Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Review: THE INFINITE WAIT AND OTHER STORIES, by Julia Wertz

The Infinite Wait and Other Stories, by Julia Wertz. Published 2012 by Koyama Press. Graphica. Memoir.

I've been a fan of Julia Wertz since reading her first book, The Fart Party, which I reviewed here back in 2008. I got to interview her once for this blog, and when my husband went on a business trip to Brussels, the thing he found to bring me was a French translation of her comics.  This book isn't her most recent (that would be 2014's Museum of Mistakes, a collection of Fart Party comics) but it's a great introduction to her style and sensibility.

The Fart Party books are about her relationship with and breakup from a man named Oliver, as well as about her life in San Francisco and moving to New York City. (I just moved to New York so maybe I need to re-read that one.) They are crass, childish and full of swears. They are also very very funny and I love them. This book has less scatalogical and swear-word content than the Fart Party books but it's still definitely one for the grownups. I say this because there are still lots of people who think graphic-books are for children.

The Infinite Wait is comprised of three stories- two longer stories, one about working in restaurants and the other about how she started writing and drawing comics after coming down with Lupus at the age of 20, and a short about her love of libraries. As a librarian this last story warmed my heart of course but I loved the first two for telling me more about the woman behind Fart Party. Her adventures in restaurant work remind me of mine in retail and I'm grateful that she shared her personal struggle with chronic illness. Chronic illness is an issue that is often misunderstood and the people who suffer from it don't always get the understanding they need and deserve. I hope that Wertz's story can go some way to changing some perspectives.  She tells her story, plain and unpretentious, and that's what I've always loved about her writing.

So, I think you should pick this up if you like graphic memoirs and slice-of-life style graphic books. Obviously if you're a fan of hers you should read it. I'm a fan, so.

Rating: BEACH

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review.

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