Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now

by Andre Jordan

Life can be shit. Love can be shit. Whatever has happened to you, whatever will happen to you, whatever might happen to you, whatever hasn't happened to you, well . . . you're not alone. Andre Jordan's drawings and prose are culled from a life of heartache and unrequited love. Simple, sad, clever, and darkly hilarious, they tell of both dismal places and hopeful realizations.

Genres: Humor, Graphic Novels, Comics, Memoir, Mental Health, Poetry

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Staceyb · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is genius and i think everyone in the world should read it.

i am in love with andre jordan. and his wonderfully complex drawings.

and i even have a real advanced degree from a real english literature program and everything.

[Gary Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful glimpse into the mind of a man suffering from a crushing depression.
Perfectly straddles the fence between Beautiful and Devastating.

[Mitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book isn't really average.

First, it's mostly a series of one-page crude cartoons with intermittent short stories of a page or two tops cropping up every now and then.

The theme has to do with recurring depression at failures to live life happily as everyone else around seems to be doing; the author can't find love, a satisfying role for himself, a stable image of himself, etc. The cartoons and story reveal this about him.

A back-cover reviewer said that the book is funny, but I think more that readers will find certain pages will resonate with his/her own experiences in trying to fit into the world as it is. It's not as depressing as it sounds, but it does fall short of funny. It was an interesting, albeit short, read.

[Clara · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Everyone thinks Possibility Girl is possibly a genius. Any day now, they continually agree, Possibility Girl will make it big. Become a star. 'You won't forget us when you're famous, will you?' they always say, as Possibility Girl begins yet another amazing project.

The only person who doesn't believe in Possibility Girl's possible genius, is Possibility Girl herself. She thinks they're being too kind. She isn't gifted at all. She's a fake genius, bluffing her way through life. She is convinced the moment she tries to actually achieve her full potential, she will fail, fall flat on her face, and the people that once admired her from afar will admire her no more. And so Possibility Girl never actually achieves anything. She just sits on the edge of her possible glory and basks in the adulation of her potential."

--------------------------------------

"There is a place that I once knew
Cold and frightening and bitterly blue
If you should find yourself there too
I'll hold your hand and walk with you"

[Kerry Dunn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I get that this book is simply sketches and reflections shared for the author to deal with his depression, but it annoyed me to the point of wanting to throw it in the trash.

[Dev Bhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read on my roof with a couple beers, this book gratifies the nihilist in me while also giving him hope.

[Mind the Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man skulle kunna tro att det var Smiths-reffen som fick mig att plocka upp den här, men those were the days. Det var baksidestexten, eller författarprofilen: ".... is an artist, a daydreamer and a writer."

Sedan mina första psykologistudier 1998 har jag läst some dark shit om psykisk ohälsa, men det här är bara FÖR mörkt. Fast gillar ändå.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have a dry sense of humor like I do, this book will have you in stitches. It's been out for a while now, and I don't feel it's gotten the attention it deserves. It doesn't matter whether I'm in a sour mood or a good mood, this book totally lightens up EVERYTHING. Let's all be miserable, lol. Andre's book is genius.

[Zoey Devine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a revisit from years ago. My girlfriend of the time gave this to me which was probably a very bad sign. Really mean spirited and precious which at least gives it the appearance of genuineness.

[Vaidehi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is an awesome book. You will find yourself on one of the pages, and I am sure, you will laugh on other pages. It is a perfect book with every aspect of the topic in it. I hope it helps more people.

[juicyD · Rating 2 out of 5]

childish, blunt, occasionally charming, even more rarely insightful

[Jaymin Ewens · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are the bits that made me fall in love with Andre back years and years ago, but there's also so much pain here that I can't fully enjoy this anymore.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was re-issued with the title Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, and the copy that I read was the re-issued one.

I probably never should have requested a review copy of this one. I should have KNOWN. I was suckered in by the allure of a title that is shared with a Smiths and a cute little stick figure on the cover.

The thing is, though: this book isn't really a reading sort of book. It's a collections of drawings and sad phrases. It is...sad. I liked some of the drawings and captions well enough, but I also kept flipping through the pages thinking, "Ummmm...wow. I'm going to read this entire book in about 15 minutes." And I did.

As someone who has suffered from depression herself, I'm wondering if perhaps that is why I failed to connect with the book. I think it's entirely possible that I remember all too well what it felt like to be so hopeless and sad, and that after overcoming that melancholy I would want to do my best to dissociate from reminders of such bleakness. If the author is as sad as this book is, I hope he finds solace and peace soon. In the meantime, I suspect that this book helps others who are suffering to know that they are not alone.

Overall, the book is cute & poignant, but also baffling & not really my thing.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure how I should rate this book because I really enjoyed reading it, but at the same time, I am not sure if it's worthy of a high rating because it's so short. It took me about an hour to read it, flipping through the pages of drawings and comments. The drawings were funny in that bittersweet kind of way. It's really rather dark humor (jokes about suicide and depression), but because I go for that kind of thing (hey, I'm emo, what can I say?), I liked it and smiled as I read along. Yet, there's no way that I am giving it a 5 or a 4 like a Dave Eggers book or a David Sedaris book. I acknowledge that it's sorta unfair to compare this kind of work (a book of drawings/comics) to short stories or memoirs or novels although I did actually rate Persepolis (also a book of cartoons) the top rating. But I also felt that Persepolis was more of a story, with real plot lines and developed characters, and it is actually pretty long, over 300 pages. So, in brief, I recommend reading Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now for a quick laugh, but don't expect too much more than that. Nevertheless, a good laugh is certainly worth something.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick one-sit read. This book is a brief collection of writing and sketches assembled by the author as a means of dealing with bouts of depression, and they vary from adorable and heartfelt to downright concerning. I purchased the book on a whim and waited quite a while before cracking it open. I was hooked by the title and the general concept, and I wasn't let down. It's a downer, but that's to be expected, but I am always fascinated by these types of texts: ones that feel like the author had had to write it rather than wanting to write it. Really, there isn't much to review or hash out - there isn't a specific plot or characters. It just makes for a fascinating study of what goes through a depressive's mind, and for that alone I thought it was well done. My one piece of advice is not to read it when you're personally feeling down, since it's far from uplifting, but other than that, it's totally worth the cash and the brief amount of time to pick up.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good chunk of the depression of the author seems to come from loneliness and self-absorption, so now in a time when I'm in a relationship for one of the first times ever, it was kind of nice to go back to that despair of thinking you'll never be happy in that way... and by "nice" I mean it was "nice to remember it but no longer be in it."

You realize, when you read the work of depressives, just what an awful positive-feedback loop it is, and how they can't really escape it without some big push or breakthrough. I felt myself annoyed with him a few times in this book, like the well always feel towards the not-well, but then he'd write something that reminded me of a similar time in my life, and I lost some of the judgment.

[anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I needed 1 more book to make a certain amount of books to get a sale price, and when I flipped through it looked like a cute little cartoon book. I absolutely loved this book. It was a humorous quick little read. While its not necessarily a happy read it did lift my flagging spirits. I could relate to many of the drawings having suffered from depression off and on my whole life. I have also said many of the sayings myself which made them even funnier. My favorite being "Don't follow me, I haven't got a clue" the little sheep drawing with it just tickled me to no end. The other passengers on the bus kept giving me weird looks as I read it. only took me about an hour to read it

[brii | brii (three months behind...) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good, quick little read. I'm a sucker for little one page comics.
Some of these his me emotionally. Some made me snicker (a couple made me snort in laughter) A couple made me nod in agreement.
And then of course a few I didn't connect with and thought were stupid.

But for the ones that made me smile, for the ones that I needed to hear, and the ones that made me realize other people share my feelings sometimes too, these stars are for you! (Except one, one is for those ones I thought were stupid)

[Louie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this at the Book Exchange's charity sale and probably paid about 85¢ for it. The meager price paid yielded a treasure of insight, distilled-down into one liners about life, love, childhood and grown-up anxieties that we all face sooner or later in life. It's an eclectic mix of profound statements as well as what you might find on the newest hip T-shirt. In it's very simple way, this book made me stop and think about my own life...I liked it!

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Someone please just take this dude to the disco!!!

Kind of like reading an old journal from your emo teenage years, it’s familiar but at the same time very foreign. I think Andre Jordan and I experience depression very differently, so less of this book resonated with me than expected. Some pages stuck out, the shattered lollipop was a fave, but if you want to read a doodled graphic novel about depression, Everyone’s and Alien by Johnny Sun is def the better pick.

[Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up at ALA midwinter last year on the Harper booth girl's rec. Is a quick, flippable book. Laughed out loud a few times, but didn't really hold my interest much.

My favorite bit:
There is a place that I once knew
cold and frightening and bitterly blue
if you should find yourself there too
I'll hold your hand and walk with you

[Charli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a graphic, kind of not. This is mostly line drawings and short pithy comments. I was pretty miserable after reading it; unfortunately the humor that was supposed to come through didn't really shine for me.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

So i was at a book show and saw this book, the title caught me. Heaven Knows im miserable now, im a smiths/morrissey fan so i fell for it hook, line and sinker. It was cute and at that moment I seriously needed to be amused. I enjoyed it.

[J]

looks bite-sized

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious break-up book with illustrations at my level of art :)

[Yasser]

Simply perfect...reflects life as it is with all mirrors and sides...with all feelings

[Smellsofbikes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It reads like a particularly depressed and biting XKCD, although somewhat less geeky. There are moments of brilliance, moments of nearly pure vulgarity, and a lot of bright funny comics.

[Ale · Rating 5 out of 5]

heh. all too true, awesome possum

[pea. · Rating 4 out of 5]

not as consistent story as i like but depression is not consistent.