Book Review: Solutions And Other Problems by Allie Brosh

Allie Brosh returns with a new collection of comedic, autobiographical, and illustrated essays. Solutions and Other Problems includes humorous stories from Allie Brosh’s childhood; the adventures of her very bad animals; merciless dissection of her own character flaws; incisive essays on grief, loneliness, and powerlessness; as well as reflections on the absurdity of modern life.

My Review:

Everyone I know who read Hyperbole and a Half has been anxiously awaiting the release of this book for a while and it certainly lives up to expectations. Just looking at the cover reminds me of the first book and the wonderful facial expressions on the animated characters that she uses to tell her story. It amazes me how she can get so much emotion into these simple but adorable creations. The illustrations are always perfect for the story and I really enjoy the use of animation to tell her story, her thoughts and her feelings. I couldn't wait to open the book.

 

The three year old in a bucket story is one of those things that a lot of parents could have sympathy with. Children have a morbid curiosity and no amount of 'stay away from that' will work if the child is determined enough, as Allie's parents were to find out. The facial expressions in this story were very funny. Stalking Richard is another example of the weird stuff kids might do but of course with Allie, things are not quite as straightforward. I doubt that Richard wanted to live next door for much longer! I think a lot of pet owners could also relate to wondering what animals really think about the stupid crap that humans do. I certainly relate to the frustration around in car technology and mobile phones.

 

One thing I certainly relate to is her thoughts about how to 'defeat' all the people that she doesn't like in a sort of revenge thing. Oh yes, I still sit at night and think up ways I can get my own back on people that wronged me about thirty years ago, where I come out of it with a smirk and they regret crossing me. I know I'm never going to actually DO any of these fun revenge things but boy do I enjoy planning them! Funny, I considered this as totally normal and now I'm wondering if it is actually an example of mental health issues that I've had all along. That's one of the great things about reading about the struggles of others-you can find reasons for why you actually do things and realise it's all part of the illness, rather than you just being abnormal in some way.

 

I don't want to reveal all of what is covered in the book and spoil it but here are a few things that made me smile. If you've read the book, you'll get the references. The dandelion picnic, the see my bedroom child, you don't get to choose the bananas!, hammer man, Becky...oh the list goes on! However there are also incredibly tragic things in the book where my heart goes out to Allie, especially the struggle to deal with the aftermath of her sister's death. Her confusion, her mixed emotions-it was pretty tough to read that and not want to give her a hug. The illustrations for this section were really heartbreaking.

It sounds like a kind of ghoulish thing to say but reading about the mental health struggles of other people actually helps me to keep my own minor issues under control. On bad days I remember that other people are struggling worse than I am and that they are coping with whatever life throws at them so I can to. Reading books like this during lockdown really helped me to get a grip on the fear and panic that was threatening to overwhelm me in March 2020 and helped me to get a bit of a grip on myself. I find it so brave that authors like Allie can get out there and tell their own story in such an honest manner and I can assure her and others that they are helping a lot of us better deal with things. I hope to read more from her in the future.

Read November 2020

4 stars