The Party After You Left [Hardcover]

Roz Chast (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 2004

The Party, After You Left brings together the last nine years of cartoons from Roz Chast. Together these drawings, which originally appeared in the New Yorker, Scientific American, Redbook, and other publications, constitute a spot-on record of our increasingly absurd existence. As the twenty-first century begins, we can only be grateful that Roz Chast is here to tackle some of the tough themes of the times: genetically altered mice, birthday parties from hell, and comfort drinks in the age of insecurity.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chances are, even if you don't recognize the name, you've seen Chast's work, which appears regularly in the New Yorker, Scientific American and Redbook, among other places. Her wit, humor and style are distinctive and sharp, poking fun at fads, fears and foibles with a gentle walking stick rather than a barbecue skewer. Chast is adept at pinpointing the source of humor, as in a strip entitled "Nancy Drew Mysteries—The Later Years," which features one possible future volume, Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Eight Pounds. The eternal battles between parent and child are another common topic; "What's the matter? Maybe we don't carry enough of your fancy 'gourmet items'?" reads a sign at the "Mom & Pop Grocerette." Another strip encapsulates "The Big Book of Parent-Child Fights." Chast also examines modern anxieties, as in "Recipes for Comfort Drinks." The "Cozy" includes cocoa, vodka and marshmallows: "Serves one nicely, but it's your call." Chast has a keen eye for the humor in ordinary situations and commonplace irritations. Her art is loose and sketchy, more akin to newspaper comic strips or magazine illustrations. While individual strips may seem only mildly amusing, the more one reads the funnier Chast gets. Split between b&w and full color images, this handsome hardcover edition is a fine conversation piece, which all the adults in the house can appreciate.
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About the Author

Roz Chast was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her cartoons began appearing in the New Yorker in 1978. Since then, she has published over six hundred cartoons in the magazine. Her work also appears regularly in Scientific American and the Harvard Business Review. She has published several collections of her own cartoons, and has illustrated four children's books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (April 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582343772
• ISBN-13: 978-1582343778
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #800,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY Amusing!, April 21, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Party After You Left (Hardcover)

Very much like her earlier books (same format, same humor). As I've gotten older, I only relate more to her humor of the mundane truth of our lazy, neurotic, full of junk lives. A lot of the cartoons in this book are about parenthood, so I expect I'll like it even more once I go through that. One cartoon is called, "An excerpt from Men are from Belgium, Women are from New Brunswick" and in another cartoon as a woman tries to convince her mother to wear the new bathrobe she sent, mom insists she likes the old one, "YOU remember it- I made it out of the washcloths that I took from hotels we stayed at when you were a little girl!" In seventh grade I discovered Roz Chast's books "Unscientific America" and "The Four Elements" and loved them. I've been waiting nearly 20 years for another of these books and "The Party, After You Left " tickles me just as much as those did.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She's The Best, December 10, 2005

By 

Mary Ryan Duffin "Old Actress" (Philadelphia,Pa.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Party After You Left (Hardcover)

I was afraid I would be disappointed because I expect so much of her, based on her past and present cartoons. I love this book, and it never gets old. Turn to any page when you need a good laugh. My dream is to have lunch with Roz Chast and Jon Stewart. My idea of Beautiful people.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best, January 16, 2007

By 

P. Blostein - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Party After You Left (Hardcover)

Since her first cartoons in the New Yorker I have found Ms Chast to be absolutely in line with my own sense of the absurdities we find around us. Maybe it's generational, I find the same with Matt Groening and both the Simpsons and his other cartoons. A great book with an excellent chronological collection of some of her best.