Needed a book to read while waiting for the veterinarian to give my dog his annual check-up, and this one had been tagged by me as a possible read at some point in the past and was available on Libby, so here we go.

The art is eye-catching, but Thorina Rose's account of how she handles her husband's infidelity was too alien to me. I just could not understand any of the actions she took at any point in the book or where her mind went. I cannot imagine my wife doing anything remotely similar were I to do what Rose's husband did. Usually, I value new perspectives, but everything here just left me shaking my head in disbelief or incomprehension.

Not for me. ( )

Thorina Rose’s Heartbreak Diet is a comic-book memoir of the breakup of her marriage. Both in words and illustrations, it’s wry, sad and easy to sympathize with. It begins with a simple exchange:

Thorina (holding toddler): Where are you going?
Her husband, X: I’m going running.

Rose illustrates her husband in a runners stretch, with a focus on his ass, in a sly visual dig. Throughout, he’s shown in shadow, and mostly from behind. It’s an effective way to characterize a man on his way out of their marriage. Rose’s art, black and white and shades of grey, is striking and accessible. The story is a pastiche of events, imaginings, advice she receives, and things she does, or tries to do, to get through the unraveling of her marriage. I enjoyed reading about her journey, both in pictures and in words. She narrates her anger, sadness and bewilderment, but her story is never weighed down by them, but buoyed by hope. ( )

The Heartbreak Diet is the memoir of a woman who's husband begins an affair that eventually separates them. They also have two children together. It is told in the format of a graphic novel.

You'd think due to the subject matter this would be depressing. In fact, what sold me on reading this was the format. I love graphic novels but usually try to avoid this sort of subject matter, it just makes me sad. I'm very glad I decided to read it. Rose has a great sense of humor about her life. She goes back and tells the story of how she and her husband met and formed a family. She also takes us through her healing process and the fun times with her children. I loved this book. Throughout the book are "Words of Wise Women" with great illustrations of famous women.

The graphic novel format is relatively quick to get through but I love how she broke her story up into different sections, like by day of the week or coping mechanism. Her illustrations are beautiful as well. There is a great amount of detail in them. I have a very large respect for cartoonists. It looks like she draws with an ink brush of some sort. If you mess up you have to start over! That is very tedious!

I think this book would be great for anyone that is the least bit curious about graphic novels. There are no superheros, zombies, or talking animals. It's a story we can all identify with and would be a great introduction into the genre.

I will definitely be reading this over and over again. Rose mixes real life situations with a great humor for life. ( )

A book about life, about changes and making the best of what comes our way even when we wish it wouldn't. The Heartbreak Diet is all about moving on. I really wanted to enjoy it, it is a graphic novel autobiography....doesn't that sound great!? I guess I was hoping for more, I think it ended before I felt like she got her pride back again, or before her husband got what he deserved, but I need to not give away any more than that. It is very hard to know what to say about someone's life, you can't criticize content.

Besides that, it is a good read, a super quick read....it only took one of my little boys' nap time to finish it, maybe an hour or so? I enjoyed it, and I thought the format of an autobiography in graphic novel form was really neat! ( )

Thorina doesn’t quite know what’s hit her when her husband begins an affair with his running partner. She tries out a variety of different strategies to keep her family together, and this little graphic novel comprises her struggle and her eventual success.

The Heartbreak Diet is really charming and sweet. The reader feels for Thorina immediately. It’s very short - I read it in less than an hour, so I’m not sure if I should count it as a book in the July Book Blowout, but I have because I don’t think I’m going to struggle to meet my requirements. I think it’s the illustrations that make it so memorable. Thorina’s tear-streaked face and her husband, always from the side or from the back - he’s not well-defined, merely a symbol for a man. So it’s clear almost immediately that her husband is no longer a part of her life, even before it’s explicitly decided. The reader feels for Thorina, her story is so sympathetic. I particularly enjoyed the snippets of advice from famous women and Thorina’s portraits of them.

There’s not much else to say, except this is certainly worth reading. Thorina’s struggle to the top is a very sweet, cheering read, and considering it was so short, I really recommend it.

http://chikune.com/blog/?p=124 ( )