The Formless Thing Which Gives Things Form

Have you ever read a book that you thought was absolutely fantastic and wanted to share it with everyone, but the minute you tried to explain it words totally failed you?  That's what happened to me when I read cartoonist Lynda Barry's latest book, What It Is.  It's gorgeous, inspiring and surprising.  It also defies any attempt at classification.  You could say this is a memoir and writer's guide, but that would be far too simple.  It is both of those things, but it is also an examination of art and human nature, the "formless thing" that drives us to create and shapes that which we make and share with the world. 

Visually, this book is complex and intricate and it can take a very long time to read each page simply because there is so much to look at.  Barry's illustrations are whimsical and chock-full of hidden delights and tiny treasures, but they are not without a darker side.  Tiny ghost-like creatures hover around the margins and many of the drawings and collages are unsettling and often quite haunting.  Like much of Barry's work, What It Is is layered and messy, punctuated by bright spots of clarity and humor - sort of like life itself.

Don't worry about what it is.  Just read it and enjoy it.