Raphael Bob-Waksberg

1.5

i had such big expectations going into this, i even bought matching pink tabs specifically for this book (!!!) coz everyone seems to love it so i thought i will too. this was so dissapointing and so unfunny it actually made me angry. the absurdity worked for me only in the 3rd story, which i liked alot, but the more i read the more i kept rolling my eyes. in the whole book i enjoyed maybe like 5 stories, but even those were like 3/5 good, dats why im rating the whole thing 1.5/5. maybe if u enjoy bojack, you will like this but ive never watched the show and tbh this book made me even less interested in it. honestly im just sad bc i really expected to love this but here we are, next time i wont make the same mistake by hyping up a book for myself ig :)… (lisätietoja)

If you are a fan of BoJack, this book will definitely not disappoint you. There are even a couple stories that you could read in his voice if you tried hard enough. That isn't to say all the stories are so-very-BoJack because they aren't, but there's a style here that is recognizable.

Most of the stories have this melancholy shade to them, but even through that melancholy there is a humor that feels not so much warm but familiar and inclusive--like we are all laughing together at the stupid shit we humans do. The characters have this depth that isn't really in what is explicitly written but in the way you can relate to them. You may not be sacrificing goats for your wedding, for example, but you understand the impulse to give in to tradition and superstition. And the love. The love is there too.

My favorite story is the second to last and (I think) the longest called "More of the You That You Already Are." It was charming and funny and weird and as close to a happy ending as you get with this collection. Not that a happy ending is a requirement or anything, just that the story was a nice upswing there at the end that left me smiling.

The info on the jacket says this is Bob-Waksberg's first book. I hope it is not his last!… (lisätietoja)

3.5

Exactly what you would expect a Bojack Horseman (Extended) book would read like. I don't have problems with that, I love the show. The stories here have the same self-deprecating wit that makes the show so endearing, but the subject matter is more limited. Romantic love takes the undisputed center, and it really hurts for a while. Eventually though that kinda gets boring especially when you're single and not really particularly sad about it.

My favorites from this collection:
Missed connections - Short and sweet and free to read in Craigslist, of all places
Up-and-comers - Absurdist comedy about superheroes falling in love? It's more likely than you think
The average of all possible things - Lucinda is literally me in a parallel universe

Life is terrifying and overwhelming and it can happen at any moment. And when you’re confronted with life you can either be cowardly or you can be brave, but either way you’re going to live.
So you might as well be brave.… (lisätietoja)