Lucky - by Gabrielle Bell (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A wry daily comics journal of urban ennui

Gabrielle Bell fascinatingly documents the mundane details of her below-minimum-wage, twentysomething existence in Brooklyn, New York, with a subtle humor. Her unadorned drawing style, heavy narration, and biting wit chronicle transient roommates who communicate only through Post-it notes; aspiring artists who sublet tiny rooms in leaky, greasy, broken-down border-house loft apartments crawling with bugs, cats, and bad art. Bell tackles a string of forgettable, unrelated jobs -- including nude modeling, artist's assistant, art teacher, and jewelry maker -- that only serve to deepen her despair, boredom, and discomfort in her own skin.

Bell's self-scrutiny leads her to dream sequences that allow her to rise above her banal actuality and hyperawareness. She fantasizes about a perfect world as she becomes the accomplished artist and world traveler she longs to be. Bell's daily comics allow her to escape the harsh, judgmental gaze of the world and the monotony of daily life. Her unpolished art speaks to a desire to record all the messy details while the pain and confusion are still fresh.

This 25th Anniversary edition restores all the names that were fictionalized in the original edition. The unveiling of the protagonists cements Lucky as the starting point of Gabrielle Bell's lifelong diary project, which includes The Voyeurs, Everything is Flammable, Truth is Fragmentary, and others. Bell's monumental work places her in the autobiographical pantheon with Pekar, Knaussgard, or Annie Ernaux.

Review Quotes

"Bell's autobiographical collection portrays the trials, tribulations, and sweet successes of young adulthood and artistic maturation. An independent comics creator cited by her peers with an Ignatz Award for the serial version of this book, Bell takes readers along as she hunts doggedly for suitable living quarters in Brooklyn, fights depression that results from earning more as a nude model than as an artist, meets a series of fatuous potential and actual housemates, tries to sell her zines, takes unrewarding work with a commercially recognized cartoonist, and teaches art to children. Her tidy, black-ink images lay bare architectural oddities, human postures that are part of nonverbal communication, and perspectives ranging from the neophyte yoga practitioner caught in a knot to the surprisingly pleasant surroundings of an urban picnic. Further, her fantasy life is gently romantic and easy to enter. Her stories should appeal to readers pleased by Daniel Clowes or Adrian Tomine. They are palpably real and eloquently understated, with neither a wasted word nor an extra line." -- Francisca Goldsmith, Booklist

About the Author

Gabrielle Bell's work has been selected several times for Best American Comics and the Yale Anthology of Graphic Fiction, and has been featured in McSweeney's, The Believer, Bookforum, and Vice magazines. Her story, "Cecil and Jordan In New York," was turned into a film by Michel Gondry. The Voyeurs was named one of the best Graphic Novels of the year by Publishers Weekly. Gabrielle Bell currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.