Cruddy: An Illustrated Novel

This is a wildly dark odyssey that simulates all the senses of the mind. The characters are tragic, extreme and so, so real. The development and delivery of the plot and characters is artful and compelling, making the reader reluctant but completely driven to turn the page. This was a completely enjoyable read that was difficult in its authentic painting of the darkness of human greed and carelessness for life that is tempered with the sweetness and resilience of a youthful shockingly well adjusted heroin.

And you thought your adolescent life was cringe? Poor Roberta has been through it all - and comes out the other end bloody and busted up but wiser for the ride.

I don't know that this would be classified as ya fiction, though its main charcter is a young adult. This is the story of a troubled youth, in a troubling world. Had I not been familiar with Ms Barry's other work I doubt I would have bought the book- the title just does not draw you in. The story does. Well writen, engaging, brutally honest, a book I would recommend to all teenagers/adults to provide some insight into a world of which most of us are unfamiliar.

Cruddy by Lynda Barry can be described in numerous ways, but one word that always comes back to my mind is unique. The story surrounds 16 year old Roberta as she tells two stories simultaneously throughout the novel. One story is in the present day and the other is when she is 11 years old thinking back to a road trip her and her father took. The latter story I found to be far more intriguing as the relationship between Roberta and her father was horrifying and fascinating at the same time. To start, Roberta's father referred to her as `Clyde' throughout this story, but he was also an extremely abusive character in the novel as their entire trip ended up having a body count by the end.One of the interesting parts of the novel is the fact that it is told through the eyes of a teenager and yet it is not a book for young adults, or at least I feel that it would be inappropriate for the younger generations. It's a unique skill an author has when they can transverse age groups through the narrative of a teenager girl. Due to the content of the novel and the experiences that Roberta went through during her childhood, due to the abuse from her mother and father, she speaks as a girl with experience. While she remains a teenager, she has wisdom far beyond her years and Lynda Barry uses this to capture older readers and hook them into a story of drugs, sex and murder.This idea of the darkness that rests in the majority of the pages of Cruddy reminds me of Neil Gaiman's Coroline. While Coroline was in fact written for young readers, it had an eerie texture that rested in every turn of the page. Cruddy is similar in this fashion. Cruddy is also considered to be a graphic novel and while that might not be true in the traditional sense, scattered through the pages are crude images that work so fluently with the story and are incredibly successfully at sending a chill through the reader before they even start the chapter. The overall tone of the novel is extremely well developed and effective in terms of affecting the reader.While this book is extremely well written and intriguing, I'm afraid it may not be the best fit for all readers. The dark tone of the novel is something that many readers may have difficulty getting through or even enjoying at times. Personally, I prefer novels that take time to look at the brighter side of the conflict within them. My only other complaint is the issues I had deciphering the two tales. With each chapter switching back and forth between the stories of Roberta and Clyde, I initially did not comprehend what was happening. This was frustrating at times and struggled through it. Although once I read between the lines a bit and discovered the connection between the two stories and characters, the novel was much easier to comprehend and digest.

Looks good on the Kindle. Superb writing style - can't be beat. Barry takes you right into the mind of the narrator, and the tale is told in parallel timelines (usually this is gimmicky but it works here). This would make a great movie in the right director's hands.It's a sad tale of an emotionally abused girl, but it's also funny at times. Many memorable lines -- we quote them constantly. The writing is very evocative - probably because Barry is primarily a visual artist - so she is able to paint pictures with words. All senses are involved - sight, smell, sound, touch, and whatever the last one is. Aren't there five of them? I wish Barry would publish more like this. It's been way too long!

This was an incredible novel, though illustrated more in the Hugo Cabret sense than an actual graphic novel. I don't know why I feel I have to clarify that - the subtitle maybe? Anyway, it all hit me like a fist: the protagonist's manner of speech, the simmering violence, the stunning abuse, the drug-induced coming-of-age/coming-of-death/coming-to-terms, the savage humor. I was reeling, seeing stars for days. After all of the formulaic horror stories and dystopian female teenage voices I had read, Cruddy was like a fever dream. Highly recommend you devour it alone in a single sitting before anyone can stop you.

But this book grabs you by the collar but you don't wanna be let go of...So dark, yet you can't stop thinking about it weeks later. There is something in the way Barry writes dialog that just sounds so right, real, it trips the lower reptilian brain, and you get flash backs to your own youth, which may not be such a great thing....Or is it? She is " Cool Hand Luka" for the dysfunctional teen set. Her detachment allows the characters viewed thur her eyes to appear as they are, no subjective additions. Pure survival mode. Get this book now.

Poorly advertised. I thought i was buying a graphic novel and was super disappointed

The quality of the book was not good

This book had a very original storyline.The voice of the main character was absolutely unique. In fact the entire book was unique. I couldn't put it down until I had finished reading it!

Von Lynda Barry kannte ich vorher nur die kreativitätsbefeuernden Collagen aus "What It Is" und ihre "autobifiktionalographischen" Kindheits- und Jugenderinnerungen aus "One Hundred Demons". Von daher hatte ich bei "Cruddy" nicht mit einem solch krassen Panoptikum an "Zivilisationskrankheiten" gerechnet: Mord & Totschlag, Alkohol- & Drogenexzesse, Verstümmelungen, Blutrausch, Kindesmissbrauch...Die meiste Zeit über fühlte ich mich in eine Horror-Version von "Paper Moon" versetzt, wo auch ein Vater mit seiner Tochter durchs Land unterwegs ist; nur dass der Vater in "Cruddy" nicht bloß vorhat sich mit kleineren Betrügereien über Wasser zu halten, sondern sich von verschiedenen Leuten drei Koffer voller Geld zurückzuholen - das Erbe seines eigenen Vaters, um das er sich betrogen fühlt. Dabei geht er skrupellos über Leichen.Roberta, seine Tochter und die Ich-Erzählerin dieses ziemlich abgedrehten Road-Trips, wird unweigerlich in einen Strudel aus Wahnsinn und Gewalt hineingezogen. Auf einer zweiten, parallel erzählten Zeitachse, macht sie sich einige Jahre später mit ein paar drogenbenebelten Freunden noch einmal auf den Weg: Sie will die Schauplätze der von ihrem Vater und ihr selbst angerichteten Schweinereien noch einmal aufsuchen, die Ereignisse, die sie psychisch & moralisch schwer beschädigt haben, rekapitulieren und - sich die drei Geldkoffer holen, die in einem Versteck geblieben sind. Doch das Geld ist am Ende gar nicht mehr das Entscheidende...Keine der in "Cruddy" vorkommenden Figuren ist "normal". Ausnahmslos alle sind auf die ein oder andere Art gestört oder sogar geisteskrank. Man könnte nun behaupten, dass ein solches setting der Autorin eine gewisse Beliebigkeit in Handlungsführung und Personenzeichnung ermöglicht. Aber "Cruddy" strotzt so sehr von skurrilen, schwarzhumorigen Ideen und Details, dass mich die Geschichte trotzdem - zwar vielleicht mehr aus Neugier als aus Spannung - bis zum Schluss gefesselt hat.