I never feel like I’m very good at reviews. I feel like I don’t do it right. What I want is to capture the feel of something. I want you to read what I write and say “that sounds fun, I’m going to pick that up.” And I want you to pick up Joey Comeau’s Overqualified, so I hope this review is okay.

Maybe nobody else does this, but sometimes, when I’m writing papers, when I’m frustrated, I’ll finish one of the sentences with something that is generally inappropriate. I delete it, of course, but sometimes I’m not interested in finishing a sentence which begins “Realist theory holds that” with a description of realist theory. Sometimes I want to say “Realist theory holds that the world is fucked, and they’re right. We’re lying to ourselves every day.”

Overqualified is like that–but instead of deleting it, of ignoring that impulse, Joey Comeau decides to run with it. It is a story told in cover letters where something has cracked. They are cover letters which end with things like, “Live for today, you retarded little shit, the end is near.” It sounds like it could be really gimmicky, too formulaic, when you describe it like that. It sounds like with each cover letter you’ll be thinking, “Man, how is Joey going to make this one wacky?” and it’s really not. It works, and it’s funny and poignant and shocking and sad, usually all at the same time. They’re about how amazing and frustrating and stupid it is to be human, and how amazing and frustrating and stupid humans can be. They’re about regret and longing and loss.

And there’s a story, which is kind of like putting together your favorite mug after someone knocked it off the counter. There are pieces missing. Some of the pieces just don’t fit. And maybe you’re not a sentimental person but that was yours, and you had some fun times with it, and you never realized how much you appreciated it, and now it’s gone forever. Except it’s better than that. I’d normally say it’s a cohesive narrative, but part of the fun is that it’s all fragmented.

I guess what I am saying is you should read it.