“I am human: so nothing human is alien to me.” - the Roman playwright TerrenceI really enjoyed this book. If the ending didn't fall off a cliff, I would've considered it five stars. As is, I enjoyed Ames' humor and plot. I can identify with sentimental feelings for lost friends, pining hopelessly after women, the compulsion for that first drink, and having a butt emergency. (I wrote more about this, but discretion has me re-thinking my bathroom memoir). I include the quote above because Ames experiences haven't matched mine exactly, but I didn't read them and think, "Well, I never!"Can you imagine being an alcoholic in New York City? God help you! I can empathize with Ames' loneliness. He reminded me of Woody Allen and Philip Roth in his frankness about lust. That's what keeps the species going.As I said, my only beef is with the abrupt ending. Again, back to Allen. I'm reminded of "Midnight in Paris" and "Crimes and Misdemeanors." Let's tackle them chronologically:1) "Crimes and Misdemeanors" may be my favorite Allen movie. There's a character in there that inspires Allen to endure in life and maintain a positive outlook. This upbeat philosopher with the positive outlook on life ... commits suicide. He leaves a note saying, "I've gone out the window."From IMDB:Clifford Stern: [on Professor Levy's demise] He left a note. He left a simple little note that said "I've gone out the window." This is a major intellectual and he leaves a note that says "I've gone out the window." He's a role-model. You'd think he'd leave a decent note.The brevity of that is hilarious to me. For all this guy's words and philosophizing and positive talk at the end it was just, F*%& it. "I've gone out the window."2) "Midnight in Paris." This movie ended on a too happy note, I thought, where the character realizes that you shouldn't pine for the past, because there's always a past to pine for. The 2013 people miss 1998, the 1993 people miss 1978 etc. Such is nostalgia.To me, this rang false because I wonder if Allen really believes it. By some standards, I imagine the past was objectively better.This relates to "The Alcoholic" because it concerns endings. Professor Levy's death disappoints Clifford Stern because it lacks meaning. Similarly, "The Alcoholic's" ending disappointed me because of its abruptness. But, I suppose, Levy's death says that, "Yeah, death's abrupt. There is no meaning. Forget it." But when I read books, I like to think there's a meaning. At least invent a meaning for me. At least give me a happy ending!But not so false an ending as "Midnight in Paris!"P.S. I am in the midst of Stephen King's "Doctor Sleep." As I read it in the library, I saw "The Alcoholic" beckoning me from the shelf ("Doctor Sleep" is about alcoholism). Kismet! “I am human: so nothing human is alien to me.” - the Roman playwright TerrenceI really enjoyed this book. If the ending didn't fall off a cliff, I would've considered it five stars. As is, I enjoyed Ames' humor and plot. I can identify with sentimental feelings for lost friends, pining hopelessly after women, the compulsion for that first drink, and having a butt emergency. (I wrote more about this, but discretion has me re-thinking my bathroom memoir). I include the quote above because Ames experiences haven't matched mine exactly, but I didn't read them and think, "Well, I never!"Can you imagine being an alcoholic in New York City? God help you! I can empathize with Ames' loneliness. He reminded me of Woody Allen and Philip Roth in his frankness about lust. That's what keeps the species going.As I said, my only beef is with the abrupt ending. Again, back to Allen. I'm reminded of "Midnight in Paris" and "Crimes and Misdemeanors." Let's tackle them chronologically:1) "Crimes and Misdemeanors" may be my favorite Allen movie. There's a character in there that inspires Allen to endure in life and maintain a positive outlook. This upbeat philosopher with the positive outlook on life ... commits suicide. He leaves a note saying, "I've gone out the window."From IMDB:Clifford Stern: [on Professor Levy's demise] He left a note. He left a simple little note that said "I've gone out the window." This is a major intellectual and he leaves a note that says "I've gone out the window." He's a role-model. You'd think he'd leave a decent note.The brevity of that is hilarious to me. For all this guy's words and philosophizing and positive talk at the end it was just, F*%& it. "I've gone out the window."2) "Midnight in Paris." This movie ended on a too happy note, I thought, where the character realizes that you shouldn't pine for the past, because there's always a past to pine for. The 2013 people miss 1998, the 1993 people miss 1978 etc. Such is nostalgia.To me, this rang false because I wonder if Allen really believes it. By some standards, I imagine the past was objectively better.This relates to "The Alcoholic" because it concerns endings. Professor Levy's death disappoints Clifford Stern because it lacks meaning. Similarly, "The Alcoholic's" ending disappointed me because of its abruptness. But, I suppose, Levy's death says that, "Yeah, death's abrupt. There is no meaning. Forget it." But when I read books, I like to think there's a meaning. At least invent a meaning for me. At least give me a happy ending!But not so false an ending as "Midnight in Paris!"P.S. I am in the midst of Stephen King's "Doctor Sleep." As I read it in the library, I saw "The Alcoholic" beckoning me from the shelf ("Doctor Sleep" is about alcoholism). Kismet!
What do You think about L'alcolista (2010)?
This falls perfectly within my most beloved subset of graphic novels - the graphic memoir and, for better or worse, this leads me to hold it up to a very high standard. I am only peripherally familiar with Jonathon Ames' work but this is the first thing I have actually read. It was recommended and loaned to me by an acquaintance of his based on my adoration of Alison Bechdel's work. My friend did qualify the loan with the caveat that this does pale in comparison to Fun Home but said I would enjoy it. In truth I did enjoy it but I also could not shake the association to one of the greatest works in modern letters and I felt terribly disappointed. I hope the prose somewhat cliche and the story quite melodramatic. Not that the things that occur in the story are not enormously serious and dramatic but I feel the way they are handled did not do the weight of these things justice. This was not due to a lightheartedness either. The jacket blurbs promised crying and laughter being provoked by every other page but I hardly remember chuckling at all. Even the portion about Jonathon A. reading an essay about soiling his pants fell kind of flat when it should have been at least very amusing. I actually think it was the lack of life I felt in the illustrations. Yes, they are technically proficient but they seemed awfully stale to me. I just wanted so much more exploration of all the multitudinous vices more or less merely mentioned in the book. This could have been really moving and transformative but it never broke past solipsistic journaling. Which is fine but not great by any means. I also agree with other reviewers that the renderings of everyone (especially the women, to the mammoth shame of the illustrator) are bizarrely "idealized" and it all detracts from the story because, even if some of it is a fiction, it loses a sense of humanity necessary to care.
—mikeysthebest364156
The Alcoholic is a really good book. The story is just the what you would expect from a book called The Alcoholic: depressing, frightening, sad, and funny. Ames employs a very interesting technique in using a disjointed timeline in the first half of the book before the reader catches up to "the present". This prevents the reader from acknowledging the end but it allows the writer to express just how dark the book will get very early on. The art is also very nice and fits the story well. While there are some very unsettling situations it's nothing more than what you would expect.
—shenayangirl
One of the most heartbreaking final pages that I've ever read.
—pullengerard
One of the most heartbreaking final pages that I've ever read.
—nigel
