it is supposed to accompany. The lyrics are included as the only text -- god DAMN, can Jeff Lemire draw the hell out of emotions. I'm going to have to re-read it with the accompanying music, but it's pretty powerful all on its own. ...more
I ordered this not really knowing what to expect -- it was described as a "graphic poem," and I'm still not sure how to describe it. The images aren'tI ordered this not really knowing what to expect -- it was described as a "graphic poem," and I'm still not sure how to describe it. The images aren't exactly earth-shattering -- sort of emojis-meet-Eric-Carle? -- but the text is weirdly compelling, describing the emergent relationship between Ginger and Billy.
Going to revisit it in a week or two to see how I feel about it then. ...more
Interspersed with memories from her own life, Una examines the crimes of the Yorkshire Ripper and the thread of misogyny that carries not only throughInterspersed with memories from her own life, Una examines the crimes of the Yorkshire Ripper and the thread of misogyny that carries not only through her life, but through pop culture and all of history. It's beautifully done. I can't recommend this title enough, reall...more