''Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?'' is a 2014 graphic memoir of American cartoonist and author

Roz Chast Rosalind Chast (born November 26, 1954) is an American cartoonist and a staff cartoonist for ''The New Yorker''. Since 1978, she has published more than 800 cartoons in ''The New Yorker''. She also publishes cartoons in ''Scientific American'' and ...

. The book is about Chast's parents in their final years. Her father, George, died at the age of 95 and her mother, Elizabeth, who worked as an assistant elementary school principal, died at the age of 97. The author derived the book's title from her parents' refusal to discuss their advancing years and infirmities. Chast's cartoons have appeared in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine since 1978. The book was appreciated for showcasing Chast's talent as cartoonist and storyteller. It received several awards and was a number 1 ''New York Times'' Bestseller.

Plot

The book's storyline, spanning an eight-year period from 2001 to 2009, concerns Roz Chast's parents living in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. The book describes various interactions between Chast and her parents. Chast, who lives in Connecticut, often used to visit her parents, calling their home "a hoarder's paradise". The couple is later moved into assisted living facilities near Chast's home due to their ailing health.

Publication

The book is a

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

, illustrated with full-color comic pictures. It was published by Bloomsbury in 2014. The book is divided into eighteen chapters including introduction and epilogue. The book consists of multi-media presentation: cartoons accompanied by text in speech balloons with additional handwritten commentary, family photographs, reproductions of Chast's mother's poetry, and "a series of twelve largely wordless" drawings in her last days. In addition to the United States, it was also made available in various other countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.

Review and reception

Alex Witchelmay of ''The New York Times'' described the book as "beautiful, deeply felt" and "scorchingly honest".

Rachel Cooke Rachel Cooke (born 1969) is a British journalist and writer. Early life Cooke was born in Sheffield, and is the daughter of a university lecturer. She went to school in Jaffa, Israel, until she was 11, before returning to Sheffield, and atten ...

wrote in ''The Guardian'' that the book is "honest, plangent and thoroughly ghoulish. But it's also hysterical". The editorial cartoonist of ''The Boston Globe'',

Dan Wasserman Dan Wasserman is an American political cartoonist for ''The Boston Globe''. Wasserman joined the Globe in 1985. He is syndicated by Tribune Content Agency in 40 papers in the U.S., Latin America, and Europe, and is the author of two books, ''We' ...

, reviewed the book, calling it "a touching, unflinching, darkly hilarious account" which "serves as a strange sort of self-help guide for those stumbling through the last years of their parents' lives". Tahneer Oksman of the ''

Jewish Book Council The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. Felice Aull, Adjunct Associate Professor at

New York University School of Medicine NYU Grossman School of Medicine is a medical school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1841 and is one of two medical schools of the university, with the other being the Long Island School of ...

, described "The Wheel of Doom" as "one of the most ambitious renderings".

Paul Gravett Paul Gravett is a London-based journalist, curator, writer, and broadcaster who has worked in comics publishing since 1981. He is the founder of ''Escape Magazine'', and for many years wrote a monthly article on comics appearing in the UK magaz ...

of ''The Independent'' appreciated the book for tackling "a dark, tricky subject" and called it "a new direction for the graphic novel with a reflection on the sad, inevitable end".

Awards

In 2014, the book won the

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Kirkus Reviews'' in 2014 which has a cash remuneration of $50,000. Kirkus described the book as "a top-notch graphic memoir that adds a whole new dimension to readers' appreciation of Chast and her work". The book was a finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor but lost to ''Dear Committee Members'' by Julie Schumacher. The book was selected as one of ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

s 10 Best Books of 2014.

References

External links

"A Cartoonist's Funny, Heartbreaking Take On Caring For Aging Parents"
Roz Chast interview on ''

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to ...

'' (38 mins, 2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? 2014 non-fiction books 2014 graphic novels American memoirs American graphic novels Autobiographical graphic novels Bloomsbury Publishing books Kirkus Prize-winning works National Book Critics Circle Award-winning works