Saturday, February 4, 2017

It's Like Scrooge Meets Groundhog Day But Not: Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley

wikipedia.com
 Seconds centers around the story of Katie, a chef, who is leaving the first restaurant she first created to begin a new restaurant. The story begins with Katie suddenly having a series of unhappy events in her life that culminates in a waiter, Hazel, having a terrible accident. The terrible accident is the catalyst for Katie suddenly finding that there is a very unique aspect in the restaurant that allows her to redo past events. This discovery leads Katie down a strange and trippy path. I don't want to give too much away about what happens after this.

Of late I've read a lot of articles expounding on the need for unlikable female characters and if you need an example of this I suggest you pick up the graphic novel/comic* Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley.What I like about the character Katie, is that she is everyday unlikable: arrogant, selfish, unaware, and deeply unwilling to analyze her actions. She is human. She is in fact a chef. If you have a read enough professional chef memoirs you will realize that these aspects are
By Ami
frequently found in the professional big name chefs, the narrative though frequently has to be set aside by professional female chefs in the spot light because society demands women be nice. There is one exception that comes to mind and that is Gabrielle Hamilton, but by and far, big name professional chefs if they are women are constrained to be nice, and to not show bravado. O'Malley wrote Katie to be chef and for that he gets kudos.

Overall Seconds is an enjoyable and beautifully illustrated graphic novel. I did like that it was not a part of a larger series but instead a standalone graphic novel. Part of me wanted a little more emotional depth in all of the characters.

Recommendations to go with Seconds:
Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
Age of License: A Travelogue by Lucy Knisley
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan
Rat Queens by Kurtis J. Wiebe

*I'm not sure what to call this type of book anymore.