Books › Hyperbole and a Half
Hyperbole and a Half
384 pages
A wildly funny, illustrated journey through the chaotic highs of childhood and the crushing lows of clinical depression.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting with your funniest, most unhinged friend as they tell you stories that make you laugh until you cry, and then just cry. The pace is incredibly brisk, propelled by crude, hyper-expressive illustrations that perfectly capture the manic energy of a sugar-crazed child or the blank stare of a very simple dog. Yet beneath the absurd, laugh-out-loud comedy lies a profound and deeply resonant exploration of clinical depression and existential dread. The tone shifts seamlessly from wildly hyperbolic to devastatingly vulnerable, creating an atmosphere that is both chaotic and deeply comforting. It is a perfect read for anyone who appreciates dark humor, struggles with their own brain chemistry, or just needs to feel a little less alone in the weirdness of being human.
- Mood
- chaotic
- hilarious
- poignant
- manic
- Tone
- absurd
- self-deprecating
- darkly comic
- vulnerable
- hyperbolic
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- mental health struggles · childhood absurdity · existential dread · the chaos of pet ownership · self-acceptance
- The writing
- Deceptively simple and conversational, pairing crude illustrations with razor-sharp, highly observant comedic timing.
- The arc
- Moves from chaotic, laugh-out-loud absurdity to profound, quiet vulnerability, and back to a gentle, resilient humor.
- Who it's for
- Anyone who has ever felt like a weird kid, struggled with their brain chemistry, or loves deeply flawed but lovable dogs.
Content notes
- depression
- suicidal ideation
- mental illness
About the book
Every time Allie Brosh posts something new on her hugely popular blog Hyperbole and a Half the internet rejoices.
Touching, absurd, and darkly comic, Allie Brosh’s highly anticipated book Hyperbole and a Half showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with deceptively simple illustrations.
This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features more than fifty percent new content, with ten never-before-seen essays and one wholly revised and expanded piece as well as classics from the website like, “The God of Cake,” “Dogs Don’t Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving,” and her astonishing, “Adventures in Depression,” and “Depression Part Two,” which have been hailed as some of the most insightful meditations on the disease ever written.
Brosh’s debut marks the launch of a major new American humorist who will surely make even the biggest scrooge or snob laugh. We dare you not to.
FROM THE AUTHOR: This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative—like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it—but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:
Pictures Words Stories about things that happened to me Stories about things that happened to other people because of me Eight billion dollars* Stories about dogs The secret to eternal happiness*
These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!
Description from Open Library.
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