nick_jenkins's review against another edition
3.0
Some interesting local history, but less insight than I expected. Kind of thrown off, although the artwork is very good.
mschlat's review against another edition
3.0
As far as I know, this was Harvey Pekar's last work. It's an interesting coda --- both a history of Cleveland (the city he lived in and loved) and a history of himself. The former has its good bits, but is sometimes disjointed and repetitive. Pekar tends to rely on facts (e.g., population statistics) to get across the rise and fall of Cleveland, so you get the gist, but not necessarily the spirit. The history of Pekar himself is much more interesting --- I haven't seen one of his works before where he gives such a wide sweep of his life (although he does skip over much of the material found in [b:Our Cancer Year|201792|Our Cancer Year|Harvey Pekar|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327934491s/201792.jpg|195239]). There's a lot of attention paid to his collecting (both books and LPs), the criticism he wrote, and the fans who visited him in his home. Illustrator Joseph Remnant echoes the detail of [a:R. Crumb|5866191|R. Crumb|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1341429856p2/5866191.jpg] with beautiful cityscapes. If you haven't read Pekar before, I wouldn't start here, but if you have, seek this out to see the author looking over his life's work.
chadstep's review against another edition
5.0
Took a side trip to HP land and loved every minute of it--dry wit, self-deprication, righteousness and so much better than any Bukowski sad sack stuff. And I learned about Cleveland--nice!
pakastajaelvi's review against another edition
3.0
Valitsin kannen perusteella Libbystä. Nytpä ainakin tiedän sekä Clevelandista ja Pekarista huomattavasti enemmän kuin aikaisemmin. Kesti hetken päästä sisään, ehkä antaa enemmän lukijalle jolle Pekar on aiemmin tuttu.
dawnoftheread's review against another edition
4.0
http://www.unshelved.com/bookclub/2012-12-14#9781603090919
kristengismondi's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book so much, and now it's making me nostalgic and homesick for northeast Ohio.
tullyndmom's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this more than American Splendor itself. It was more focused, with an actual storyline, which helped. It gives an interesting if simplified history of Cleveland, as well as Pekar’s life.
btmarino84's review against another edition
5.0
A lovely way for Pekar to leave us. Simultaneously a love letter to, and a rant about, the city he always called his own. He also takes the time to give us some history and politics and culture about this place. The art is fabulous, realistic and cartoony in equal measure, with a real knack for capturing cityscapes and the feel of a place.
I love that the final lines in his final book have a typically Pekar pessimistic comment, that also feels slightly hopeful. "I'd like to see that." is sarcastic, while also honest. he really would. He loves this place.
I love that the final lines in his final book have a typically Pekar pessimistic comment, that also feels slightly hopeful. "I'd like to see that." is sarcastic, while also honest. he really would. He loves this place.
mzjai117's review against another edition
2.0
I'm pretty disappointed in this book. I started reading it being a proud Clevelander and now I'm like Harvey was just another mediocre white man who held slightly racist views as usual. I should have known because it's nothing new when white men write about their experiences in Cleveland it has serious racist undertones. I will say one thing, I'm happy he gave some interesting history about my city. History that I never knew anything about so for that reason, and that reason alone I gave it an extra star...otherwise I'd give it one star on my review.