AEIOU: Any Easy Intimacy [Paperback]

Jeffrey Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 2005 | Series: Aeiou

The final chapter of Jeffrey Brown's so-called "Girlfriend Trilogy." AEIOU continues to explore the subtleties of relationships examined in Clumsy and Unlikely, concentrating this time on the differences between knowing and loving someone, invoking the reader's relationship with the book as a parallel to being involved with someone. The story is told with Brown's trademark expressive drawings and juxtaposition of humor and heartache.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Apparently, one of the side effects of dating Brown is that he draws a comics memoir about you afterwards. This work, originally published in a limited edition, is Brown's follow-up to his previous dating books Clumsy and Unlikely, and documents the author's relationship with his third girlfriend (a co-worker at a video store) in detail, dredging up some emotionally loaded details. Like those other works, it's drawn in a deceptively low-key, dashed-off-looking way, with one or two little square panels on each page; and it again focuses on the banalities of predate small talk, mid-relationship kidding around and angsty postcoital chatter. Brown and Sophia hang out, have sex, break up, talk on the phone about their relationship, get back together, break up again, make out, argue, etc. There's no plot and no resolution, just a series of snapshots of the moments of intimacy that stick in a lover's memory. Brown draws beautifully—offhand-looking doodles have a magisterial sureness. There are a couple of fine set pieces, too, especially a section called "The Long Pause Before a First Kiss." Ultimately, though, Brown adds little to his previous observations on relationships. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The misbegotten relationships that Brown began recounting in his graphic-novel debut,Clumsy (2003), and continued chronicling in Unlikely (2003), just flow on. Like its predecessors, his relationship here seems doomed from the start. Needy, awkward Jeff is tragically drawn to troubled young women like Sophia, who comes with sexual hang-ups and is a cutter, to boot ("I just don't believe in my heart of hearts that sex with you isn't just another form of self laceration," she tells Jeff--in bed). Again, Brown tells the story in a series of brief scenes of the couple on the phone, having sex, chatting in bed, preparing meals, and hanging out. AEIOU differs from its forebears in that the couple remains together at the end (an author's note indicates that the inevitable breakup has since occurred). Brown's shaky, awkward drawing style seems to spring directly from the shy, tentative character of the Jeff of the strips, with whose sensitivity one sympathizes while wanting, nevertheless, to hear one of his girlfriends tell her side of the story. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Top Shelf Productions; First Edition edition (June 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891830716
• ISBN-13: 978-1891830716
• Product Dimensions: 4 x 0.8 x 6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After growing up in Michigan, a 25-year-old Jeffrey Brown moved to Chicago in 2000 to pursue an MFA at the School of the Art Institute. By the time he completed his studies, he had abandoned painting and started drawing comics seriously. His first self-published book, Clumsy, appeared seemingly out of nowhere to grab attention from both cartoonists and comics fans. Established as an overly sensitive chronicler of bittersweet adolescent romance and nonsense superhero parody, Brown's current direction remains split between more autobiography examining the minutiae of everyday life and whatever humorous fiction he feels in the mood for. His most popular works include Clumsy, Unlikely, AEIOU, and Every Girl is the End of the World For Me, comprising the so-called "Girlfriend Trilogy" and its epilogue. More recently his autobiographical work has included Little Things and Funny Misshapen Body. His parody The Incredible Change-Bots, the Ignatz Award winning I am going to be small and humorous cat book Cat Getting Out Of A Bag all stand out amongst his humor work, while his Sulk series continues to take on a variety of subjects with satire. Jeffrey's work has appeared in a host of anthologies from McSweeney's to The Best American Comics, as well as mainstream books like The Simpson's Treehouse of Horror and Marvel's Strange Tales. His original artwork has been exhibited in New York, Paris, and Chicago. Brown has been featured on NPR's This American Life and even created a short animated music video for the band Death Cab For Cutie. He lives in Chicago with his wife and son.
Visit jeffreybrowncomics.blogspot.com for news and drawings, and you can write to him at: PO Box 120, Deerfield IL 60015-0120, USA

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#75 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#75 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Touching, Emotional Book! February 6, 2008

By S. Prokop

Format:Paperback

This book is so beautiful. It's simple yet complex because it describes a relationship between two people that is so real it's almost scary. Jeffrey manages to make this relationship seem just like the ones you've been in with his witty, funny, little comedic drawings. I related to this book so well and I read it right after I broke up with my boyfriend of over a year. It made me cry, and it made me smile. It did lots of things to me. I've read several of Jeffrey's books and each and every one is like a piece of gold. He is my favorite author because no book in the entire world except for the perks of being a wallflower has made me so overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings. :) I don't understand how anyone could find this book to be boring. Even my 27 year old brother who practically never reads for enjoyment loved this book!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A Jeffrey Brown Let Down October 24, 2005

By Ian Robert Hrabe

Format:Paperback

I wonder what this book would read like if it was the first Jeffrey Brown book that I read, and I wonder if I would give him another chance. Fortunately, I started with "Clumsy," undoubtedly his masterpiece, and fell in love with his work. "Unlikely" was good, but not as good as "Clumsy," which had an immediacy to it that was so endearing. "Unlikely" was more or less a continuation, except the girl he was in love with was unlikable.

"AEIOU" was painful for me to read, and I think it is because it is showing me absolutely NOTHING new. It's silly things that are played off as "cute" and "spontaneous" that just read as dull and contrived. Where the stories in "Clumsy" were drawn shortly after they happened, the stories in "AEIOU" feel like they were drawn in a lump when it was time for Jeffrey to write a new book. So he returned to the old formula and finally wore it out. It's a drag not being able to empathize with a character that you've empathized with a few times before. In this book, Jeffrey Brown does nothing but be abused by some new girl. It's almost embarassing that he just didn't keep this story to himself, and the fact that he thought it warranted an entire book is frustrating. Or maybe Top Shelf was breathing down his neck and he just churned it out to make them happy.

Fortunately, I think he said this was the last in his trilogy of break-up stories which is a relief. Jeffrey Brown was the one who got me into comics, and I honestly think that "Clumsy" should be read by anyone and everyone. Also check out "Unlikely," his superhero homage/parody "Bighead," and his mini comics, which are pretty great too.

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but unfinished? May 16, 2006

By Catapillargirl

Format:Paperback

I guess much like some relationships, I felt like this book ended a bit abruptly.

It is definitely a book that everyone can relate to, although I couldn't help but feel like it could've been more finished.

I enjoyed it. It was a quick read. It will make you feel like you and those close to you are a little closer to "normal."

Nothing stands out as "WOW" "Oh my" "Boom" or I learned ...this from the book, but it was an entertaining peek into the window of two other peoples lives and their relationship.