I Really Should Read This 17: How to Be Happy, by Eleanor Davis

How to Be Happy, by Eleanor Davis

2014

I went into reading this with a huge respect for Davis' talent, and came out of this with that estimation doubled.

I've read three other Davis books (The Hard Tomorrow, Why Art?, and Libby's Dad), but they were self-contained single works. How to Be Happy is a collection of short stories showcasing the versatility in her work. Just opening to the first page of the first story, you see a virtuoso use of color and printing. It looks better than most other work I see.

It's not just the colors, it's layering yellow over the blue to create the paths of green. It's delicate work

Each story has a slightly different process. Some are ink, some are paints, some are done with a computer, but most are a combination of processes. Her line work and character design is much more in line with traditional illustration than with any school of American comics, and it seems she is a successful illustrator outside of her comics work. We're lucky to have her making comics, because it's likely illustration is paying her ten times what comic work does.

A short venture into sci-fi storytelling

The stories themselves show a range of themes, but I'd classify all the work in it as 'human'. The story climaxes are emotional ones, rather than solving objective goals. And they are great. The worst are pretty good, and the best are just on the edge of exquisite. What is it all about? Well, great writing is often slightly obtuse and leaves some space for the reader to make their own meaning of it. 

A story about skinning a fox is barely a story, but it's a good read

 My personal favorite in the book was Stick and String, where a musician lures a beast of a woman to his small shack and soothes her with music. I can't say how Davis is intending it to be read, but I had deep reflections from it about how humans keep themselves from going crazy while living divorced from nature... music, art, culture are used to soothe us. That is just me, and her intent could be something altogether different, but the story is not didactic in what its saying. It gives the reader the space to do their own math about what it adds up to.

Stick and String

The book itself is not a guide to being happy as the title suggests, but a lot of the stories are themed around desire and connections. It manages to cover such heavy topics without being burdensome to read or feeling too much like Art. Each story is just people doing things. Some stories are built like stories, and others are quick character sketches.

She can do a lot with negative space

The portrayals are personal and affecting.

The cure for depression is just around the corner

The entirety of the book shows an artist who is exploring ideas and making their own creative space. It's one of the most idiosyncratic and original books I've read in a long time.

I used to be so unhappy

Her only other major work I haven't read is You & a Bike & a Road, and I didn't buy it when it came out as it sounded like a travel sketchbook. Maybe it is, but now I really want to read her travel sketchbook.