Scan barcode
A review by xterminal
Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man by John Porcellino
3.0
John Porcellino, Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man (La Mano, 2005)
Over the past few years, Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man had become something of a graphic novel holy grail for me; library after library had listed it in their catalogs (presumably having it on order rather than in stock), and then had it mysteriously disappear. Finding a copy was downright impossible, and the book sat at the top of my list of stuff I wanted to read for over three years before Interlibrary Loan were finally able to track down what I'm starting to think is the only extant copy of the book in existence. (For the record, I extend my undying gratitude to the folks at the Salt Lake City Public Library.) I knew, somewhere in the back of my head, I was probably setting myself up for disaster; when you look forward to something for this absurd amount of time, the reality almost never matches the anticipation. And yet Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man almost did. Almost. I knew I was going to be in trouble when I read the preface, though, so I was prepared when I got to the last pages and Porcellino's conversion (not a spoiler, since, obviously, it's mentioned in the preface). Still, I found myself liking the earlier stuff better, despite it being far more primitive and crude (in every sense of the word) than the later work. But my problems with the later work are all philosophical, rather than with the work itself; don't let my reservation stop you from seeking this one out. ***
Over the past few years, Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man had become something of a graphic novel holy grail for me; library after library had listed it in their catalogs (presumably having it on order rather than in stock), and then had it mysteriously disappear. Finding a copy was downright impossible, and the book sat at the top of my list of stuff I wanted to read for over three years before Interlibrary Loan were finally able to track down what I'm starting to think is the only extant copy of the book in existence. (For the record, I extend my undying gratitude to the folks at the Salt Lake City Public Library.) I knew, somewhere in the back of my head, I was probably setting myself up for disaster; when you look forward to something for this absurd amount of time, the reality almost never matches the anticipation. And yet Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man almost did. Almost. I knew I was going to be in trouble when I read the preface, though, so I was prepared when I got to the last pages and Porcellino's conversion (not a spoiler, since, obviously, it's mentioned in the preface). Still, I found myself liking the earlier stuff better, despite it being far more primitive and crude (in every sense of the word) than the later work. But my problems with the later work are all philosophical, rather than with the work itself; don't let my reservation stop you from seeking this one out. ***