heartbreak and a half

[eleanorjane]

Allie Brosh's new book, Solutions and Other Problems, landed this week and I caved to Jeff Bezos and bought the Kindle version because I wanted to read it now, not... sometime later when it physically lands in Aus.

From an interview with Buzzfeed News:

Congrats on the new book! How would you describe it to both fans of yours and people new to you?

Allie Brosh: Like a wildlife documentary about one specific animal. It was written and directed by the animal. And instead of watching, you have to read and look at pictures. The animal drew the pictures. There are 1600 of them. One time, the animal became trapped in a bucket.

Oh god. So, on the one hand, most of the anecdotes in the book are not as uproariously funny as her blog or her first book. But on the other hand, she has evolved so much as a storyteller; instead of a collection of anecdotes, the book tells a story from start to finish, the anecdotes being the vector for the story rather than the point of it. Taken as a whole, it's a finely honed narrative about grief, mental illness and personal growth, and it fucking destroyed me.

It's so good, but – at least if your sensitive spots are in the same places as mine – it's not an easy read. Still, I entirely recommend it, unless you are actively and delicately curating your inputs to avoid mental health risks.

Also, her Inner Dog Voices are still 100% on point. So good. ♥