Review: Hilarious
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 29, 2013
Robert insists that this story begins with a phone call, but he also mentions being in bed with a woman, and he can't leave that story untold. So he rewinds and tells us of how he met Becky, a clumsy nurse. Robert's strange life, filled with unusual minutiae and described in a blase way, piqued my interest. When Becky started describing her day at the ER while Robert eats her out, I burst out laughing.Effed Up is the story of Robert and his dysfunctional family. The phone call is a notification that his mother is in the hospital. Robert hates the woman and is not eager to go see her, but we might not have much of a story if he stayed in bed with Becky for the remaining pages, so he does go back home. It's as bad as Robert said. His mother is manipulative and his brother is in his 40s and in a Pink Floyd tribute band.Although the characters are often twisted and despicable, the humorous narration keeps things from feeling too heavy. I wanted to see whether the family would reconcile or find some closure, and even during emotional scenes there were laughs to be had. Robert's family is a series of caricatures, dense to their own shortcomings and faults, but they're human enough that I can think "Yeah, I know an aunt who did something like that once." The conversational, informal and quick-witted writing kept everything together. Bawdy and absurd, Effed Up did not fail to be amusing.