Cover Image: My Begging Chart

My Begging Chart

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

A graphic novel about family dynamics and being a wife, mother, daughter and artist. Told through snapshots of daily life, this book read like a visual diary and had moments of relatability, humour and the the despair of adult life.. like dusting a ceiling fan.
This was an interesting insight into the author's life and the storytelling really felt like being a fly on the wall. I am sure this is a book that will grow with you, relating to the thoughts and feelings at different points in life.
The illustrations are black and white sketches, reading as quick captions of the moment, the lack of colour bringing focus to the facial expressions and captions of the scenes.
Honest, relatable and down to earth.

Was this review helpful?

A very droll and deadpan slice of life graphic memoir from Keiler Roberts. At times she seems burdened by her daughter, at other times touched by intimate moments with her. While Roberts doesn't focus on the fact she has MS, it does enter her comics, especially when she's dealing with fatigue or depression.

Was this review helpful?

It took me a while to get into this book; the art can be a bit wax-figure-ish and the humor is very dry (almost off-putting) directed at slice of life scenes. But by the end I was really into it. The art goes with the theme of general alienation, the debilitating effects of a chronic illness, and the general weirdness and exhaustion of being a parent. Roberts and her daughter are fun to spend time with, and this book has spurred me to find more of her work.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this memoir. Seeing a person's day to day life is fulfilling on a lot of levels. The humor sprinkled throughout made my day! Visually seeing the love Keiler's family shares is beautiful. The banter between the author and each of her family members, even the dog, is sure to put a smile on your face. The tenderness of the mother-daughter relationship will get you in the feels.

Was this review helpful?

This is the first book that I’ve read by this author and I really enjoyed it. It was a perfect mix of humor and sadness and the drawings tied it all together.

Was this review helpful?

An absolutely gorgeous and timely collection. Cabbage Dolls, sadness, sick dogs, childhood memories, and mundane life abound! I adored these tiny vignettes.

Was this review helpful?

Keiler Roberts' deadpan humor is wonderful and her art is the perfect companion to it. This was an absolute joy to read.

Was this review helpful?

An incredible book of autobiographical comics. This is my first dip into Roberts’ work but it won’t be my last. Readers who enjoy graphic memoirs will find it reminiscent of classics like James Kochalka’s American Elf or Jeffrey Brown’s Clumsy, with a spare black and white line drawing style, a revealing honesty, and lots of humour. It is especially interesting to read this confessional-style work from the perspective of a mother and a person with a disability.

My Begging Chart is filled with slice-of-life moments, the little mishaps that propel us through the everyday. Roberts mistakes a Trolls-branded sunscreen stick for a glue stick, accidentally answers “no” when asked if she has children during a mammogram, and drops a bunch of her dog Crooky's medication into pancake batter.

The book has a quiet reflectiveness between laughs, performing the slowing down of life experienced by someone with MS, but also allowing for reader self-reflection. We can't help but see ourselves as the figure laying on a bed, staring up at the ceiling. This style is enjoyed in a unique way during COVID-19 lockdowns, where for many of us everyday life inside the house has become all we have. I have continually been turning to diaries and diary comics in my reading to revel in the mundane and to spark new ways of seeing the same things. The Begging Chart certainly sparks a fresh way of seeing and allows a new enjoyment of the everyday. It is hard to come away from these comics without wanting to note down more of your own life, especially the silly things.

Was this review helpful?

Slice of life, gag strips that don't really land. I appreciate the skill in drawing realistically but they don't really match the comedic tone Roberts is going for and looks a bit drab on the page. Some of the strips are amusing but most are repetitive (about her MS, mooching about the house) and instantly forgettable for that. She's a decent cartoonist but her content isn't that engaging or fun to read.

Was this review helpful?

This graphic novel offers snippets of Keiler Roberts' daily interactions with family. She offers a thoughtful window into a world of someone living with MS. Her humor is sometimes quirky and sarcastic and sometimes darker, showing the exhausting toll the disease takes. There are funny but hard truths when examining self and relationships.

I liked the book, but the style seems purposely disjointed - unrelated moments that offer flashes into a whole life. There are single pages that offer quick quips or interchanges, especially with her daughter. They offer a moment, but I would have liked something more sustained.

Was this review helpful?

This book is one of the better slice of life stories I’ve read. It manages to be both humorous and depressing, occasionally both at once. The author does a great job of showing just how overwhelmed the main character is. I’m not really a fan of the art style. It’s pretty technically accurate but doesn’t have any color or shading. I do enjoy how well the pictures read. It was pretty easy to tell the difference between characters even with the lack of color.

Was this review helpful?

I intended to take my time with this comic but devoured it all at once instead because I couldn't stop reading; it's a really fun read. I often claim not to like comedy but I'm actually just hard to please, and Keiler Roberts's comics consistently make me laugh out loud. She's also an artist I feel very confident recommending to people who haven't previously considered themselves big comics readers, which is a special quality in a graphic novel.

Was this review helpful?