Hyperbole and a Half (2013)

What can I say about this book? First off, I will say that Allie Brosh is a wonderfully unapologetic human being. She is courageous and hilarious and she doesn’t bullshit – not for a second. If you’re not familiar with her work, then I’ll give you a brief biography. Brosh is a comedian blogger and now published writer. She has a unique style, in that most of her blogs involve pictures with funny captions than they do so much long ramblings of writing. She writes about her life, that’s it, yet she has managed to garner a massively loyal fan base.

I’ve come across her work before. In fact I remember the very first time I came across it. I was having another of my insomniac-fuelled internet binges and searching random blogs. I think I might have been searching about depression or something, because I distinctly remember that this was the first blog post of hers that I saw. I was quite taken aback by Brosh’s candour – she depicted her ongoing battle with depression in both an hilarious and no-holds-barred way. She didn’t shy away from how shit she still felt, yet she still managed to make me laugh. As someone who has and does battle with mild depression (something I’ve never wrote about or admitted before), I thought this was an inspiring acknowledgement of her inner demons. This post about depression, and the one that followed it, are included in her book, which I was very happy to find.

It wasn’t until very recently though that I came across her work again. I was scrolling through Facebook, as one often does, when I saw a link on either Buzzfeed or HelloGiggles (which I now for the life of me cannot find), about the best 14 books of 2014. As a literature student I find it my obligation to read these types of articles, which is actually pretty time-consuming because hell, there is a lot of these articles floating around, but back to the point! As you have probably realised, this book was on that list, and as I googled it and read reviews for it I very quickly realised that ‘Hey! This is by that really cool writer I came across AGES ago. Well, now I have to buy it!’. Man was it a good investment.

I read the entire book in a night, avidly consuming each section and laughing my head off throughout. The book is made up of new and old material, and is split into 18 different sections which tell tales of Brosh’s life. Ranging from the aforementioned sections covering her depression, we also hear tales from Brosh’s childhood and in one section see how she would interact with herself at different ages – which is highly amusing not to mention god damn relatable. She often laments on how very weird she finds herself, and the pictures she uses to accompany these lamentations emphasise her points beautifully. The comic-strip paint-produced style looks so simple (literally, even a toddler could produce the images Brosh creates), and yet it is its simplicity which makes it so great.

As I was reading/looking through this book, time and again I thought to myself – this woman is literally in my brain. In a section called “Identity”, Brosh talks about the innate selfishness of herself, and discusses how she only acts like a good person because she wants to be perceived as a good person. With each example she offered, I laughed and thought ‘Shit, that is me. That is me all over!’, which made it all the more funny. The fact that Brosh can discuss deeply serious topics such as Identity (a conversation theorists and psychologists can go round and round in circles with till their faces turn blue) with the brash humour she uses, and yet so eloquently capture what every person secretly thinks about their own identity is remarkable. Brosh doesn’t just use her unique style and narration to make her audience laugh, but also to make them think. About themselves, about the ones they love, about everybody. Whether she does it intentionally, I’m honestly not sure. I think she does it mainly for herself. Like if she doesn’t get these thoughts and feelings out then they’ll just fester and rot, but frankly that makes it all the more powerful. I find that when a writer creates something for themself and for themself alone, its always so much more powerful. So much more intimate and beautiful, and an experience readers never quickly forget. 

While the style and genre of this book won’t win Brosh a Pulitzer prize for her work, she definitely wins the award for most relatable, ridiculous and most unapologetically blunt writer/creator/internet-star out there. Seriously, this woman just gets humanity and all of its thoughts and all of its feelings. The intricacies and flaws that make up every human are related by Brosh in a manner that make you realise just how complicated and yet surprisingly similar people are.When you read this book, you will think to yourself, ‘Wow, I could’ve written this’ and that’s not because its simple or clichéd, but because Brosh captures every thought and feeling (simple or complex) and puts it down. You’ll feel like you know the woman after you’ve read this comic novel, and most importantly, you’ll feel like she knows you. 

So, to reiterate, what can I say about this book? What I can say, is that you have to read it, because, aside from making you laugh till your stomach hurts, it will also have a profoundly deep affect on you, especially if you have ever suffered from the crushing and mind-numbing effects of depression. Brosh might just give you hope. I can say that because she certainly gave it to me. 

Sometimes its just nice to know that you're not the only one feeling how you feel...

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