Book Review: In by Will McPhail

In
by Will McPhail (741.5 McP)

Will McPhail is a cartoonist and contributor to the New Yorker magazine.

 

An aging, lonely millennial (Nick) visits (hilariously-named, and satirical) coffee shops in an attempt to reach out and connect with people — to combat his work-from-home loneliness. He goes through the same surface-level interactions in his daily life. (Hi, How are you, Fine thanks and you, What can I get you, …)

 

He feels that there is more to life he is missing out on, and he decides to stop playing by the same script and tries to heartfully open up to others. Sometimes it works; sometimes it hilariously doesn’t. When people do let him “in” — the black and white graphics change to metaphorical and colorful illustrations (think Dorothy in Oz).

 

A few emerging storylines mesh together in a dark twist of a clever yet poignant ending. Hilariously funny at times, contrasted with serious life issues that creep in. Completely relatable to modern-day post-COVID times.

With all this technology and social media “bringing us together”, why are we all still so distant?

 

( official Will McPhail web site )

 

This was one of dozens of Graphic Novel reviews submitted by library staff during our 2022 In-Service Training day on 9/23, all collected on A Day Full of Graphic Novels

 

Recommended by Jeremiah J.
Anderson and Bethany Branch Libraries

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!