The Good Times Are Killing Me

Nationally syndicated cartoonist Lynda Barry's moving, quirky, and honest first novel about a young girl's coming of age-which has also been a hit off-Broadway play-is back in print, with new artwork by the author.

Amazon.com Review
Readers of alternative weeklies will be familiar with Lynda Barry's work from her long-running comic strip, Ernie Pook's Comeek. Similarly, The Good Times Are Killing Me focuses on the surprisingly complex emotional world of children. It is the story of a neighborhood going through the throes of integration and white flight as seen through the eyes of young Edna Arkins. Edna forms an unlikely friendship with Bonna Willis, a girl with a talent for "ass beating." Edna is white and Bonna is black, and from the start there are pressures from both sides against their friendship. As always, Barry is an impeccable observer of the way kids think and talk--several passages are certain to bring memories of intense schoolyard negotiations rushing back. Barry's artwork comes into play as well--each chapter is punctuated with slightly more painterly versions of her characteristically raw drawing style. By turns funny and moving, The Good Times Are Killing Me is an immensely satisfying read. --Ali Davis

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

a gem of childhood, 2008-05-24
It won't take you long to finish this book of vignettes that weave together into a complete story. Yet, it is a book of incredible wisdom and courage, seen through the eyes of a young girl who lives in a neighborhood that is settling in after "white flight." Through the narrator's perspective, Lynda Barry palpably demonstrates the impact of racial integration and tension via the friendship between a young white girl and young black girl. Is such a friendship possible, when you have a "no Negroes allowed inside" rule at your house? Or when you visit the projects with your friend, and a boy calls her "Unca Tom" merely for being with a white girl? And what happens when girls grow up and graduate out of grade school?

Lynda Barry has the voice of the young girl down perfectly, expressing the things that young girls think and worry about, including the angst and dreams of fitting in and belonging. Bittersweet and compelling, I highly recommend this simple coming-of-age tale.




0 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Book is great. But Lynda Barry's looks are killing me., 2007-12-27
I don't know how Ira Glass steeled himself to enter this cavernous beast. Somebody give him a medal for bravery!


3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Great book where music is a prime force, 2006-03-22
I teach a course on teaching music for children (at the college level). I use this book to get students thinking about the deep ways that music impacts our lives. Situations from family to school music, private to public, and informal to formal are all present, and Barry's wonderful attention to detail brings each to life in a way that make my students talkative.

Of course, I wouldn't use it if it weren't a wonderful novel as well. It is. The story that is told is gripping, and my students love reading it.


7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

another amazing feat...., 2005-07-14
Barry just knows how to get into the psyche of kids, adolescents, anyone under the age of 17, it seems. This book is a quick read, but a delicious one. Barry writes her characters' voices in as understated and realistic pieces of life, and she does what she's so good at doing: she puts readers in a space in which they're none too comfortable, and yet they can't seem to shake the familiar feelings of their own childhood horrors and experiences. This book is unsettling and slightly worrisome, and also truthful and wonderful, just as children often are.


9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

A must-read., 2002-09-20
This is the book that got me started on my Lynda Barry addiction. I stumbled on to this book by fortuitous accident. It's brilliant. It is simple in its style with a reach deep into the heart of complex feelings and issues. While not as riveting as Cruddy, it is more moving and realistic. I hope Lynda Barry continues to produce work of this quality. One Hundred Demons is also extremely good. Her fiction is great literature on a transcendent level.

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