Review: Solutions and Other Problems

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh
My rating: ---

I don't really feel comfortable rating books tied so personally to the author's experiences like this one, but if you enjoyed Hyperbole and a Half, I heavily recommend this one as a follow-up. The subject matter honestly feels heavier (considering the last one covered her depression... that's saying something), but it also feels relevant especially in today's world, in the midst of COVID when it sometimes feels like at least half of us are going mad.

The experience of reading this reminded me of the times we covered absurdist literature in high school. It's funny because back then it just seemed like the authors we read were just weird or high on drugs or the [lack of] meaning of life or something, but I don't think I ever really truly understood the impulses that led them to write those works in the first place. I just didn't have the life experiences back then to really get it.

Which leads me back to Allie here. She gets it.

And it takes her a while to... get to the point of getting it, framing it within a series of seemingly random stories that are often hilarious enough in their own light (I will never get tired of her funky drawings of pets lol). But once her setup starts to come together and she makes it clear where her ideas really are, it all makes sense... how much it doesn't make sense. What life really feels like mentally post-depression, when normally you would expect things to come together. But sometimes they just don't.

If you've tried following Allie's story at all over the past seven years since she basically disappeared off the face of the internet, this book explains a lot. Honestly, I feel like most people given her circumstances would've probably receded into permanent Bill Watterson-like obscurity for the sake of their own mental health, because I sure as hell would have. Life is difficult enough as it is.

But all that said, I'm glad she's back.