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at you. To quote the writer/artist/diarist himself, “This book itself isn’t so complicated. It’s just another volume of my diary comic strip. But it’s also my life.” That life entails his thoughts, his interactions with his family (Amy and young Eli), his musical career and stuff that the rest of just achieve as part of our existence, such as driving, shopping, sleeping or admiring nature. This is the kind of book you can leave by your bedside table and pick up when you need reminding that life really is enchanting and full of joy in those hidden moments that our busyness has trained us to ignore. Like Curb Your Enthusiam’s Larry David, Kochalka has the strange ability to make his ordinary life seem entertaining. However, Kochalka swears a lot less and isn’t as rude, but is able to come up with thoughts such as; “How can I rock with a pimple?” “The world is sure filled with a lot of stuff.” “All the girls look beautiful! Even the ugly ones!” Kochalka’s art is simple, but there’s no need for detail. Every person he draws looks different and when he occasionally chooses to focus one day on just drawing something that caught his eye, like his hand, or even mould on the ceiling, it looks attractive. With a varied use of panels and even artistic styles throughout his daily entries this volume is a gorgeous pop art tome, full of vibrant colours and enchanting distractions. A showcase into one man’s life and the emotions and daydreams and conversations that goes with it, Kochalka shows that anyone can be an artist. That’s not to say that being an artist is easy, but true artists can open their eyes, (and through their work, ours too) and reveal the splendour of a seemingly normal existence. You can follow Kochalka’s meanderings and mutterings every day at www.americanelf.com
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