Hyperbole And A Half by Allie Brosh
Feb. 2nd, 2014 10:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Hilarious stories about life’s mishaps from the creator of the cult blog HyperboleandaHalf.com
This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative – like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it – but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly.
“… some might say the book is full of stories …”
“… it could be claimed that this has more pictures than the dictionary …”
“… is great book.”
So I decided to just make a lost of things that are in the book:
- Pictures.
- Words.
- Stories about things that happened to me.
- Stories about things that happened to other people because of me.
- Eight billion dollars.*
- Stories about dogs.
- The secret to eternal happiness.*
These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated by sneakiness!
Hyperbole And A Half is a blog by twenty-something American, Allie Brosh. Her debut book – half new stories, half favourites from the blog – chronicles her ‘learning experiences’ and character flaws. It includes stories about her rambunctious childhood; owning a mentally challenged dog; and a moving comic account of her struggles with depression.
Hyperboleandahalf.com is a popular blog started by Allie Brosh in 2009 that sets out stories from her life to an accompaniment of crudely drawn (but completely hilarious) comic strips. This book contains a mix of existing material from her blog and new strips.
I had heard of Brosh’s blog and seen some of the strips, but had never checked it out. As a result, all of the material in the book was new to me but those who do know the blog may find it old news. The comic strips are crudely drawn but that’s kinda the point and it’s amazing how much emotion Brosh manages to pack into the pictures – particularly those relating to her account of dealing with depression. I found it a hilarious and moving read and would definitely check out Brosh’s blog and any further books with the caveat that given how expensive the book is, I’d prefer to buy something with all new material rather than another collection.
My favourite strips were the stories from her childhood – especially the account of the battle with her mother over a chocolate cake, which had me doubled over and Brosh’s account of the day a goose invaded her home (which made me laugh so much on my commute that latte shot out of my nose). However, there are serious sections in the book and I think her account of depression is very moving. Having suffered myself with it in the past, I could really relate to what she was saying – notably about how useless it is to be given advice – and as such, I would recommend it to anyone who knows someone with the condition.
All in all, I completely enjoyed this book and would have no hesitation in recommending it.
The Verdict:
I had heard of Brosh’s blog and seen some of the strips, but had never checked it out. As a result, all of the material in the book was new to me but those who do know the blog may find it old news. The comic strips are crudely drawn but that’s kinda the point and it’s amazing how much emotion Brosh manages to pack into the pictures – particularly those relating to her account of dealing with depression. I found it a hilarious and moving read and would definitely check out Brosh’s blog and any further books with the caveat that given how expensive the book is, I’d prefer to buy something with all new material rather than another collection.
This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative – like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it – but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly.
“… it could be claimed that this has more pictures than the dictionary …”
“… is great book.”
So I decided to just make a lost of things that are in the book:
- Pictures.
- Words.
- Stories about things that happened to me.
- Stories about things that happened to other people because of me.
- Eight billion dollars.*
- Stories about dogs.
- The secret to eternal happiness.*
These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated by sneakiness!
Hyperbole And A Half is a blog by twenty-something American, Allie Brosh. Her debut book – half new stories, half favourites from the blog – chronicles her ‘learning experiences’ and character flaws. It includes stories about her rambunctious childhood; owning a mentally challenged dog; and a moving comic account of her struggles with depression.
Hyperboleandahalf.com is a popular blog started by Allie Brosh in 2009 that sets out stories from her life to an accompaniment of crudely drawn (but completely hilarious) comic strips. This book contains a mix of existing material from her blog and new strips.
I had heard of Brosh’s blog and seen some of the strips, but had never checked it out. As a result, all of the material in the book was new to me but those who do know the blog may find it old news. The comic strips are crudely drawn but that’s kinda the point and it’s amazing how much emotion Brosh manages to pack into the pictures – particularly those relating to her account of dealing with depression. I found it a hilarious and moving read and would definitely check out Brosh’s blog and any further books with the caveat that given how expensive the book is, I’d prefer to buy something with all new material rather than another collection.
My favourite strips were the stories from her childhood – especially the account of the battle with her mother over a chocolate cake, which had me doubled over and Brosh’s account of the day a goose invaded her home (which made me laugh so much on my commute that latte shot out of my nose). However, there are serious sections in the book and I think her account of depression is very moving. Having suffered myself with it in the past, I could really relate to what she was saying – notably about how useless it is to be given advice – and as such, I would recommend it to anyone who knows someone with the condition.
All in all, I completely enjoyed this book and would have no hesitation in recommending it.
The Verdict:
I had heard of Brosh’s blog and seen some of the strips, but had never checked it out. As a result, all of the material in the book was new to me but those who do know the blog may find it old news. The comic strips are crudely drawn but that’s kinda the point and it’s amazing how much emotion Brosh manages to pack into the pictures – particularly those relating to her account of dealing with depression. I found it a hilarious and moving read and would definitely check out Brosh’s blog and any further books with the caveat that given how expensive the book is, I’d prefer to buy something with all new material rather than another collection.
