Written & Art By Allie Brosh
Touchstone
ISBN: 978-1451666175
Allie Brosh writes the popular blog Hyperbole and a Half that is an exaggerated chronicle of her life. She first started the project for fun, writing a kind-of-memoir accompanied by poorly drawn pictures. Her readership blossomed and it resulted in her thoughts being captured in a dead tree format.
When reading Brosh’s book, her stories fit the description: they’re so bizarre they have to be true. No one would have been able to imagine them, unless they have a warped sense of humor or an alcoholic drink was involved. She opens the book describing how when she was younger she wrote a letter to her future self. After describing the letter’s contents, she proceeds to poke fun at her younger self, including her strange obsession with dogs and how she expected a response.
Short of berating herself, Brosh uses reasoning to answer the questions and then proceeds to write the asked for letter, though she can’t drop it in a time machine. Other stories included are her dislike for hot sauce, a dinosaur goose invading her house, and the woes of dog ownership . Her two dogs are dubbed the Simple Dog, because she’s not too bright, and the Helper Dog, who ended up being a mentally unstable hellion. The dogs are responsible for most of he chaos in Brosh’s life, the other half is from her childhood.
Despite the humor, Brosh describes her battle with depression, motivation, and fitting into adult life. Her take on depression is one of the most accurate and disheartening descriptions. People who don’t have depression always wonder what it’s like to have the mental roadblock. Brosh not only explains the pain she goes through, but also how people deal with it as best they can. What’s very interesting is how to explains that people who try to help are more annoying than helpful at times.
The drawings are purposely bad. Brosh doesn’t have much drawing skill beyond moving the mouse, but the drawings get her meaning across. The book is called Hyperbole and a Half, so while the drawings are bad they also convey the internal exaggeration Brosh wants to get across. If you’re curious the triangle on her head is a ponytail.
It’s funny. It’s sad. It’s sure to entertain.
