Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh is a partially illustrated, partially written memoir-ish book about parts of Allie’s life. It’s largely funny, even though horrible things happen.
1—Life is Weird
Seriously. A lot of what Allie chronicles are just the random, weird things in life, told in a way that highlights the what-the-fuck-ness of it all, but also made me laugh a lot.
2—Life is Meaningless
There really is some heavy shit in this book—death, depression, hope, lack of hope, persistence in the face of it all anyway. But, again, usually in a way that made me laugh despite myself. You have been warned.
3—Life is Random
The first chapter is about how, as a child, Allie was determined to get herself stuck in a bucket. There’s a whole chapter about how fucked up The Ugly Duckling and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer are as children’s stories. There’s another about babysitting a child who it tuns out is deathly afraid of dandelions. There’s dogs and a cat and people and loneliness and fucked up behavior and it feels light and heavy at the same time and…seriously, I can’t explain it all, just read it.
Conclusion
Solutions and Other Problems is defiant in the face of meaninglessness. Allie finds or makes humor wherever she can. I loved this book. It’s the first story I’ve been able to read in four months.
I’ve been unsure about reading this author’s books because I’m not a fan of her artwork but I’ve heard a lot of good things about them. I’m curious about this one but I’ll probably read ‘Hyperbole and a Half’ first. 🙂
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