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Top of the pile
86
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
75/100Critics
96/100Scholars
Author:
David Sipress
Publisher:
Mariner Books
Date:
March 8, 2022
A longtime New Yorker staff cartoonist offers a memoir about growing up Jewish in New York City, his circuitous route to professional cartooning and the origins of creativityâwith some of the author's witty, beloved cartoons appearing throughout.
What The Reviewers Say
Chast’s book was a graphic memoir, told using her art; in Sipress’s book, his cartoons act more as punctuation marks to the narrative, written in prose that is also economical and amiable (and occasionally devastating). It’s like the difference between a through-composed opera and a musical.
Sipress offers a variety of vivid memories throughout his book. Some are comical (such as the time he decided to throw his toys out his 12th-floor bedroom window), some tender (he recalls riding the subway with his mother when he was small), and some painful (such as the loss of loved ones). But through it all, Sipress maintains his strong sense of humor, even when facing down sadness and anxiety. He has made a career out of laughing at himself, as he says, and readers will be drawn to the mix of humor and vulnerability here.
New Yorker cartoonist Sipress...draws on his gift for evoking the predicaments of human nature to tell beguiling stories about his life and career.
An affectionate, introspective memoir from the acclaimed cartoonist.
