The Party, After You Left

Roz Chast is hands down my favorite cartoonist, and I grew up reading her cartoons in The New Yorker. They were among the funniest and hands-down the most accessible in the magazine. In fact, as a teen, hers were often the only ones I COULD understand! Her humorous outlook on family and life in today's world are as distinctive as her drawing style.The only issues I have with this book are far too minor for me to subtract any stars. For one thing, there are no page numbers, so in order to find your favorite cartoon, you just have to flip through the entire book, which is colorful and fun but inconvenient. Then there's one New Yorker cover included, from 1990. However, she does not include the title of the illustration (which normally appears inside the magazine, not on the cover) and since it's from 17 years ago, finding the title will prove difficult. Not knowing the title doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the art, but it would be nice to know it!If you're like me, The New Yorker is the only place you've been exposed to Roz Chast's work. Apparently she does cartoons for a number of publications, and many of them are included here. Therefore, I hadn't previously seen most of the cartoons in this book, which made it a fun new treat for me. I'd recommend this book to people who've never heard of Roz Chast (What better way to be introduced than this?) and to people who are already fans. Most of the cartoons are hilarious. I actually bought this as a gift for my aunt, but I couldn't resist reading it myself first. I don't regret either decision for a minute. It's a great book and it'll make my aunt very happy. Make someone you know -- or yourself! -- happy today, and check this one out!

I discovered Roz Chast only a few months ago when our local library was fortunate to be able to schedule her as a speaker in our area. My husband and I have loved New Yorker cartoons, especially since another of their house cartoonists, Ed Koren, lived in the same Vermont town as we did. We loved his cartoons and we went to her talk publicizing her new book, "Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant" knowing that we had probably laughed over her cartoons as well.It turned out to be a great night and Roz's personality came through loud and clear. So it was not surprising that when Christmas rolled around again I thought of purchasing some of her books for family members. My son, who is normally not a "laugh out loud" person, but who does have a good sense of humor, loved "The Party . . ." as did his wife who wondered what he was laughing at and read it over his shoulder . One of my daughters, as it turned out, was already a fan of hers and we spent a couple of hours looking at her newest book and laughed ourselves silly. Roz just has the right touch and is able to take even subjects and issues many take very seriously and turn them around a bit and poke fun at ourselves. It's good therapy for these trying times.I'm really glad that she has done so many books -- I've got some catching up to do and am looking forward to it.

Funny cartoons. Hahaha!

A quick read. Support your local cartoonist and laugh (or wince) while you do it.

Rox Chast is LOL brilliant. Alas some of her humor is only fully accessible to denizens of the Big Apple.

Roz Chast has always made me laugh so hard I cry. When I'm feeling grouchy (or even when I'm not), I pick up this book and open it anywhere to have a good laugh. It will never, ever get old.

If you like Roz Chast, you'll love this book.

Roz Chast is a genius.