A review by mschlat
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist by Adrian Tomine
4.0
The first twenty pages or so set the tone. Tomine is detailing episodes of embarrassment in his life, starting from his childhood and moving forward in time. Often, it's clear he's making the situation worse with anxiety, but the precipitating event is often out of his control and horrible.
So I start reading and I cringe and cringe and cringe, and I start wondering if I can handle 200 pages of this... It's raw and painful and seemingly purposeless. (Is this just a list of humiliations?)
And then the timeline passes his early twenties, and while the embarrassment continues, it's more nuanced and understandable. Tomine is more aware of the agency he has, and the presence of his family partially offsets the anxiety.
And then the last quarter of the book explains the first three quarters (and I won't detail how), and the whole work shimmers with meaning and purpose and even good humor. It's a wonderful turn and one of the most pleasant endings I've read in awhile.
Sidenote #1: I read this and learned that I've been mispronouncing Tomine's last name for DECADES. It might please his preadolescent self that I now remember that his name follows the same rhythmic pattern as John Romita.
Sidenote #2: Drawn & Quarterly knocks it out the park designwise. This volume resembles a personal journal, down to the elastic strap holding it closed and the nameplate in the front.
So I start reading and I cringe and cringe and cringe, and I start wondering if I can handle 200 pages of this... It's raw and painful and seemingly purposeless. (Is this just a list of humiliations?)
And then the timeline passes his early twenties, and while the embarrassment continues, it's more nuanced and understandable. Tomine is more aware of the agency he has, and the presence of his family partially offsets the anxiety.
And then the last quarter of the book explains the first three quarters (and I won't detail how), and the whole work shimmers with meaning and purpose and even good humor. It's a wonderful turn and one of the most pleasant endings I've read in awhile.
Sidenote #1: I read this and learned that I've been mispronouncing Tomine's last name for DECADES. It might please his preadolescent self that I now remember that his name follows the same rhythmic pattern as John Romita.
Sidenote #2: Drawn & Quarterly knocks it out the park designwise. This volume resembles a personal journal, down to the elastic strap holding it closed and the nameplate in the front.