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Missed Connections: Love, Lost & Found
In her first book for adults, the artist Sophie Blackall creates a deeply felt, poignant book about love—a book that captures the mystery, the yearning, at times the cosmic humor behind the “what if?” of a missed connection.
Like a message in a bottle, a “missed connection" classified (usually posted on a website) is an attempt however far-fetched, by one stranger to reach another on the strength of a remembered glance, smile, or blue hat. The anonymous messages are hopeful and hopeless, funny and sad. Ms. Blackall, award-winning illustrator of Ruby’s Wish and Big Red Lollipop , has turned some of the most evocative (or hilarious) of them into exquisite paintings.
Missed Connections is a collection of illustrated love stories. There’s “We Shared a Bear Suit.” “If Not for Your Noisy Tambourine.” “Hairy Bearded Swimmer.” Each is told in the shorthand of a “missed connection,” and then illustrated in Chinese ink and watercolor. The paintings are delicate yet full of feeling, each springing from one little detail of the post into a fully imagined world. Each brings the voyeuristic pleasure of watching love at first sight, and the pleasure of watching an artist discover a fresh new way to tell a story. And not all the connections are missed. Hidden in the book are three pieces that conjure up the magic of love found.
Like a message in a bottle, a “missed connection" classified (usually posted on a website) is an attempt however far-fetched, by one stranger to reach another on the strength of a remembered glance, smile, or blue hat. The anonymous messages are hopeful and hopeless, funny and sad. Ms. Blackall, award-winning illustrator of Ruby’s Wish and Big Red Lollipop , has turned some of the most evocative (or hilarious) of them into exquisite paintings.
Missed Connections is a collection of illustrated love stories. There’s “We Shared a Bear Suit.” “If Not for Your Noisy Tambourine.” “Hairy Bearded Swimmer.” Each is told in the shorthand of a “missed connection,” and then illustrated in Chinese ink and watercolor. The paintings are delicate yet full of feeling, each springing from one little detail of the post into a fully imagined world. Each brings the voyeuristic pleasure of watching love at first sight, and the pleasure of watching an artist discover a fresh new way to tell a story. And not all the connections are missed. Hidden in the book are three pieces that conjure up the magic of love found.
128 pages, Paperback
First published September 22, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
December 7, 2018
I read this because I had just read Sophie Blackall's lovely Hello, Lighthouse picture book and looked at what else she did. This title interested me because it made me recall this similar work edited by Julia Wertz, comics shorts drawn by a variety of artists.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
I liked some of that but as is usual with collections, found it pretty uneven. Anyway, the "missed connection section of free alternative weeklies or Craig's List or daily newspapers is a column where, if you had a moment with someone--love at first sight?!--but didn't speak, missed the connection, you can post a note to see if the other person also wanted to--just possibly--make the connection in some small way. Or maybe it is just an acknowledgment of the moment, just that.
But the idea of missed connections as the product of shyness, hesitation, paralysis, is heart-achingly consistent in both Wertz's and Blackall's books, though the pen and watercolor art in Blackall's cartoon depictions of the missed connections entries is lovelier, and the stories she finds are generally sweeter. Blackall does cartoons, single images, visual impressions based on the actual entries.
Here is a pitch for you to read and support Maria Popova's Brainpickings, but here she features Blackall's book so you can see some of the cartoons:
https://www.brainpickings.org/2011/09...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
I liked some of that but as is usual with collections, found it pretty uneven. Anyway, the "missed connection section of free alternative weeklies or Craig's List or daily newspapers is a column where, if you had a moment with someone--love at first sight?!--but didn't speak, missed the connection, you can post a note to see if the other person also wanted to--just possibly--make the connection in some small way. Or maybe it is just an acknowledgment of the moment, just that.
But the idea of missed connections as the product of shyness, hesitation, paralysis, is heart-achingly consistent in both Wertz's and Blackall's books, though the pen and watercolor art in Blackall's cartoon depictions of the missed connections entries is lovelier, and the stories she finds are generally sweeter. Blackall does cartoons, single images, visual impressions based on the actual entries.
Here is a pitch for you to read and support Maria Popova's Brainpickings, but here she features Blackall's book so you can see some of the cartoons:
https://www.brainpickings.org/2011/09...
September 26, 2022
Ever see someone who passes you by and wish that you would have said something? Years go by and you find yourself still thinking of them; the blue of their eyes...the way they smiled at you...their long flowing hair...Sophie Blackall illustrates the fleeting moments that linger in our hearts; the life with someone who we never got to know.
October 5, 2011
You know those times when you catch the eye of a random stranger and suddenly life stops for a moment? It’s those times when connections are made and then lost, in the blink of an eye. Within seconds you could have met the love of your life or your worst enemy, but due to a lack of time or nerves the connection was missed. What if you could track them down? What if there was a place to reconnect? Even if it meant putting yourself out there for the whole world to see? This is what happens when people take a chance on a Missed Connections.
My purchase and subsequent reading of Missed Connections was more than my need to stick my nose into the private lives of other people, though I’m sure that played a large role. Primarily, I picked up Missed Connections because of the author, Sophie Blackall, who I normally read with my children in her Ivy & Bean series for younger readers. I’m a huge fan, not only of her writing but her illustrations as well. There’s a quirkiness to her art that’s incredibly endearing and it never fails to hit my “laugh-out-loud” button; Missed Connections was no exception to this.
What was incredible about this book was the fact that every bit of it was taken from actual accounts of real people and “missed connections” from Craigslist. Much like Sophie mentions in the beginning of the book, I’d never heard of this before and ended up spending hours aimlessly perusing not only her Missed Connections blog, but also Craigslist as well. It’s just too much fun to imagine how these anonymous people end up. In the introduction Sophie goes into a pretty good sum-up of why exactly we love seeing these types of things:
What was wonderful about how she stated all of this was that I suddenly felt connected through her “Missed Connections”. I’ve never been one to need a nicely wrapped up package to enjoy a story. Obviously I do like things to be relatively happy in the end, but I don’t feel the need to have everything spelled out for me. What Missed Connections does is give you that little glimpse into what “could be” in a few short sentences with a very quirky yet beautiful illustrations. For a sneak peek into what’s to be found in Sophie Blackall’s fantastic book I’d highly recommend taking a look at her blog, it’s delightful!
One of the truly fun aspects of the book is discovering just how romantic and hopeful men are over women. Sophie shares that the number of men’s requests outnumbers the women in a clean 70/30 split. Surprising, right? What I discovered though was that I loved the way the men in the book told their stories of Missed Connections, particularly the one mentioned on page 90. A short snippet out of the life a man who’s first and last kiss happens over a beluga whale. Unusual perhaps, but I promise you’ll nearly be in tears by the end of his short story.
Yes, Missed Connections is an illustrated book by the lovely Sophie Blackall. No, perhaps it isn’t your typical “Chick Lit” read, but then again…maybe it is. It’s non-fiction fiction for the Chick Lit reader. Perfect for those of us with a bit of a voyeuristic heart on the lookout for love in very obscure places, Missed Connections: Love, Lost & Found is the perfect book to devour in a quiet afternoon or savor for days as you imagine just how each couple ended their version of “happily ever after”. This is a book I recommend wholeheartedly to every reader out their who loves to be swept away in the what-if’s? Personally, I’m in love! This is a favorite read this year and I’ll be passing it along to every romantic I know!
My purchase and subsequent reading of Missed Connections was more than my need to stick my nose into the private lives of other people, though I’m sure that played a large role. Primarily, I picked up Missed Connections because of the author, Sophie Blackall, who I normally read with my children in her Ivy & Bean series for younger readers. I’m a huge fan, not only of her writing but her illustrations as well. There’s a quirkiness to her art that’s incredibly endearing and it never fails to hit my “laugh-out-loud” button; Missed Connections was no exception to this.
What was incredible about this book was the fact that every bit of it was taken from actual accounts of real people and “missed connections” from Craigslist. Much like Sophie mentions in the beginning of the book, I’d never heard of this before and ended up spending hours aimlessly perusing not only her Missed Connections blog, but also Craigslist as well. It’s just too much fun to imagine how these anonymous people end up. In the introduction Sophie goes into a pretty good sum-up of why exactly we love seeing these types of things:
With this deluge of response came the realization that I was not alone in finding Missed Connections as seductive as a Hugh Grant movie, as addictive as Facebook. (Just five more minutes to look at photos of the girl-I-was-never-friends-with-in-highschool’s baby shower…) I knew why I was glued to them, but I wondered if those reasons were universal: the voyeurism, the vicarious romance, the unintentional comedy, the angst, the imagery.
…Each individual collision is a fragment of a story containing great big familiar themes of love, loss, and regret and, ultimately, and most importantly, hope. It’s a hopeless sort of hope, but it’s very compelling. We want to know if the guy gets the girl, don’t we?
I have a confession to make.
I don’t really want to know. I like a happy ending as well as the next person, but I love the mystery and the uncertainty and the electric current of possibility.
(p.9 and p.13-14, Missed Connections by Sophie Blackall)
What was wonderful about how she stated all of this was that I suddenly felt connected through her “Missed Connections”. I’ve never been one to need a nicely wrapped up package to enjoy a story. Obviously I do like things to be relatively happy in the end, but I don’t feel the need to have everything spelled out for me. What Missed Connections does is give you that little glimpse into what “could be” in a few short sentences with a very quirky yet beautiful illustrations. For a sneak peek into what’s to be found in Sophie Blackall’s fantastic book I’d highly recommend taking a look at her blog, it’s delightful!
One of the truly fun aspects of the book is discovering just how romantic and hopeful men are over women. Sophie shares that the number of men’s requests outnumbers the women in a clean 70/30 split. Surprising, right? What I discovered though was that I loved the way the men in the book told their stories of Missed Connections, particularly the one mentioned on page 90. A short snippet out of the life a man who’s first and last kiss happens over a beluga whale. Unusual perhaps, but I promise you’ll nearly be in tears by the end of his short story.
Yes, Missed Connections is an illustrated book by the lovely Sophie Blackall. No, perhaps it isn’t your typical “Chick Lit” read, but then again…maybe it is. It’s non-fiction fiction for the Chick Lit reader. Perfect for those of us with a bit of a voyeuristic heart on the lookout for love in very obscure places, Missed Connections: Love, Lost & Found is the perfect book to devour in a quiet afternoon or savor for days as you imagine just how each couple ended their version of “happily ever after”. This is a book I recommend wholeheartedly to every reader out their who loves to be swept away in the what-if’s? Personally, I’m in love! This is a favorite read this year and I’ll be passing it along to every romantic I know!
May 19, 2019
I like Sophie Blackall's artwork, and picked this book up for that sole reason. Blackall was fascinated by the mix of hopeful and melancholic posts in her local Missed Connections, and began producing artwork to ads that spoke to her. I found Blackall's spidery, flat, oddly beautiful style compelling, and loved many of the illustrated moments.
honestly-ill-never-get-around-to-it
May 14, 2014Will require tissues:
The Whale at Coney Island
– M4M — 69
(Brooklyn/Florida)
A young friend of mine recently acquainted me with the intricacies of Missed Connections, and I have decided to try to find you one final time.
Many years ago, we were friends and teachers together in New York City. Perhaps we could have been lovers too, but we were not. We used to take trips to Coney Island, especially during the spring, when we would stroll hand in hand, until our palms got too sweaty, along the boardwalk, and take refuge in the cool darkness of the aquarium. We liked to visit the whale best. One spring, it arrived from its winter home (in Florida? I can’t remember) pregnant. Everyone at the aquarium was very excited — a baby beluga whale was going to be born in New York City! You insisted that we not miss the birth, so every day after class, and on both Saturday and Sunday, we would take the D train all the way from Harlem to Coney Island.
We got there one Saturday as the aquarium opened and there was a sign posted to the glass tank. The baby beluga had been born dead. The mother, the sign read, was recovering but would be fine. We read the sign in shock and watched the single beluga whale in her tank. She was circling slowly. Neither of us could speak. Suddenly, without warning, the beluga started to throw herself against the wall of the tank. Trainers came and ushered us out. We sat on a bench outside, and suddenly I felt tears running down my face. You saw, turned my face towards yours, and kissed me. We had never kissed before, and I let my lips linger on yours for a second before I stood up and walked towards the ocean.
It was too much — the whale, the death, the kiss — and I wasn’t ready.
Forgive me — I don’t think I ever understood what an emptiness you would create when you left and I realized that that kiss on Coney Island was the first and the last.
Are you out there, dear friend?
If so, please respond. I think of you, and have thought of you often, all of these years.
The Whale at Coney Island
– M4M — 69
(Brooklyn/Florida)
A young friend of mine recently acquainted me with the intricacies of Missed Connections, and I have decided to try to find you one final time.
Many years ago, we were friends and teachers together in New York City. Perhaps we could have been lovers too, but we were not. We used to take trips to Coney Island, especially during the spring, when we would stroll hand in hand, until our palms got too sweaty, along the boardwalk, and take refuge in the cool darkness of the aquarium. We liked to visit the whale best. One spring, it arrived from its winter home (in Florida? I can’t remember) pregnant. Everyone at the aquarium was very excited — a baby beluga whale was going to be born in New York City! You insisted that we not miss the birth, so every day after class, and on both Saturday and Sunday, we would take the D train all the way from Harlem to Coney Island.
We got there one Saturday as the aquarium opened and there was a sign posted to the glass tank. The baby beluga had been born dead. The mother, the sign read, was recovering but would be fine. We read the sign in shock and watched the single beluga whale in her tank. She was circling slowly. Neither of us could speak. Suddenly, without warning, the beluga started to throw herself against the wall of the tank. Trainers came and ushered us out. We sat on a bench outside, and suddenly I felt tears running down my face. You saw, turned my face towards yours, and kissed me. We had never kissed before, and I let my lips linger on yours for a second before I stood up and walked towards the ocean.
It was too much — the whale, the death, the kiss — and I wasn’t ready.
Forgive me — I don’t think I ever understood what an emptiness you would create when you left and I realized that that kiss on Coney Island was the first and the last.
Are you out there, dear friend?
If so, please respond. I think of you, and have thought of you often, all of these years.
October 14, 2014
4.5 stars. I am a romantic at heart and admittedly I love reading Craigslist's Missed Connections. It is so strange and so beautiful to me to think that one passing glance could move some to post something about exchanging smiles on the street or on the Metro. It's even more beautiful to me when someone posts a Missed Connection about someone that they knew a long time ago and now with this digital age that we live in, not giving up hope that someday they might be able to reunite with someone that they loved and/or cared about. Human connection in all of its many forms is truly a beautiful thing.
This book explores that human connection through words and charming, sometimes whimsical drawings. I really loved it. Some of the Missed Connections are funny, some make you wonder about the people that wrote them, some make you wonder about the people they were written about, and some (and these are the ones that get me) are absolutely heartwrenching! This is one of those books that will make you feel all sorts of different feelings - it is definitely a rollercoaster ride!
If you like Missed Connections or even if you are just interested in reading about the human condition and the human heart, this book would be a great pick. I know that this is definitely going to be a book that I go back to over and over again!
This book explores that human connection through words and charming, sometimes whimsical drawings. I really loved it. Some of the Missed Connections are funny, some make you wonder about the people that wrote them, some make you wonder about the people they were written about, and some (and these are the ones that get me) are absolutely heartwrenching! This is one of those books that will make you feel all sorts of different feelings - it is definitely a rollercoaster ride!
If you like Missed Connections or even if you are just interested in reading about the human condition and the human heart, this book would be a great pick. I know that this is definitely going to be a book that I go back to over and over again!
November 10, 2012
A few of my faves:
"If not for your noisy tambourine, I would not have seen you. Your green skirt looked terrible but that leather jacket makes you just look right."
"Your nose started bleeding...I was the girl who handed you a handkerchief...I thought you were bloody lovely."
"Phoenix w/ Crutches...I would love to carry you around piggy back until you can walk again..."
"Freckles and Bruises...How did you get those bruises? I wouldn't let anything happen to you. You were reading some book and taking notes. I read a book once."
"asked myself why the letter 'n' all night long, then you were gone before i got a chance to ask. also, i saved you a piece of cake. do you always sit in a circle of asian girls? and sit at the top of the stairs so everyone gets a crush on you when they get to the roof?"
"If not for your noisy tambourine, I would not have seen you. Your green skirt looked terrible but that leather jacket makes you just look right."
"Your nose started bleeding...I was the girl who handed you a handkerchief...I thought you were bloody lovely."
"Phoenix w/ Crutches...I would love to carry you around piggy back until you can walk again..."
"Freckles and Bruises...How did you get those bruises? I wouldn't let anything happen to you. You were reading some book and taking notes. I read a book once."
"asked myself why the letter 'n' all night long, then you were gone before i got a chance to ask. also, i saved you a piece of cake. do you always sit in a circle of asian girls? and sit at the top of the stairs so everyone gets a crush on you when they get to the roof?"
December 2, 2017
The whole idea and the illustrations are simply charming!
January 8, 2021
This book was the result of Sophie Blackall’s passion project- she read ads from her fellow New Yorkers called Missed Connections where they try to find people they had a memorable connection with but that they failed to act on and then she illustrated them based on imagery conjured in her mind. My favorite was about a woman on a swan bike - the illustration is wonderful and it is specific enough to actually find the person. In Sophie’s introduction, she said that people contacted her based on seeing their ads illustrated on her blog - for help, updates on whether they found them or not, or asking her to illustrate them. If you are a fan of Maira Kalman (and I definitely am), you’ll be sure to enjoy Sophie’s work as well - it has a similar style and feel.
November 4, 2012
A chance encounter with someone you think could be your soulmate holds an almost magical charm. If your mind lingers on it long enough, your imagination will start churning out what-could-have-beens, coupled with a wish that the other person is thinking of you too. All you could do is punctuate it with longing sighs…or perhaps you could cram an ellipsis on it instead by posting a “Missed Connection” online.
Missed connections often crackle with the electric current of romantic possibility, but they may also be a way to reconnect with an old friend, to look for a relative you’ve lost touch with, or just to express gratitude to a stranger. Whatever its purpose is, one thing is clear: there’s really no stopping the mushrooming of these cyber messages in the bottle.
Confession: one of my guilty pleasures is spending a sizable amount of time reading missed connections online. I never fail to have my daily dose of fiction, so I think it wouldn’t hurt reading tidbits that happened in real life. They’re tale fragments that my writer side would consider ultimately fic-fodder, but my cheeseball side would think as sparks of hope of connecting in a bleak world wrapped in a general atmosphere of pessimism and selfish disengagement. They’re like fairytales-in-making, and there’s really no telling if they’re going to end up with a happy-ever-after or just stay unfinished forever.
Missed Connections: Love, Lost and Found is one “picture book” I really treasure. It contains a bunch of missed connections from various online sites, this time partnered with paintings of the award-winning illustrator Sophie Blackall.
To say that Blackall’s artwork fully captures the weight of every missed connection is an understatement. Through strokes of Chinese ink and water color, she added quirky, wistful, poignant, comical, and tender flavors to the posts.
But what I love the most about this book is that most of the time, Blackall managed to insert her own version of “what if” into each message. This was done not through illustrating scenes of the possible future, but by merely depicting the exact moment boxed within the four corners of that missed connection. My favorite in this verse would be the “I Wish I Could See Your Head” one, where Blackall drew a girl with the parts of her head portrayed as if it were in a clinic poster. Cradled in the cranium section is an unmade bed with two pillows, suggestive that it had two occupants not so long ago. I think it’s cleverly peculiar, how Blackall supplied an answer of some sort to post writer who wished he could see inside the beautiful stranger’s mind.
Oh, and I like the fact that Blackall didn’t bother to go Grammar Nazi on all posts. The misspellings and misplaced punctuations are kept where they originally are, and I think it added to the credibility and reality of the missed connections.
Anyway, describing all my favorite illustrations would just “spoil” it for you; I want you guys to check out the illustrations yourselves. In all honesty, words can’t equate to the paintings’ exquisiteness. In fact, seeing them kind of rekindled the frustrated painter in me. I’ve gone back to painting recently, and I make it a point to always make time for this artistic endeavor. I’ve also scribbled a new item on my bucket list after finishing the book: to write and illustrate a book for my future kids. :)
It’s overall a book worthy of appreciation and the time you’ll spent flicking through it. “If a picture is worth a thousand words,” Ilene Beckerman says, “Sophie Blackall has created a bookstore you’ll fall in love with.” I couldn’t agree more.
Missed connections often crackle with the electric current of romantic possibility, but they may also be a way to reconnect with an old friend, to look for a relative you’ve lost touch with, or just to express gratitude to a stranger. Whatever its purpose is, one thing is clear: there’s really no stopping the mushrooming of these cyber messages in the bottle.
Confession: one of my guilty pleasures is spending a sizable amount of time reading missed connections online. I never fail to have my daily dose of fiction, so I think it wouldn’t hurt reading tidbits that happened in real life. They’re tale fragments that my writer side would consider ultimately fic-fodder, but my cheeseball side would think as sparks of hope of connecting in a bleak world wrapped in a general atmosphere of pessimism and selfish disengagement. They’re like fairytales-in-making, and there’s really no telling if they’re going to end up with a happy-ever-after or just stay unfinished forever.
Missed Connections: Love, Lost and Found is one “picture book” I really treasure. It contains a bunch of missed connections from various online sites, this time partnered with paintings of the award-winning illustrator Sophie Blackall.
To say that Blackall’s artwork fully captures the weight of every missed connection is an understatement. Through strokes of Chinese ink and water color, she added quirky, wistful, poignant, comical, and tender flavors to the posts.
But what I love the most about this book is that most of the time, Blackall managed to insert her own version of “what if” into each message. This was done not through illustrating scenes of the possible future, but by merely depicting the exact moment boxed within the four corners of that missed connection. My favorite in this verse would be the “I Wish I Could See Your Head” one, where Blackall drew a girl with the parts of her head portrayed as if it were in a clinic poster. Cradled in the cranium section is an unmade bed with two pillows, suggestive that it had two occupants not so long ago. I think it’s cleverly peculiar, how Blackall supplied an answer of some sort to post writer who wished he could see inside the beautiful stranger’s mind.
Oh, and I like the fact that Blackall didn’t bother to go Grammar Nazi on all posts. The misspellings and misplaced punctuations are kept where they originally are, and I think it added to the credibility and reality of the missed connections.
Anyway, describing all my favorite illustrations would just “spoil” it for you; I want you guys to check out the illustrations yourselves. In all honesty, words can’t equate to the paintings’ exquisiteness. In fact, seeing them kind of rekindled the frustrated painter in me. I’ve gone back to painting recently, and I make it a point to always make time for this artistic endeavor. I’ve also scribbled a new item on my bucket list after finishing the book: to write and illustrate a book for my future kids. :)
It’s overall a book worthy of appreciation and the time you’ll spent flicking through it. “If a picture is worth a thousand words,” Ilene Beckerman says, “Sophie Blackall has created a bookstore you’ll fall in love with.” I couldn’t agree more.
February 5, 2018
This little book was waiting for me when I got in on Monday morning and by the time that my computer logged on I had read almost all of it.
Blackall discovered missed connections one day on her way home to Brooklyn from Manhattan. She was used to mining for material, reading old letters and telegrams and other personal artifacts for inspiration, but here was an endless well of possibilities. Blackall resolved to illustrate one a day and post them to a blog. This book is a collection of some of those drawings.
This was an interesting read. The joy of a missed connection is that they are usually short and sometimes they sum up huge emotions. Blackall's illustrations were sometimes funny (like the hairy swimmer or the man with the amazing mustache) and sometimes sweet. Plus, I always like a peek into the lives of others, their shared bear costumes and moments of bashfulness.
All in all, this was a cute, fast read.
Blackall discovered missed connections one day on her way home to Brooklyn from Manhattan. She was used to mining for material, reading old letters and telegrams and other personal artifacts for inspiration, but here was an endless well of possibilities. Blackall resolved to illustrate one a day and post them to a blog. This book is a collection of some of those drawings.
This was an interesting read. The joy of a missed connection is that they are usually short and sometimes they sum up huge emotions. Blackall's illustrations were sometimes funny (like the hairy swimmer or the man with the amazing mustache) and sometimes sweet. Plus, I always like a peek into the lives of others, their shared bear costumes and moments of bashfulness.
All in all, this was a cute, fast read.
January 3, 2012
I couldn't help but compare this to I Saw You...: Comics Inspired by Real Life Missed Connections edited by Julia Wertz, as well as Lust: Kinky Online Personal Ads from Seattle's The Stranger by Ellen Forney. In many ways, this is a much gentler version of the latter - there is very little expansion or story added to the words of the ad (and it's definitely not a comic book). Blackall's illustrations are quirky and even a little edgy, but in a super sweet way.
I like her pictures, but I wanted more.
I like her pictures, but I wanted more.
May 27, 2018
Missed connections fascinate me and the whimsical illustrations that accompany each one are wonderful.
January 30, 2019
This was a disappointment for me, both in the genre and the execution. I really liked Julia Wertz's similarly-approached book, which I thought was funny and great. Blackall's struck me as often unpleasant. There are some GREAT illustrations here, but on the whole, I found them overly twee and wan. I didn't like how some of them had the whole "missed connection" written/drawn into the illustration, some only had part, and some had very little. I found it redundant to have to read both, but without doing so, I sometimes missed text.
Finally, the vast majority of these were "M" (male) searching (for either M or W; I don't think there were any nonbinary inclusions). This contributed to feeling that was at least pestering and at most harassing, in my reading. I understand that this is inherent to missed connections, to some extent, but I'm sure this could have been curated differently.
Finally, the vast majority of these were "M" (male) searching (for either M or W; I don't think there were any nonbinary inclusions). This contributed to feeling that was at least pestering and at most harassing, in my reading. I understand that this is inherent to missed connections, to some extent, but I'm sure this could have been curated differently.
November 5, 2020
Maybe it's the first book to tag as 'fiction' and 'nonfiction' at the same time... I knew the project for ages, more than 10 years. It's a great idea and a great artist. I have always found some beautiful sorrow in the missed connections, I have had tons of them... Next time, maybe, I have thought... Sometimes I haven't :-)
P.S. I will definitely exhibit some pieces at the #ClaudeDebussy85 #WindowGallery ;-)
P.S. I will definitely exhibit some pieces at the #ClaudeDebussy85 #WindowGallery ;-)
December 3, 2019
About a year ago, I went to an art exhibit of Sophie Blackall's work. I was familiar with her picture books, but not with her Missed Connections project, where she illustrated the ubiquitous craigslist posts, picking out the ones filled with longing and vivid descriptions. I had to buy this collection used, but it was well worth it. Her work is surreal and beautiful and makes you wonder about all of those missed connections you've had in your own life.
July 23, 2023
Each page is full of longing for human connection and I found it so devastatingly poignant.
November 4, 2022
Gorgeous illustrations and handwritten text.
September 5, 2022
Great concept, very interesting. Loved the artwork!
November 10, 2011
Long ago, when I was working in this bar that had once been popular, but was seedy and dying by the time I became employed there, a young good-looking guy from out of town showed up one night and stayed til closing.
Oddly, at the end of the hippie era, the guy had long hair, but wore a suit. He was fascinating, but was only in Columbus for a couple of days, then was going back wherever home was.
He asked me out, but no way. I told him I didn't date the customers. When he pressed, I told him the truth: I wasn't into flings. He smiled, a little ruefully, and left. When I went to clean up his glass, I saw that he'd left me a paperback--Another Roadside Attraction, by Tom Robbins.
Reading Sophie Blackall's Missed Connections made me immediately think back to that night so long ago. Blackall has sneaked more than a few peeks at the Craigslist NYC Missed Connections and pulled out the most whimsical and illuminated them with her fanciful illustrations.
"We Shared a Bear Suit at an Apartment Party Saturday Night" reads one entry. "the Whale at Coney Island" is sweet and sad. "Hipster Chick Who Passed Gas on A-Train" is hilarious--only Blackall could capture that allure...
What a coup! The imaginative illustrator of the Ivy& Bean series has created a fun romp for the grown-ups. I look forward to see what's next from the talented Blackall.
Oddly, at the end of the hippie era, the guy had long hair, but wore a suit. He was fascinating, but was only in Columbus for a couple of days, then was going back wherever home was.
He asked me out, but no way. I told him I didn't date the customers. When he pressed, I told him the truth: I wasn't into flings. He smiled, a little ruefully, and left. When I went to clean up his glass, I saw that he'd left me a paperback--Another Roadside Attraction, by Tom Robbins.
Reading Sophie Blackall's Missed Connections made me immediately think back to that night so long ago. Blackall has sneaked more than a few peeks at the Craigslist NYC Missed Connections and pulled out the most whimsical and illuminated them with her fanciful illustrations.
"We Shared a Bear Suit at an Apartment Party Saturday Night" reads one entry. "the Whale at Coney Island" is sweet and sad. "Hipster Chick Who Passed Gas on A-Train" is hilarious--only Blackall could capture that allure...
What a coup! The imaginative illustrator of the Ivy& Bean series has created a fun romp for the grown-ups. I look forward to see what's next from the talented Blackall.
January 26, 2012
I read Sophie Blackall's blog and I really like her M.C.-inspired art, so I was so super thrilled to get this book. Unfortunately there's not much beyond what's on the blog, so if you have already read that, this will be a nice trip down memory lane but not much more. If you've never read the blog, the art is very sweet, and I love the idea of someone creating excellent illustrations from the sort of "interrupted" story of missed connections. Blackall picks some of the most charming and inspiring missed connections to illustrate. I just wish I hadn't already seen it all previously. In the world of blog-to-books, this is one of the more disappointing translations.
also, does anyone else think about what a weird phenomenon Missed Connections are, and how strange it is that they can inspire art? I mean, missed connections blew up in like 2000. That's so weird.
also, does anyone else think about what a weird phenomenon Missed Connections are, and how strange it is that they can inspire art? I mean, missed connections blew up in like 2000. That's so weird.
July 24, 2012
In this lovely little book Sophie Blackall has collected dozens of her illustrations of Missed Connections ads, those shot in the dark personals people write to others they almost but didn’t quite meet. The ads themselves run the gamut from direct to romantic and often include quirky details. Blackall uses these details as the basis for whimsical paintings which visualize and narrate the ads. The overall effect is sweet and a little dreamy. As readers we get to imagine all these relationships that could have been and we feel the writer’s longing, nostalgia and hope. It was a little silly reading it over just a few days as the formula for the work became clear. But it would be terrific as a waiting room book, something to enjoy in short snippets…pretty and distracting vignettes that let the imagination carry on.
October 7, 2011
The world, or a least a very large chunk of it, is obsessed with the "Missed Connections" personal ads. Sophie Blackall is one of them. Fortunately for us, she's also a very gifted artist (she's the illustrator of the "Ivy and Bean" children's series among many others). She combines these two passions in this book to create a stunningly lovely, impossible to put down book. The longing, the romance, the regret and the humor that is so much part of these ads are visualized, fascinating, and unforgettable here. Go on, take a look!
May 5, 2012
This book is exactly what it looks like. Blackall took real missed connections from Craigslist and drew illustrations for them (If you don't know what "missed connections" are, google it. You can thank me later). Some are sad, and a lot are funny. The illustrations are perfect--fun but sort of whimsical as well. On the other hand, I don't think Blackall did as well at picking the ones she featured. A few were hilarious, but most weren't any more entertaining than ones I see on Craigslist when I log on. Still, the book is a great idea and I enjoyed it.
January 11, 2015
I liked Julia Wertz's take on missed connections, too, but Blackall's is undeniably sweeter. Her illustrations are adorable, and she's absolutely correct in her introduction when she asserts that if the posting she reprinted on page 90 of this edition does not make your heart swell, you are probably a robot.
April 14, 2017
I loved this. Sophie Blackall's wonderful and whimsical illustrations make the hopeful (but sometimes desperate) missed connections postings magical. I am going to be imagining these illustrations as I go about my day, making eye contact with strangers and wondering...maybe.
January 31, 2018
I've got to think everyone wonders "what if" and this book introduced me to not only the missed connections on Craigslist but how we can let our imaginations wander. We can make up the stories that continue and those that don't.
October 29, 2011
Beautiful read. I especially loved "Bleeding Nose on the F." "The Whale at Coney Island" was absolutely heart-breaking.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2013
Dear Sophia Blackall,
Please illustrate my life.
Sincerely,
Tamara
P.S. While you're at it, may I please have the blue hat from p.29.
Please illustrate my life.
Sincerely,
Tamara
P.S. While you're at it, may I please have the blue hat from p.29.
December 13, 2016
A very cute and emotional read. The illustrations are lovely and the idea for the book is very touching. The baby whale story really got to me.
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