Theories of Everything: Selected, Collected, and Health-Inspected Cartoons, 1978-2006

This one took me a while, and in a few ways, some even ironic. Firstly, it's a long edition (mine ran into 400 pages) and secondly....in all honesty, I think this is a collection meant to be taken gradually or, as Amos Oz might say, in 'little sips'. And I'm glad I read this collection as I did because I truly believe that I've come away with something special, even singular.

Roz Chast, to paraphrase one of the blurbs on the book, truly is a master of a nearly lost art form (the single or close to single panel comic) and this collection really showcases this mastery. Though her content might not be the most initially 'exciting' there's a gradual compulsion (birthed from a neurotic's view of the world) that will slowly seize you the show more further into this collection you read. The best analogy I can come up with is if Kafka had a more secure life (financially a tad, socially a tad, and with reality a bit) then I think we'd have something at least of the same species as Chast. But that's the thing, she's very unique. Whereas some writers would problematize everything in the modern world as grist for the paranoiac mill, Chast does this...but somehow still leaves you smiling because of it. It's not because she makes the world (or the United States) look particularly warm or welcoming, far from it. But rather what Chast does is let us know that there are people out there thinking as the nervous think and trying to cope as the nervous do, that is, through struggle and attempts at comprehension. And the terminal smiling (what a phrase) comes from that mutual understanding, that reciprocity, that knowing, truly, one of us is documenting the not so subtle neuroses of our age.

So, while not a blockbuster work in any sense Chast has given us a collection (culled from decades of work, so be patient with it) that assures as it condemns, inspires (not hope, but at least relief) as it castigates, and overall I think this is a graphic novel not only worth your time but worth you admiration as well. You are not alone in knowing this world is falling apart. show less

This enormous book contains more than a quarter of a century's worth of Roz Chast's cartoons, all published in the New Yorker magazine. At 400 pages, it measures 9 x 11 inches, and the cartoons it contains are rendered in large size. Yet lest you think of it as a “coffee table book” that concept is the sort of pretentious possession that her cartoons would gently mock.

Chast's work is unique, and readers who do not recognize her name commonly will recognize her drawings, which have been widely distributed. The humor is understated, subtle, and ranges from perplexing to hilarious. Commonly, her cartoons are commentary on the weirdness of modern life. She has a talent for seeing the bizarre nature of mundane features of human show more existence, like a cultural anthropologist reflecting on the way we live ("we" being middle to upper class residents of North America). The satire is sharp, tongue-in-cheek, and ranges from gentle to biting. As for her drawings, they are minimalist. As a reviewer at Amazon noted “The pages swarm with balding, dot-eyed men, dowdy ladies in horn-rimmed glasses, and dumb kids with one protruding tooth. Background objects like floor rugs, lamps and couches are rendered as itchy glyphs.”

For example: A man sits on a couch with a thought balloon over his head: "Birth, bed, bath, beer, bankruptcy, bunions, bifocals, balding and beyond." In “The Greek Chorus of Apartment 7-H”, a family sits on the sofa watching TV. The Greek chorus trio behind them intones “While they are watching a reality show, polar caps are melting!” "What can be done about it? Maybe nothing!!!”

A cartoon titled “Required Seventh Grade Reading List” includes such books as The Red Badge of Boredom, Death be Not Monotonous, Silas Yawnfest, All Humdrum on the Western Front, Ennui Pond, and The Dull Man and the Sea. Another cartoon shows a car from behind, whose bumper stickers read: “Our Kid is an Honor Student”, “Our Dog is a National Champion!”, “We Never Get Sick!” and “We Have Money, and Lots of It”

A cartoon is titled “Thank -You Cards for Ralph Nader” (Nader being the “spoiler” in the 2000 US presidential election that gave us GW Bush). One card is headed “For You” and reads "Yosemite’s a shopping mall, the desert isn’t there at all. Alaska’s an amusement park, I guess you really made your mark. Thanks a lot, jerk.” Another Nader card, called “An Appreciative Note” reads When everyone can buy a gun without too much ado. A few will say ‘who paved the way?’ and I will think of you. Way to go, pal”.

In "How Much Should You Tip?" the cartoon informs us that for teachers, "20 percent of tuition at the end of the semester is the usual amount." And then there’s one of my favorites, “Diary of a Cat”: with the following daily entries: ”Today I got some food in a bowl. It was great! I slept some too!” The next day's reads “Played with yarn. Got some food in a bowl. Had a good sleep.” and the next day: “Slept, food, yarn. Fun! “ and then the next: “Had a good nap. Then food in a bowl. Then yarn. ..”

Ok, one more -- "Strange Proverbs". Among the words of wisdom: "The ketchup of sorrow is worth more than the mustard of happiness." "Three shoes do not a hat make." "A song in time is worth a dime." and "Hop before you skip."

Description does none of the cartoons justice. They are best read in small doses of ten or so at a time, since entering Roz Chast’s universe for an extended period is likely to dull the mind and alter one's perspective long term. Maybe that’s not a bad possibility. show less

As far as I'm concerned, Roz Chast should really be crowned God immediately. Most of the stuff in this book makes me laugh out loud, and every the ones that don't have sort of a wry genius to them. Also, because this book collects her work starting in 1978, when she sold her first cartoon to the New Yorker, you can see how her style evolved over the years.

Roz Chast is consistently funny in an enjoyably bent way. Few other cartoonists make me laugh aloud, alone, in the middle of the night. This is a nice, big, chunky retrospective that will use up a certain amount of your otherwise productive time. Too big to read in the tub or to hide in a professional journal at work.

Roz Chast's cartooning work in recent years has been so content to mine the vein of child/parent relationships that it's easy to forget the pleasures of her early work, which is much more interested in the intersection between the odd and the quotidian. This is a great collection, although the first third (for my money) is vastly better than the final third.

Chast is one of my favorite cartoonists; her work is just the perfect blend of neurotic anxiety, literary humor, and utter wackiness. This is a really great collection, too: 400 pages spanning her entire career, including many of my personal favorites. (Pollyanna in Hell! Yay!) Highly, highly recommended.

This is a huge tome of very funny cartoons. My painful complaint is that there are no page numbers. Seemingly trivial but when my wife or I want to mark a cartoon for the other to see, we have no way to know where it is. (we bought some page markers to solve this). I am sure this will be dog-eared in time but right now it has it's hefty cover, thick glossy pages, and large format - a wonderful book that won't be exhausted soon.