Night Owls -- May 8, 2023

The Night Owls gathered this month to discuss the graphic novel memoir Barely Functional Adult by Meichi Ng in which the author touches upon topics regarding failed relationships, dissatisfaction with your job, imposter syndrome, growing into adulthood, and weirdly enough, the tribulations of caring for an African dwarf frog with a mysterious butt blister. 

While the book is categorized as a graphic novel, some members stated that it read more as a traditional book with comic strips inserted in place of dialog or to simply illustrate a point. They were disappointed by this aspect as they anticipated reading what they viewed as a "more normal graphic novel." This could be due to the fact that Ng started her work as a web comic and was later collected and published in book format. 

Other members found that this book was exactly what they needed at the moment as the humor and topics greatly resonated with them. All members of the group found one point in the novel that spoke to them and how it is always reassuring to see that other people struggle to deal with things in a similar way. It always seems to help when one feels less alone and embarrassed about how you dealt with a bad breakup or put up with a terrible job longer than you should have or even just struggling to make new friends as an adult. The use of metaphors by Ng was also very inspired, and the group really enjoyed the creativity she used to explore themes within these metaphors. 

While the book ultimately may not have been what the group had expected it to be, it nonetheless received a favorable 3.5 star average rating from members.