Baking with Kafka

by Tom Gauld

Paper Book, 2017

Library's rating

½

Publication

Edinburgh : Canongate, 2017.

Physical description

21 cm

ISBN

9781786891501

Language

Description

"In his inimitable style, British cartoonist Tom Gauld has opened comics to a crossover audience and challenged perceptions of what the medium can be. Noted as a "book-lover's cartoonist," Gauld's weekly strips in the Guardian, Britain's most well-regarded newspaper, stitch together the worlds of literary criticism and pop culture to create brilliantly executed, concise comics. Simultaneously silly and serious, Gauld adds an undeniable lightness to traditionally highbrow themes. From sarcastic panels about the health hazards of being a best-selling writer to a list of magical items for fantasy writers (such as the Amulet of Attraction, which summons mainstream acceptance, Hollywood money, and fresh coffee), Gauld's cartoons are timely and droll-his trademark British humour, impeccable timing, and distinctive visual style sets him apart from the rest. Lauded both for his frequent contributions to New Scientist, the Guardian and the New York Times, and his Eisner-nominated graphic novels, Tom Gauld is one of the most celebrated cartoonists working today. In Baking With Kafka, he proves this with one witty, sly, ridiculous comic after another."--… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member RobertDay
Tom Gauld's quirky cartoons will be familiar (to readers in the UK) from The Guardian (the literary ones) and New Scientist (the sciency ones). He knows his subjects so well as to score serious hits in both camps. This (very nicely-produced) volume includes gems like the re-hang in the M.C.Escher
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gallery, J.G. Ballard's books for children, the very cultural teddy bear, the workshop on 'Procrastination for creative writers', and one of his rare but perceptive excursions into small-'p' politics, "Our Blessed Homeland - Their Barbarous Wastes'. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member villemezbrown
These clever cartoons about books and literature made me laugh out loud over and over.
LibraryThing member MickyFine
A collection of bookish comic strips sure to delight any reader.
LibraryThing member fred_mouse
A book of one per page mostly literary cartoons. The canon that gets referened is somewhat limited, and relies heavily on the reader having a similar cultural context. I was excited by the one that referenced J G Ballard, rather than dead English writers (I'm oversimplifying. but 'classics of the
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English tradition' at the very least).

There were multiple points at which I was all That Isn't Funny - reference to an anti-Semitic trope, and mixing of ableist words in with more lighthearted terms as if they all had the same weight. There may well be others I missed. Plus there were a couple of just nasty ones about sports fans. There is no need to belittle that which others love just to celebrate yours.
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Awards

Eisner Award (Nominee — 2018)
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