Review: Hyperbole and a Half

Hyperbole and a Half
by Allie Brosh

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hyperbole and a Half / B00BSB2AE4

If I could purchase this book for literally every human I know, I would. The book is funny, sure, and it's easy enough to see that from the free material on Allie's website. Her drawing style is awesome, her storytelling is hilarious, and her sense of humanity is funny and poignant all at once. There's funny material and stories in here that you haven't seen before and that alone is worth the cost of admission.

But what is really special about this book is the raw humanity Allie brings to the page. She talks beautifully about depression in a way that resonates deeply with me. The essays about how she beats herself up for not being a truly good, pure, perfectly-motivated altruistic person hit so close to home for me. She talks about feeling like a terrible human being because she's motivated by selfish reasons like "don't do a bad thing because it will make me a bad person" or "be nice because I want people to like me" or "follow this convention to avoid social consequences". I know those feels--the feeling that everyone else is good but you're a dirty faker because you're doing "good" things for the "wrong" reasons. Reading Allie's words made me feel less alone and a little less hard on myself.

This book is good and you will laugh and probably cry.

~ Ana Mardoll