Book Review: But I Really Wanted to Be an Anthropologist

I saw this book at the bookstore and was immediately attracted by the lively illustration style. There's this sequence of panels that shows Margaux Motin dancing, swaying to the beat. It's a nice moment. It felt sincere.

Margaux Motin is the author and artist for this book. She's a freelance illustrator and blogger living in Paris. She's also a young mother, someone who loves fashion and in a relationship with a cool guy.

This book collects short stories, snap shots of Margaux's life. Each story is usually fit into one page, sometimes over a few pages. They are humorous because they feel very real and I can definitely imagine one of my friends living such a life.

Sometimes there can be nothing much going on, or she can be whining about things that you normally won't whine about, or basically things guys won't whine about, such as you can't find an offline friend to whine about things because you're not working in a co-working environment. Or it can be her trying to piss off her guy who likes to watch soccer.

The stories can are irreverent, inconsequential or even appear shallow. However, overall, I do feel that there's authenticity, because there are definitely people are like that. I've a friend who behaves quite similarly, and she's a good friend. So I can imagine that all the things in this book actually happened. And they are humorous because they are true to a certain extent.

I enjoy the authenticity and the book very much. But I suspect that there will be some who will be put off by the behaviour.

You can check out more art from Margaux Motin on her website at https://margauxmotin.typepad.fr/

But I Really Wanted to Be an Anthropologist is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN)

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