Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened Author: Visit Amazon's Allie Brosh Page | Language: English | ISBN:
147676459X | Format: PDF
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened Description
Amazon.com Review
Guest Review of
Hyperbole and a HalfBy Jenny Lawson
Jenny Lawson, is a very strange girl who has friends in spite of herself. She is perpetually one cat away from being a crazy cat lady. Lawson is the author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller Let’s Pretend This Never Happened.
Allie Brosh is an internet legend and you've probably accidentally stolen stuff from her at some point in time, but she's so awesome that she didn't even sue you for it. Why? Mostly because she didn't notice. Also, because she's generous and she knew that you'd pay her back for using her hilarious images by buying the book she'd write one day. Today is that day. The good thing is that you will feel much better for having paid her back for accidentally facebooking something she wrote without crediting her AND you will get her fantastically perfect book which is filled with even more amazing stuff to steal. EVERYONE WINS.
When Allie first told me she was finished with her book I called her a liar, mostly because it would force her to send me a copy of the book for free. It was so good though that I would have paid for it, and that's saying a lot because I shoplift most books, including my own. Frankly, when I read it I found myself repeatedly screaming "OH MY GOD, YES. THIS. FREAKING EXACTLY" until I eventually got kicked off the bus for disturbing the peace. I prefer to think I was disturbing the peace with truth. The people on the bus disagreed. Regardless, when Allie asked if I'd write a blurb for her I said "No, I will write you five." And I did.
"BUY THIS BOOK. STOP READING THIS. MAKE THE BOOKSTORE PEOPLE TAKE YOUR MONEY. PS. You owe me a taco."
"I laughed so hard that stomach juice shot out of the hole they just pulled my gallbladder out of. It might not be the best book to read right after surgery. Except that the pain pills make you forget that you hurt and also later you can read the book again when you're sober and enjoy it all over again for the first time."
"I wish I would have written this book. I plan on changing my name to Allie Brosh just to take credit for it." ~ Allie Brosh (Formerly Jenny Lawson)
"This is the book you will give to your friends in order to make sure they are worthy of your love. If they don't get it you should probably just set them on fire."
"This book made me laugh, cry and leak. It was honest, poignant and ridiculously silly in all the best ways and I'm better for having read it. Plus, doggies!"
(TL;DR ~ Buy this book.)
Review
Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Humor Book of the YearA NPR Best Book of the YearA Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Memoirs
"Imagine if David Sedaris could draw . . . Enchanting." (
People (4 stars, People Pick))
"My wife, who rarely reads a book published after 1910 and who is difficult to make laugh, wept with pleasure while reading these comic illustrated essays from Ms. Brosh, who runs a popular web comic and blog. I had to find out what the fuss was about. The subjects run from light (cakes, dogs) to dark (the author’s own severe depression), and they foreground offbeat feeling and real intellect. Ms. Brosh’s inquisitive mind won me over, too." (Dwight Garner
New York Times)
"Now that the phrase 'LOL' has gotten so overused, it’s hard to imagine that anything really makes people laugh out loud anymore. But the crudely drawn cartoons in Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half, culled from her popular blog and reprinted alongside never-before-seen materials, will make you laugh until you sob, even when Brosh describes her struggle with depression." (
Entertainment Weekly)
“Once I started reading “Hyperbole and a Half,” I found myself unable to stop—except to laugh uproariously.”
(Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing.com)
"This is the BOOK OF THE YEAR." (Elizabeth Gilbert)
"Allie Brosh's artwork may look deceptively simple, but her comics are anything but. She is gut-bustingly hilarious, especially when she talks about her ridiculous dogs, but also insightful and phenomenally articulate; her treatise on what it feels like to suffer from depression remains, in all honesty, one of the best things ever produced on the internet (and it's still somehow massively entertaining, too). Get this for the smart people who appreciate humor in your life, and they won't be disappointed." (io9.com)
“Brosh is a connoisseur of the human condition. In her typical self-deprecating and dramatic manner (hence the hyperbole reference), she tells personal stories that name things we can all relate to, including fear, love, depression and hope. Perhaps the most endearing thing about her writing is that she approaches her subject matter from a vulnerable, childlike place, complete with Paintbrush caricatures that have arguably already earned iconic status. . . . Part graphic novel, part confessional, overall delightful.” (Kirkus Reviews)
"This book made me laugh, cry, and leak. It was honest, poignant, and ridiculously silly in all the best ways and I'm better for having read it. Plus, doggies!" (Jenny Lawson, The Bloggess and author of Let's Pretend This Never Happened)
“Here’s a rough analogy: David Sedaris sets out to write a graphic memoir, but decides to use the MS Paint application on his computer rather than hire an artist….[Brosh’s] naïve art plays brilliantly against dark comic themes.” (Michael Humphrey, True/Slant)
Allie Brosh's artwork may look deceptively simple, but her comics are anything but. She is gut-bustingly hilarious, especially when she talks about her ridiculous dogs, but also insightful and phenomenally articulate; her treatise on what it feels like to suffer from depression remains, in all honesty, one of the best things ever produced on the internet (and it's still somehow massively entertaining, too). Get this for the smart people who appreciate humor in your life, and they won't be disappointed." (io9.com)
“The whole blog is inspired.” (Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish (The Atlantic))
"Brosh is unlike anyone else in the field today, an Internet-era treasure, an unexpected wonder of the 21st century." (Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing.com)
"This is the BOOK OF THE YEAR." (Elizabeth Gilbert)
See all Editorial Reviews
- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Touchstone (October 29, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 147676459X
- ISBN-13: 978-1476764597
- Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
I got the book this morning, and as I was hobbled by pain from an ACL surgery and unable to take painkillers because they would make me loopy at work, instead I read this all day. (Shhhhh. It is okay. I also helped customers.)
There are a million things I love about this book, but I can start with the fact that each chapter is printed on different-colored pages than the ones on either side of it, which makes the book look like a rainbow when it is closed. A RAINBOW, GUYS.
The Depression chapters (previously published on her blog) are revelations to those who have experienced depression and touchstones of understanding for those who have not. The Dog chapters are hilarious to both dog-lovers and cat-lovers (AKA dog haters). The chapters that peek into her childhood make me wish I remembered anything about my life before I was twelve. But you know what? I'm going to take a page from this book, and just imagine that my childhood was just as fantastical, wild, revelatory, unintentionally hilarious, and unique.
Yes, there are a few chapters that are repeats from the blog. Sadly, the fish incident did not make it... that one is still my favorite. But the ones that did make it are definitely worth the re-read. Also, the majority of the book is new material, including some introspective chapters ("Thoughts and Feelings" and the two-part "Identity" chapters). Those, to me, were the best ones of the whole book. I love that the author is so freaking honest (can you swear on Amazon? Imma go with no) about EVERYTHING. She holds this mirror up to her guiding principles and then picks everything apart until she's left with this uncivilized and selfish husk, which she then covers up in a sparkly jumpsuit to make it all better. WHICH IS SOMETHING WE ALL DO.
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