Synopses & Reviews
This endearing myopic monkey inhabits an everyday world, but one not without a supernatural charm; she is just as likely to appear at your doorway with a freshly baked pie as with her elephant-eared imaginary friend.
Nearsighted Monkey collects a series of portraits in which the pleasant primate goes about her daily life — smoking while hogging the remote, making pancakes, waiting for the bus — alternately bundled up for her travels or lounging in slippers and a housecoat. She might drink all of your wine, or the last of the coffee, but all is forgiven upon her presentation of a perfect grilled cheese sandwich.
Lynda Barry presents this remarkably familiar character in colorfully inked pages, sometimes painted upon typed science and arithmetic notes from the 1920s. Contrasted in this fashion, the monkey and her pursuits become much more substantial than the long-forgotten lesson plans they upstage. Similarly, in true Lynda Barry style, they serve as a reminder of the playfulness so key to genuine learning and to a satisfying daily routine.
Review
Praise for
What It Is:
“The collages in legendary cartoonist Lynda Barrys What It Is are a bathysphere-like odyssey through the depths of her funky subconscious.” —ELISSA SCHAPPELL, Vanity Fair
“Meditations, stories and images float past in a random fashion, segueing between darkness and hope, or adulthood and childhood, the way they might in dreams or memory.” —CAROL KINO, The New York Times
“What It Is is part diary, part showcase, part manifesto for the power of the imagination. Its bold and beautiful; angry and sad; joyful and loving and nervous.” —JULIA KELLER, Chicago Tribune
Review
"Lynda Barry is particularly adept at working with intolerable states. Her graphic stories are situated within deeply uncomfortable, even traumatic circumstances. Characters like Marlys, Freddie, and Arna are engaging partly because they are often awkward, ignorant, and "wrong" — yet they still manage to be always and entirely themselves, despite their dependence on adults who do not always have their best interests in mind. For a long time, these fictional kids have inspired readers who struggle to remain true to themselves amidst their own challenging circumstances." Jen Besemer, Rain Taxi (Read the entire )
Synopsis
Nearsighted Monkey collects a series of portraits in which the pleasant primate goes about her daily life — smoking while hogging the remote, making pancakes, waiting for the bus — alternately bundled up for her travels or lounging in slippers and a housecoat.
Synopsis
The creative-drawing companion to the acclaimed and bestselling
What It Is.
Lynda Barry single-handedly created a literary genre all her own, the graphic memoir/how-to, otherwise known as the bestselling, the acclaimed, but most important, the adored and the inspirational What It Is. The R. R. Donnelley and Eisner Award winning book posed, explored, and answered the question: "Do you wish you could write?" Now with Picture This, Barry asks: "Do you wish you could draw?" It features the return of Barry's most beloved character, Marly's, and introduces a new one, the Near-sighted Monkey. Like What It Is, Picture This is an inspirational, take-home extension of Barry's traveling, continually sold-out, and sought-after workshop, "Writing the Unthinkable."
Synopsis
A Drawn & Quarterly Petit Livre by the cartoonist of What It Is.
Synopsis
The creative-drawing companion to the acclaimed and bestselling What It Is
Lynda Barry single-handedly created a literary genre all her own, the graphic memoir/how-to, otherwise known as the bestselling, the acclaimed, but most important, the adored and the inspirational What It Is. The R. R. Donnelley and Eisner Award-winning book posed, explored, and answered the question: “Do you wish you could write?” Now with Picture This, Barry asks: “Do you wish you could draw?” It features the return of Barrys most beloved character, Marlys, and introduces a new one, the Near-sighted Monkey. LikeWhat It Is, Picture This is an inspirational, take-home extension of Barrys traveling, continually sold-out, and sought-after workshop, “Writing the Unthinkable.”
About the Author
Lynda Barry has worked as a painter, cartoonist, writer, illustrator, playwright, editor, commentator, and teacher, and found they are very much alike. She lives in Wisconsin.