Over Easy

Mimi Pond is one of the best cartoonists working today - but there's never been enough of her! Finally, a roman a clef tribute to her college life in Oakland in the period when hippies were waning and punks were on the rise. In 4 spectacular chapters, Margaret leaves home to attend art school in Oakland, and, more importantly, starts working at the Imperial Café, a hangout for everyone interesting in Oakland. Madge (her diner name) has to pay her extremely high dues as a dishwasher and only moves up to server when another of the girl gang departs. Most memorable is Lazlo Merengue, the boss. For Lazlo to hire you, you need to tell him a great joke.

The captions and drawings evoke a time in all of our lives when we were trying on and show more discarding new costumes and ideas. As the song says, we were "a million different people from one day to the next", and all of Madge's lives, and those of her co-workers and customers, are lyrically drawn and quoted and remembered. The most joyous part is a successful Poetry Night in which all comers are revealed to be bards in their own write.

If I had enough money, I'd buy the world Over Easy. show less

Well, I liked that more than I thought I would! I wondered if I would tire of the episodic nature, but it seamlessly flowed one story into another, with all the gloriously seedy 70s sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll you could ask for. Totally recommended if you like reading Anthony Bourdain, if a bit more sympathetic to wait staff.

The basics: Over Easy is a partially fictionalized graphic memoir of Mimi Pond's experience as an art student and diner waitress in Berkeley, California in the 1970's.

My thoughts: I spent years working in restaurants. I never worked in a diner, but the wine bar in Atlanta where Mr. Nomadreader and I met, had an eight-hour brunch every Saturday and Sunday. Given my history (and Mr. Nomadreader's continued work) in the service industry, I'm drawn to books about the restaurant business. When I read Mimi Pond wrote a comic for Seventeen in the 1990's, I immediately remembered her, and I also knew she wrote for The Simpsons. Over Easy may be a debut graphic memoir, but she's an accomplished and experienced artist and author.

Pond captures the show more essence of 1970's Berkeley well. I was eager to explore that world, and the level of detail helped me immerse myself in it quickly. She also captures the naivete of her former self well. As is still the case, restaurants are filled with sex, drinking and drugs, and Mimi was often surprised to see how her co-workers lived and partied.

What was less successful for me in terms of storytelling was the lack of insight. It's as though Pond shared her journals from the moment without the perspective of life lived since then. In that sense, it's too ordinary of a coming of age story. Much will be familiar to anyone who spent time working in a restaurant today. While this type of coming of age story can be quite successful, I was struck by how ordinary her experience was. Clearly it was powerful enough for her to tell this story (and tell it well), but as I read, I kept waiting for the 'so what?' moment. What makes this graphic memoir/novel special? Given Pond's professional success, there's an argument there, but she doesn't address her life now at all, even in passing. Pond is what's most interesting here, but too much of the story hinges on the cast of characters that fascinated, delighted and confounded her younger self. Unfortunately, they didn't have the same impact on this reader.

The verdict: I had high expectations for Over Easy, and overall I was underwhelmed. Pond immersed me in the time and place, but I wanted more insight and reflection into her experience. I wanted more insight into what makes this story special. I most enjoyed her life outside of the restaurant, but the story focused mostly on the cast of characters within the restaurant. Ultimately, Over Easy is a competent coming of age graphic memoir, but I wanted more. show less

Fantastic. A superb workplace graphic novel about an Oakland diner in the last 1970s. Picture John Cheever as a 20s something art student, female and illustrated. Worth every page and every slice of buttered toast. Best to read with breakfast.

I just loved it and I keep recommending it to people. I love how it captures a particular time and place so well, as well as a particular age of striking out on your own, unsure of what's to come next, but determined to have a good time anyway. Anyone who has ever worked in food service, and/or has any love of diners and their wacky cast of characters, and/or likes quirky and off-beat coming-of-age stories should read this immediately. You will not be disappointed. :)

I loved Mimi Pond's 1982's book The Valley Girls' Guide to Life, which I still own 39 years later. Her drawings are wildly entertaining. Over Easy is a delicious graphic memoir. I read it in two days. It pulled me in and kept me enthralled. The characters are memorable, the situations they find themselves in at times are outrageous, and the writing is engaging.

Fun time capsule through the lens of someone looking to feel welcome and successful.