An energetic, optimistic call to accept imperfections in ourselves and others.
A manifesto against the detrimental effects of perfectionism.
Collins and Molitor strike upon the theme of their collaboration early by introducing readers to the Japanese art and philosophy of kintsugi in which broken pottery is made both stronger and more beautiful through the process of repair. They counterpose this philosophy against the relentless pursuit of perfection they’ve each encountered in their personal and professional lives, hoping their book will serve as a guide for the reader to “find joy” in our imperfect selves without giving up on improving things. They refer to this flawed state as being “flawsome” and advocate the spreading of “flawsomism” in order to embrace not only our own flaws, but those of the world around us, citing the benefits of cultivating inner calm and self-worth. “When you start embracing your authentic self, just the way you are—and just the way you aren’t,” they write, “your sense of self-esteem will continue to expand and grow.” The authors frequently reflect on their own personal histories growing up in families with perfectionist expectations, where the “never good enough” messaging was painful. Consequently, several of their fast-paced and well-designed chapters have concentrations on parenting, where they focus on empowering children to become “happy, healthy, and confident adults, knowing they are enough and perfectly flawsome just as they are.” The authors’ call to “strive for excellence, not perfection” is a refreshing reminder of how corrosive self-criticism can be, and they make a strong case for “flawsomism” as a legitimate path to betterment. “Unless you embrace that imperfection in yourself—all those imagined reasons you’re not ready,” they write, “you’ll never start that business, that project, that piece of art you’ve been envisioning.” The obvious contradiction here between accepting flaws and striving to improve is weakly addressed and not always well served by many of the real-world examples they provide: like the Play-Doh company, for example, which grew to success by adapting to changing markets, not by accepting flawed product. Even so, their warnings against joyless perfectionism are worth heeding. Note: The authors recommend readers go to a website, complete a survey, download an extra book, take a quiz, qualify for a discount, and scan a QR code before reading the book.
An energetic, optimistic call to accept imperfections in ourselves and others.Pub Date: April 26, 2024
ISBN: 9781934229422
Page Count: 202
Publisher: WME Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
Sedaris at his darkest—and his best.
In which the veteran humorist enters middle age with fine snark but some trepidation as well.
Mortality is weighing on Sedaris (Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002, 2017, etc.), much of it his own, professional narcissist that he is. Watching an elderly man have a bowel accident on a plane, he dreaded the day when he would be the target of teenagers’ jokes “as they raise their phones to take my picture from behind.” A skin tumor troubled him, but so did the doctor who told him he couldn’t keep it once it was removed. “But it’s my tumor,” he insisted. “I made it.” (Eventually, he found a semitrained doctor to remove and give him the lipoma, which he proceeded to feed to a turtle.) The deaths of others are much on the author’s mind as well: He contemplates the suicide of his sister Tiffany, his alcoholic mother’s death, and his cantankerous father’s erratic behavior. His contemplation of his mother’s drinking—and his family’s denial of it—makes for some of the most poignant writing in the book: The sound of her putting ice in a rocks glass increasingly sounded “like a trigger being cocked.” Despite the gloom, however, frivolity still abides in the Sedaris clan. His summer home on the Carolina coast, which he dubbed the Sea Section, overspills with irreverent bantering between him and his siblings as his long-suffering partner, Hugh, looks on. Sedaris hasn’t lost his capacity for bemused observations of the people he encounters. For example, cashiers who say “have a blessed day” make him feel “like you’ve been sprayed against your will with God cologne.” But bad news has sharpened the author’s humor, and this book is defined by a persistent, engaging bafflement over how seriously or unseriously to take life when it’s increasingly filled with Trump and funerals.
Sedaris at his darkest—and his best.Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-39238-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
PROFILES
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