My Begging Chart

Starred review from April 5, 2021
Roberts (Rat Time) returns with a thoroughly entertaining collection of autobiographical comics featuring her distinctive blend of deadpan humor and quirkily sincere flights of fancy. She observes life with husband Scott, pre-teen daughter Xia, and dog Crooky with equal parts appreciation and bemusement. “Xia and I played Barbies more intensely than ever before,” Roberts tells her mother, recalling Xia-as-Barbie improvising her way through a job interview, a scene followed by another in which the dolls awkwardly converse about art (imitating, one assumes, life). In another vignette, Roberts digs into her curious satisfaction at having spent weeks destroying her old sketchbooks and journals: “I’m being more productive whenever I’m not making anything.” Moments in which, for instance, a plate of Christmas cookies slips to the ground, to be picked up and placed in the trash one-by-one, are quiet examples of malaise creeping in. But Roberts remains exacting; when praised by a friend for being self-aware, Roberts quips she’s not a “better person” but only able to “see my flaws with absolute clarity.” The droll line drawings gently capture the oddity of quotidian activities, such as vacuuming the blades of a ceiling fan. Roberts’s slightly warped perspective hilariously and poignantly reflects back to readers the transient absurdity of domestic life.

May 15, 2021
Roberts shares her life with us again in the latest volume of her slice-of-life cartoons. We see her struggles with her young daughter, her depressive bipolar episodes, her multiple sclerosis, and her art. Many of the cartoons end with a pithy punchline delivered by Roberts or her daughter Xia, whose comments will often call to mind the idiom "from the mouths of babes." While these cartoons speak to very serious struggles, Roberts is able to find a glint of humor in some of her darker moments. The art style is sketchy and black and white, but it works well for the daily-life feel of the comics. Roberts has written several books of a similar nature, so she will surely have a following among working parents looking for validation of the humor in parenting. Additionally, those who like newspaper funnies or even amusing, realistic short stories may find pleasure in Roberts' experiences. Given the topics such as mental health and disease, be sure to tell readers to expect some dark and self-deprecating humor.

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