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Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life
Back in 1984, a rebellious,17-year-old, punked-out Ulli Lust set out for a wild hitchhiking trip across Italy, from Naples through Verona and Rome and ending up in Sicily. Twenty-five years later, this talented Austrian cartoonist has looked back at that tumultuous summer and delivered a long, dense, sensitive,and minutely observed autobiographical masterpiece.
Miraculously combining a perfect memory for both emotional and physical detail with the sometimes painful lucidity two and half decades’ distance have brought to her understanding of the events, Lust meticulously shows the who, where, when, and how (specifically, how an often penniless young girl can survive for months on the road) of a sometimes dangerous and sometimes exhilarating journey. Particularly haunting is her portrait of her fellow traveler, the gangly, promiscuous devil-may-care Edi who veers from being her spunky, funny best friend in the world to an out-of-control lunatic with no consideration for anything but her own whims and desires.
Universally considered one of the very finest examples of the new breed of graphic novels coming from Europe, Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life won the 2011 Angouleme “Revelation” prize, and Fantagraphics is proud to bring it to English speaking readers.
Miraculously combining a perfect memory for both emotional and physical detail with the sometimes painful lucidity two and half decades’ distance have brought to her understanding of the events, Lust meticulously shows the who, where, when, and how (specifically, how an often penniless young girl can survive for months on the road) of a sometimes dangerous and sometimes exhilarating journey. Particularly haunting is her portrait of her fellow traveler, the gangly, promiscuous devil-may-care Edi who veers from being her spunky, funny best friend in the world to an out-of-control lunatic with no consideration for anything but her own whims and desires.
Universally considered one of the very finest examples of the new breed of graphic novels coming from Europe, Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life won the 2011 Angouleme “Revelation” prize, and Fantagraphics is proud to bring it to English speaking readers.
460 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2009
39 people are currently reading
3879 people want to read
About the author
Ulli Lust
18 books101 followersUlli Lust was born in 1967 in Vienna, Austria. Her cartooning work has mainly comprised comics reportages; Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life is her first graphic novel, and her first work to be translated into English. She lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 306 reviews
August 5, 2016
***1/2 stars. This starts out as a slightly dull memoir of a teenage punk runaway and the squatting scene in Europe, but the story steadily grows stranger and more compelling as Ulli and a female friend head south from Vienna into the heart of Sicily. The book is well observed throughout and there a few beatific moments where the story dilates beyond the consciousness of the narrator. But what will stick with me are Ulli's numerous encounters with Italian men who willfully refuse to understand the word "no." She's one of the few women openly walking the streets in small Sicilian towns and as a foreigner she's viewed as a prostitute by males of all ages and backgrounds. Her Italian boyfriend refuses to help when his buddy rapes her one evening in his bedroom. Her female friend tries to pimp her out to make a few bucks. And so on. The book downplays these horrific scenes as part of a larger quest for self knowledge, but they still paint a convincing and convicting portrait of an entire culture in the grip of psychosis.
July 1, 2013
This book pretty much wraps up everything I love in a good graphic memoir. It's raw, intense, not afraid to be really long (so many graphic memoirs cut themselves short), and captures so many small memorable moments. The characters are well developed, the story is interesting and takes unexpected turns. Coming of age, punk, feminism--it's all in there. I also really love Ulli Lust's illustration style; it matches the content of her story perfectly.
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October 2, 2023En una época en la que los años 80 se han metamorfoseado por arte de magia (y de falta de memoria) en una especie de paradigma de la diversión y el flúor, resulta refrescante leer una novela gráfica que retrata esa década de una forma tan oscura, peligrosa y atrasada como yo la recuerdo. Y Ulli Lust es especialista en eso: en sacar a relucir los trapos sucios, en airear las vergüenzas. Sin temor y sin pudor.
Ya me gustó en su cómic «Cómo traté de ser una buena persona», una obra posterior a la que hoy nos ocupa, que también tiene mucho de autobiográfica y que habla de la juventud de la autora. Pero si en esta habla de su proceso de domesticación, en «Hoy es el último día del resto de tu vida» habla de su época más salvaje: de los años en los que, inmersa en el estilo de vida punk, se dedicaba a pasar el día entre drogas, fiestas y sexo.
Este cómic se centra en el verano en el que la autora, haciendo autoestop y de la mano de otra punk a la que acaba de conocer, atraviesa una Europa aún llena de fronteras y se dispone a pasar unos meses conociendo Italia. Lo que al principio parecía una aventura, muy pronto se convierte en una pesadilla. Sin un duro, sin una red de apoyo y sin comprenderse demasiado entre ellas, las adolescentes se sumergen en un mundo hostil, peligrosísimo y machista en el que su actitud es una provocación y su cuerpo una moneda de cambio.
Me ha parecido un cómic muy bueno, muy duro, muy auténtico. Una lectura esencial para cualquiera que disfrute de los relatos autiobiográficos desprovistos de maquillajes que suavicen las vivencias.
Ya me gustó en su cómic «Cómo traté de ser una buena persona», una obra posterior a la que hoy nos ocupa, que también tiene mucho de autobiográfica y que habla de la juventud de la autora. Pero si en esta habla de su proceso de domesticación, en «Hoy es el último día del resto de tu vida» habla de su época más salvaje: de los años en los que, inmersa en el estilo de vida punk, se dedicaba a pasar el día entre drogas, fiestas y sexo.
Este cómic se centra en el verano en el que la autora, haciendo autoestop y de la mano de otra punk a la que acaba de conocer, atraviesa una Europa aún llena de fronteras y se dispone a pasar unos meses conociendo Italia. Lo que al principio parecía una aventura, muy pronto se convierte en una pesadilla. Sin un duro, sin una red de apoyo y sin comprenderse demasiado entre ellas, las adolescentes se sumergen en un mundo hostil, peligrosísimo y machista en el que su actitud es una provocación y su cuerpo una moneda de cambio.
Me ha parecido un cómic muy bueno, muy duro, muy auténtico. Una lectura esencial para cualquiera que disfrute de los relatos autiobiográficos desprovistos de maquillajes que suavicen las vivencias.
September 2, 2016
3.5 stars
Sometimes I feel like I'm getting old and have lost my sense of adventure. I had a hard time concentrating on the first half of the story. Ulli is a 17 yr. old punk girl from Austria with no ambitions or goals in life. She meets another girl, Edi, who convinces Ulli into backpacking it across the border into Italy. They leave with nothing but a sleeping bag and the clothes on their back, which for Edi consists of a sleeveless shirt and short shorts. Ulli at least thinks to bring an extra pair of underwear. I point this out because this is where my sense of adventure and lack of concentration came into play. I couldn't stop thinking every few pages how these girls must reek. They don't shower, change, and have sex. Lots of sex with no showering. I couldn't get the ick factor away from my head for a long portion of the book. I really wasn't feeling either of these girls from the start of the book.
So these girls are basically homeless in Italy. They learn to beg for food and money real soon. They sleep wherever a group will welcome them or wherever men take them. Edi, being promiscuous, sleeps with every man she meets, while Ulli often gets groped against her will, begged for sex, and sometimes talked into sex because it's easier to just get these men off her back if she consents. This becomes a cycle of self abuse in order to survive the streets of Italy. It becomes harder and harder to read everytime Ulli is "mentally raped" as men ogle her and undress her with their eyes as she walks through the street. They solicit her, offer her a place to sleep, a plate of food is she will just have sex with them. I felt Ulli's pain everytime she screamed that all she wanted was to be left alone, to be able to sleep without waking up in the middle of the night only to find someone feeling her up. At one point she is raped but decides to become the rapist's girlfriend because at least that way no one else will try to touch her. It paints such a sad picture. How do you ever trust a man's intentions if that's all you are to them, a sex object?
At some point, Edi and Ulli become separated. Ulli is completely on her own even when she joins up with other homeless people. It was depressing to see this neverending downward spiral of despair. The only times I felt happy for Ulli was when she managed to see historical places in Italy.
Ulli reunites with Edi again but Edi has become a prostitute and a heroin addict. While Ulli has been a good and loyal friend to Edi, Edi shows Ulli the opposite. She leaves Ulli alone with four men who are looking at her with wolf eyes waiting to devour her. Ulli has come to the fork in the road. She must decide whether to continue with her journey alone or with Edi, or go home to her parents. She must also come to terms that her friendship with Edi has run its course.
Prepared not to like this at first, Ulli finally won me over by the end of the book. She stood strong and fought back but I also couldn't help feeling sad at the fact that some of her innocence was robbed from her by the end of the book. In her ending page, Ulli apologizes to her parents for having put them through the pain and worry of not knowing her whereabouts during the time she spent in Italy. It felt good knowing that Ulli did not take for granted the lesson life had to show her.
Sometimes I feel like I'm getting old and have lost my sense of adventure. I had a hard time concentrating on the first half of the story. Ulli is a 17 yr. old punk girl from Austria with no ambitions or goals in life. She meets another girl, Edi, who convinces Ulli into backpacking it across the border into Italy. They leave with nothing but a sleeping bag and the clothes on their back, which for Edi consists of a sleeveless shirt and short shorts. Ulli at least thinks to bring an extra pair of underwear. I point this out because this is where my sense of adventure and lack of concentration came into play. I couldn't stop thinking every few pages how these girls must reek. They don't shower, change, and have sex. Lots of sex with no showering. I couldn't get the ick factor away from my head for a long portion of the book. I really wasn't feeling either of these girls from the start of the book.
So these girls are basically homeless in Italy. They learn to beg for food and money real soon. They sleep wherever a group will welcome them or wherever men take them. Edi, being promiscuous, sleeps with every man she meets, while Ulli often gets groped against her will, begged for sex, and sometimes talked into sex because it's easier to just get these men off her back if she consents. This becomes a cycle of self abuse in order to survive the streets of Italy. It becomes harder and harder to read everytime Ulli is "mentally raped" as men ogle her and undress her with their eyes as she walks through the street. They solicit her, offer her a place to sleep, a plate of food is she will just have sex with them. I felt Ulli's pain everytime she screamed that all she wanted was to be left alone, to be able to sleep without waking up in the middle of the night only to find someone feeling her up. At one point she is raped but decides to become the rapist's girlfriend because at least that way no one else will try to touch her. It paints such a sad picture. How do you ever trust a man's intentions if that's all you are to them, a sex object?
At some point, Edi and Ulli become separated. Ulli is completely on her own even when she joins up with other homeless people. It was depressing to see this neverending downward spiral of despair. The only times I felt happy for Ulli was when she managed to see historical places in Italy.
Ulli reunites with Edi again but Edi has become a prostitute and a heroin addict. While Ulli has been a good and loyal friend to Edi, Edi shows Ulli the opposite. She leaves Ulli alone with four men who are looking at her with wolf eyes waiting to devour her. Ulli has come to the fork in the road. She must decide whether to continue with her journey alone or with Edi, or go home to her parents. She must also come to terms that her friendship with Edi has run its course.
Prepared not to like this at first, Ulli finally won me over by the end of the book. She stood strong and fought back but I also couldn't help feeling sad at the fact that some of her innocence was robbed from her by the end of the book. In her ending page, Ulli apologizes to her parents for having put them through the pain and worry of not knowing her whereabouts during the time she spent in Italy. It felt good knowing that Ulli did not take for granted the lesson life had to show her.
August 28, 2020
When a graphic memoir is mentioned twice on your podcast, it’s a good idea to read it (161 and 198)! I needed a change in my reading so downloaded this graphic memoir from Hoopla that also counts for Women in Translation month.
Ulli is living the punk life and it is a hard life. She sneaks into Italy and finds food and shelter where she can (she really shouldn’t have gone to Sicily!) and damn the man etc. The art is often monochromatic, mostly a dirty green, and captures the emotions and unwashed hair very well. I couldn’t put it down while I followed her tumultuous journey.
CW for rape, sexual assault, drugs.
Ulli is living the punk life and it is a hard life. She sneaks into Italy and finds food and shelter where she can (she really shouldn’t have gone to Sicily!) and damn the man etc. The art is often monochromatic, mostly a dirty green, and captures the emotions and unwashed hair very well. I couldn’t put it down while I followed her tumultuous journey.
CW for rape, sexual assault, drugs.
December 11, 2021
3,5 💉 чистого герыча из 5
Несовершеннолетней подруге прям совсем не повезло в её безрассудном путешествии по Италии. Мало того что она панк, так и грязные похотливые итальяшки пристают и насилуют на каждом шагу, подружаня-нимфоманка с героиновой зависимостью вечно встряет во всякие истории, мафия за каждым углом, а ещё кушаць хочетса. Хорошо хоть сейчас Covid и нельзя в Италию, а то прям жутко совсем стало.
Несовершеннолетней подруге прям совсем не повезло в её безрассудном путешествии по Италии. Мало того что она панк, так и грязные похотливые итальяшки пристают и насилуют на каждом шагу, подружаня-нимфоманка с героиновой зависимостью вечно встряет во всякие истории, мафия за каждым углом, а ещё кушаць хочетса. Хорошо хоть сейчас Covid и нельзя в Италию, а то прям жутко совсем стало.
October 15, 2013
Nothing surprising here, though I read it with a certain sort of familiarity, and some enjoyment of sorts... two (sort of) punk teenagers go on the road from Germany to Sicily, without ANY money, partying... what bad things can happen?! The drawing is sketchy, perfect for the tale and the kind of journal-style telling.... not much insight is gained along the way, really.
August 18, 2018
This book is a no-holds-barred memoir of an Austrian teen (Lust) who hitchhikes from Vienna all around Italy. Mid-1980s setting, punk lifestyle with lots of sex, drugs, and too many questionable decisions to count 😮 Thankfully Lust made it back alive. Not sure if I can recommend it, but it is undoubtedly one of the boldest books I've read this year.
*Women in Translation 2018
*Women in Translation 2018
August 17, 2013
Brilliantly told, heartfelt and searching, this epic tale explores the life of a wanderer looking for adventure only to find more than she bargained for. Perfectly captures the Euro punk scene and Italy in the 80s, Ulli Lust's story is both hilarious and harrowing, touching and repelling-- a rare feat. A highly sexual look at a woman's worth in men's eyes, exploring the fine line between rape, desire, and what shit women have to put up with in that part of the world. Not a rosy look at the past by any means, she explores her own flaws in ways most people would never dare.
January 15, 2025
Bon !!!!! j'ai développé une relation un peu malsaine avec ce roman graphique ce qui fait que je l'ai lu très RAPIDEMENT !
Je suis tombée dessus par hasard et le résumé m'a plu :
2 filles punks qui décident d'aller en Italie sans argent ni papier.
J'ai aimé le récit autobiographique du voyage et suivre les aventures de ces filles .
Mais juste ... Les hommes ........... OMG
Il faut savoir que les faits se déroulent en 1980 et à l'époque on était pas si AWARE sur les comportements problématiques, les systèmes dominants etc... Cette construction se fait peu à peu dans le livre et avec mon regard "2025" cette fille subit des agressions sexuelles ou verbales de A à Z . Par tous les personnages masculins qu'elle rencontre !!!
Mis à part quelques histoires mignonnes avec des hommes TROP VIEUX !
En fait j'arrivais pas à me détendre ou à souffler et je ressentais toute la colère de Ulli envers les hommes au fur et à mesure du livre.
Je voulais qu'elle s'en sorte et qu'elle arrive à se construire !!!!!!!!
La fin est plus calme... ouf on peut enfin souffler... crier quoi
Je ferme cette bd en étant encore plus misandre qu'avant mais je suis contente de l'avoir lu car elle aborde aussi plein d'autres sujets et des schémas où les gens n'arrivent pas à s'en sortir.
Long avis de rageuse ....
Bisous <3
Je suis tombée dessus par hasard et le résumé m'a plu :
2 filles punks qui décident d'aller en Italie sans argent ni papier.
J'ai aimé le récit autobiographique du voyage et suivre les aventures de ces filles .
Mais juste ... Les hommes ........... OMG
Il faut savoir que les faits se déroulent en 1980 et à l'époque on était pas si AWARE sur les comportements problématiques, les systèmes dominants etc... Cette construction se fait peu à peu dans le livre et avec mon regard "2025" cette fille subit des agressions sexuelles ou verbales de A à Z . Par tous les personnages masculins qu'elle rencontre !!!
Mis à part quelques histoires mignonnes avec des hommes TROP VIEUX !
En fait j'arrivais pas à me détendre ou à souffler et je ressentais toute la colère de Ulli envers les hommes au fur et à mesure du livre.
Je voulais qu'elle s'en sorte et qu'elle arrive à se construire !!!!!!!!
La fin est plus calme... ouf on peut enfin souffler... crier quoi
Je ferme cette bd en étant encore plus misandre qu'avant mais je suis contente de l'avoir lu car elle aborde aussi plein d'autres sujets et des schémas où les gens n'arrivent pas à s'en sortir.
Long avis de rageuse ....
Bisous <3
July 24, 2016
OMG this cover. Good job, whoever published this first.
I was already in love before I'd ever held the book in my hands, just based on that gorgeous cover (and title). And when it came in on hold at my local library, I was startled at how chunky it is.
A paperback book with over 400 pages and a fecking gorgeous cover. le sigh.
I saved it and I saved it and I saved it, and finally grabbed it when I needed an indulgence.
And, oh - wow.
It's the true memoir of Lust's (as far as I know, that's her real name) adventure traveling under the radar, without papers, from Austria and all over Italy. Without any kind of savings or legit anything, she sleeps in parks and squats, panhandles, and ::TRIGGER WARNING:: gets raped a lot.
But seriously. That was the most startling thing about this story. She pulls no punches about all the sexual assault she suffered during this time in her life. She and her traveling companion can't afford hotels and restaurants and accept a lot of offers of crashpads and meals from strange men who approach them. Sometimes the young women (they're in their late teens) are actively seeking out sex work, but most of the time the sexual attention is vastly unwelcome (at least on Lust's part).
It's a hard story to read. It's pretty much every parent's nightmare.
But I believe it is honest. Which is my personal bottom line.
Maybe it's a portrait of a particular time and place, but in many ways it has a lot to teach universally as well. About women, and victimhood, and sex, and traveling, and gender, and homelessness and Europe. There's even a little bit of Abbie Hoffman's Steal This Book in the spirit of this thing.
Lust's drawing style is a little more, let's say, clumsy than most - black and white with touches of green. There are chapters, and she includes some nice extra matter - photos and journal pages and such - at the end. The story is easy to follow on the panel shapes and sizes she chooses, and she does a nice job of indicating poignant moments by giving them slower pacing or a full-page panel.
Kim Thompson does a great job of translating, as the dialog rocks along comfortably. The lettering varies quite a lot, as sometimes scribbles indicate speech Lust doesn't understand, and sometimes Thompson could leave the text as written when it was meant to be in an unfamiliar language (or occasionally English). It was sometimes distracting when I was trying to figure out if I should attempt to read the writing or if it was scribbles, but I suspect that if the whole thing was in Lust's script, it would flow flawlessly.
Honestly, it was a hard book to read, and not as enrapturing as I'd hoped. I'd probably rate it four stars for my own enjoyment, but I gotta bump it up to five because it's such a massive achievement. It's an important story, and I respect Lust's point of view. And, for those who can handle a lot of triggering content, this book will be a worthy read.
I was already in love before I'd ever held the book in my hands, just based on that gorgeous cover (and title). And when it came in on hold at my local library, I was startled at how chunky it is.
A paperback book with over 400 pages and a fecking gorgeous cover. le sigh.
I saved it and I saved it and I saved it, and finally grabbed it when I needed an indulgence.
And, oh - wow.
It's the true memoir of Lust's (as far as I know, that's her real name) adventure traveling under the radar, without papers, from Austria and all over Italy. Without any kind of savings or legit anything, she sleeps in parks and squats, panhandles, and ::TRIGGER WARNING:: gets raped a lot.
But seriously. That was the most startling thing about this story. She pulls no punches about all the sexual assault she suffered during this time in her life. She and her traveling companion can't afford hotels and restaurants and accept a lot of offers of crashpads and meals from strange men who approach them. Sometimes the young women (they're in their late teens) are actively seeking out sex work, but most of the time the sexual attention is vastly unwelcome (at least on Lust's part).
It's a hard story to read. It's pretty much every parent's nightmare.
But I believe it is honest. Which is my personal bottom line.
Maybe it's a portrait of a particular time and place, but in many ways it has a lot to teach universally as well. About women, and victimhood, and sex, and traveling, and gender, and homelessness and Europe. There's even a little bit of Abbie Hoffman's Steal This Book in the spirit of this thing.
Lust's drawing style is a little more, let's say, clumsy than most - black and white with touches of green. There are chapters, and she includes some nice extra matter - photos and journal pages and such - at the end. The story is easy to follow on the panel shapes and sizes she chooses, and she does a nice job of indicating poignant moments by giving them slower pacing or a full-page panel.
Kim Thompson does a great job of translating, as the dialog rocks along comfortably. The lettering varies quite a lot, as sometimes scribbles indicate speech Lust doesn't understand, and sometimes Thompson could leave the text as written when it was meant to be in an unfamiliar language (or occasionally English). It was sometimes distracting when I was trying to figure out if I should attempt to read the writing or if it was scribbles, but I suspect that if the whole thing was in Lust's script, it would flow flawlessly.
Honestly, it was a hard book to read, and not as enrapturing as I'd hoped. I'd probably rate it four stars for my own enjoyment, but I gotta bump it up to five because it's such a massive achievement. It's an important story, and I respect Lust's point of view. And, for those who can handle a lot of triggering content, this book will be a worthy read.
February 7, 2017
Strip je valjda dijelom biografski i inace takve volim, ali ovdje se nisam mogla povezati s protagonisticama nikako.
Dvije socijalno neprilagodene maloljetne djevojke bjeze iz Austrije u Italiju na more je li, putem skvotaju s likovima kojima je film ceste u glavi, svaki muski lik u stripu ih je seksualno iskoristavao, sto je jednoj od njih odgovaralo buduci da se deklarira kao nimfomanka i buduci da sanja da ce samoostvarenje naci u bavljenju prostitucijom u kojoj je i zavrsila, a drugo punkersko djevojce je silovano (jednom samo da je toga svjesno, u stripu), premda od tih 200 prisilnih seksualnih odnosa, valjda sam samo ja osjecala mucninu. I kroz tu pricu, velikog oslobodenja i golemog uspjeha jer su se maknule iz dosadnog Beca u pitoreskna talijanska sela na jugu u kojima je ama bas svaki, pod time zaista mislim, svaki muskarac seksualni predator i kroz svaku mogucu stereotipizaciju Italije, autorica podvaljuje neku izoblicenu nerealnu i neutemeljenu ideju anarhije. Anarhiju kojoj uopce ne shvaca bit i za sto je potvrda ovih 450 stranica golgote. I to je sve tako lose da se nisam uspjela ni posteno nazivcirati.
Istina, bilo je par poeticnih kadrova i generalno mi se svida ta apaticna sivo zelena boja koja dominira crtezom, ali tu sve prestaje. A tekst nije mogao biti sitnije napisan. To treba zabraniti jer otezava svaki pokusaj normalnog citanja.
Djevojke se na kraju spetljaju s mafijom, cudom izvuku zivu glavu i nakon nekoliko godina svoje avanture, dolaze doma roditeljima koji su unatoc navodnoj brizi, prikazani dosta hladno. Svi su u stripu hladni i nemam niceg dovoljnog za sto bih se uopce ulovila i shvatila postupke ili osjecala ista. Bas lose.
Jos nije ni nacrtan po mom gustu jer sam razmazena pa mi crtez mora bit sve i jos ta mucenja u scenariju kroz koja sam morala proci i koja su sama sebi svrha i za koje nemam nista pametno za reci jer je sve to zivot...
Ne preporucam jer ne postoji nacin na koji ovo moze oplemeniti ijedno bice. Nula ili ravna crta.
Dvije socijalno neprilagodene maloljetne djevojke bjeze iz Austrije u Italiju na more je li, putem skvotaju s likovima kojima je film ceste u glavi, svaki muski lik u stripu ih je seksualno iskoristavao, sto je jednoj od njih odgovaralo buduci da se deklarira kao nimfomanka i buduci da sanja da ce samoostvarenje naci u bavljenju prostitucijom u kojoj je i zavrsila, a drugo punkersko djevojce je silovano (jednom samo da je toga svjesno, u stripu), premda od tih 200 prisilnih seksualnih odnosa, valjda sam samo ja osjecala mucninu. I kroz tu pricu, velikog oslobodenja i golemog uspjeha jer su se maknule iz dosadnog Beca u pitoreskna talijanska sela na jugu u kojima je ama bas svaki, pod time zaista mislim, svaki muskarac seksualni predator i kroz svaku mogucu stereotipizaciju Italije, autorica podvaljuje neku izoblicenu nerealnu i neutemeljenu ideju anarhije. Anarhiju kojoj uopce ne shvaca bit i za sto je potvrda ovih 450 stranica golgote. I to je sve tako lose da se nisam uspjela ni posteno nazivcirati.
Istina, bilo je par poeticnih kadrova i generalno mi se svida ta apaticna sivo zelena boja koja dominira crtezom, ali tu sve prestaje. A tekst nije mogao biti sitnije napisan. To treba zabraniti jer otezava svaki pokusaj normalnog citanja.
Djevojke se na kraju spetljaju s mafijom, cudom izvuku zivu glavu i nakon nekoliko godina svoje avanture, dolaze doma roditeljima koji su unatoc navodnoj brizi, prikazani dosta hladno. Svi su u stripu hladni i nemam niceg dovoljnog za sto bih se uopce ulovila i shvatila postupke ili osjecala ista. Bas lose.
Jos nije ni nacrtan po mom gustu jer sam razmazena pa mi crtez mora bit sve i jos ta mucenja u scenariju kroz koja sam morala proci i koja su sama sebi svrha i za koje nemam nista pametno za reci jer je sve to zivot...
Ne preporucam jer ne postoji nacin na koji ovo moze oplemeniti ijedno bice. Nula ili ravna crta.
July 17, 2013
Well told story, art feels like its from a journal she kept to record her life then but in a perfect "supports the story" kind of way.
But I didn't relate. At all.
I wish I could use the "I'm old" excuse, but honestly, I never did relate. Even when I was 17. I never understood people who said "I want to see REAL life!"
All of life is real.
I guess they really mean "I want something different" or "I want to know if everyone lives lives like my parents do"
But again, I never felt like that. I could see already that there were options for me and my parents weren't the only one.
Also, I didn't get the difference between all the coerced sex she had and the one time she categorizes as rape. Almost all of her encounters seemed like rape to me. She is indifferent to the sex and often uses sex to get food and lodging and money. She lets herself be convinced.
While I see hints of her feminist self and growing identity, I wish there was a little more expository writing explaining her inner dialog. Why is it okay to attach yourself to a guy for protection in exchange for sex here, but not there? Did you understand the different cultural expectations in Italy vs. Austria? Or did you see them to be two sides to the same sexist coin?
Still, I'd recommend it.
But I didn't relate. At all.
I wish I could use the "I'm old" excuse, but honestly, I never did relate. Even when I was 17. I never understood people who said "I want to see REAL life!"
All of life is real.
I guess they really mean "I want something different" or "I want to know if everyone lives lives like my parents do"
But again, I never felt like that. I could see already that there were options for me and my parents weren't the only one.
Also, I didn't get the difference between all the coerced sex she had and the one time she categorizes as rape. Almost all of her encounters seemed like rape to me. She is indifferent to the sex and often uses sex to get food and lodging and money. She lets herself be convinced.
While I see hints of her feminist self and growing identity, I wish there was a little more expository writing explaining her inner dialog. Why is it okay to attach yourself to a guy for protection in exchange for sex here, but not there? Did you understand the different cultural expectations in Italy vs. Austria? Or did you see them to be two sides to the same sexist coin?
Still, I'd recommend it.
July 1, 2014
This was very dark. The narrator was only 17 and she had the option to go home at any time but kept putting herself in dangerous situations instead. It wasn't the decision that I would have made but she felt tied to the punk lifestyle and the awfulness that came with it. After the multiple abusive "friends" she encountered, I just wanted Ulli to go home to her family. What a terrifying coming-of-age journey through deprivation, drugs, and sex. I was cheering for her the whole trip but couldn't really understand her need to take it to the extreme level that she did. She was lucky to make it out alive.
February 28, 2020
This comic's premise – graphic memoir about the author's teenage journey of discovery around Italy – is not one that especially appeals to me. I probably never would've read it, if not for the fact that I'm interested in checking out any German-language comic that gets international acclaim. Ulli Lust is of particular interest to me because she's from Austria, where I currently live.
The first 50-odd pages are interesting as an insight into Vienna's 1980s punk subculture, but that's it. After that, things pick up as Lust hits the road and the comic is infused with the thrill of adventure, freedom and youth. Unfortunately, my interest wanes as it becomes increasingly apparent that Lust's journey (or at least this comic) is first and foremost about one thing: sex. Of course, sex is an important subject; my objection doesn't come from a place of prudishness. However, (at least in the work's first half) Lust fails to make her sex life interesting. Moreover, it's disappointing to me that there isn't more focus on other aspects of the journey – such as the people she met, how she learnt Italian, or the practicalities of survival without any money. These things are addressed, but mostly only as a backdrop for Lust's sexual exploits.
Things get progressively darker as the story goes on, and there's a particularly dark turn around the midway mark, which lends the work more emotional resonance. The book's second half is also more interesting than the first thanks to an increased feminist focus, as well as insight provided into 1980s mafia-run Sicily.
Perhaps my biggest problem with this comic is that 17-year-old Lust is so damn irresponsible. Time and again, she makes terrible decisions – often just moments after having bad experiences. I would like to admire her lust for life (no pun intended), but it's not really possible when the negative consequences of her actions are made so readily apparent. Not only is she irresponsible, but she's also very selfish, and is driven by a boring, narrow idea of rebellion that I'm sure would have seemed no less immature to me at 17 than it does now. Moreover, there's little sense that she evolves or matures though her journey. By the story's end she may be a little harder and less naïve, but I can't really say she's become any more responsible.
The comic is drawn in a rough, punky style that suits the story, but mostly doesn't do much for me aesthetically. In general as I read, I found myself only cursorily taking in the images to the extent necessary to see what was happening. That said, the drawings are very expressive, and there are a handful of pages that are quite beautiful.
Overall, this comic isn't bad. The story being told is in itself remarkable enough to maintain the reader's interest. Plus the comic addresses some very important themes and is at times quite emotionally affecting. Nonetheless, it didn't resonate with me much, particularly due to a lack of interesting characters.
The first 50-odd pages are interesting as an insight into Vienna's 1980s punk subculture, but that's it. After that, things pick up as Lust hits the road and the comic is infused with the thrill of adventure, freedom and youth. Unfortunately, my interest wanes as it becomes increasingly apparent that Lust's journey (or at least this comic) is first and foremost about one thing: sex. Of course, sex is an important subject; my objection doesn't come from a place of prudishness. However, (at least in the work's first half) Lust fails to make her sex life interesting. Moreover, it's disappointing to me that there isn't more focus on other aspects of the journey – such as the people she met, how she learnt Italian, or the practicalities of survival without any money. These things are addressed, but mostly only as a backdrop for Lust's sexual exploits.
Things get progressively darker as the story goes on, and there's a particularly dark turn around the midway mark, which lends the work more emotional resonance. The book's second half is also more interesting than the first thanks to an increased feminist focus, as well as insight provided into 1980s mafia-run Sicily.
Perhaps my biggest problem with this comic is that 17-year-old Lust is so damn irresponsible. Time and again, she makes terrible decisions – often just moments after having bad experiences. I would like to admire her lust for life (no pun intended), but it's not really possible when the negative consequences of her actions are made so readily apparent. Not only is she irresponsible, but she's also very selfish, and is driven by a boring, narrow idea of rebellion that I'm sure would have seemed no less immature to me at 17 than it does now. Moreover, there's little sense that she evolves or matures though her journey. By the story's end she may be a little harder and less naïve, but I can't really say she's become any more responsible.
The comic is drawn in a rough, punky style that suits the story, but mostly doesn't do much for me aesthetically. In general as I read, I found myself only cursorily taking in the images to the extent necessary to see what was happening. That said, the drawings are very expressive, and there are a handful of pages that are quite beautiful.
Overall, this comic isn't bad. The story being told is in itself remarkable enough to maintain the reader's interest. Plus the comic addresses some very important themes and is at times quite emotionally affecting. Nonetheless, it didn't resonate with me much, particularly due to a lack of interesting characters.
June 15, 2018
This graphic memoir is long, exhausting, filled with questionable characters making terrible decisions...and is absolutely fascinating in the way that a train wreck is hard to look away from.
As a 17 year old, Ulli decides to take a quick, illegal jaunt across the Austrian border into Italy to spend the summer with her new best pal, Edi. The two quickly realize that it's pretty tough to live well in Italy when you don't have money, a place to stay, or a change of clothes. Fortunately, they're fully willing to panhandle and live in public parks with other young drug addicts who all seem to be super well-adjusted.
If you read this very, very graphic memoir, do not expect things to suddenly turn around for Ulli and for her to see the light and realize, "oh, it's definitely time to go home." Full disclosure: there's a lot of rape in this book. It's not fun to read. It's very true to life, very unsettling, very hard to reconcile. You want to root for Ulli as a character, but she absolutely insists on making all of the worst decisions. But, like I said, it's also hard to look away.
I marveled at the afterword, which was essentially Ulli apologizing to her parents for putting them through this missing persons case. I just hope that she learned her lesson by the time she wrote this book.
As a 17 year old, Ulli decides to take a quick, illegal jaunt across the Austrian border into Italy to spend the summer with her new best pal, Edi. The two quickly realize that it's pretty tough to live well in Italy when you don't have money, a place to stay, or a change of clothes. Fortunately, they're fully willing to panhandle and live in public parks with other young drug addicts who all seem to be super well-adjusted.
If you read this very, very graphic memoir, do not expect things to suddenly turn around for Ulli and for her to see the light and realize, "oh, it's definitely time to go home." Full disclosure: there's a lot of rape in this book. It's not fun to read. It's very true to life, very unsettling, very hard to reconcile. You want to root for Ulli as a character, but she absolutely insists on making all of the worst decisions. But, like I said, it's also hard to look away.
I marveled at the afterword, which was essentially Ulli apologizing to her parents for putting them through this missing persons case. I just hope that she learned her lesson by the time she wrote this book.
February 1, 2017
3.5 stars. I had trouble connecting with and liking two white, angsty teen girls choosing to be homeless and reckless with their lives while scaring the living crap out of their parents. I'm officially old I guess and I'm fine with that. However I have a deep sympathy for the girls in terms of the sexual harassment and sexual assault they put up with in Italy. It became very difficult to read hundreds of pages of Lust putting up with sexual harassment. It just reminds me of everyday existence as a woman in any part of the world. Uggghhh.
October 27, 2016
dpdotž je odličan crtani roman, pomalo neurednog, ali crteža koji odlično prenosi priču. autobiografski je to putopis jedne punkerice. u dvomjesečnom bijegu od kuće i skitnji po Italiji, suočava se ona sa stalnim seksualnim nasrtajima i nasiljem. ostajući privržena svom snu o slobodi, otriježnjenje nije ni brzo ni jednostavno.
meni je ovo knjiga iz kategorije obavezne lektire za mlade.
meni je ovo knjiga iz kategorije obavezne lektire za mlade.
January 13, 2015
WOW. Ulli Lust is lucky to be alive, was my first reaction to this graphic memoir. At the age of 16, she's bored with life in Vienna, so she decides on a whim to travel to Italy with a new friend of hers called Edi. With no money, and very little to their name, they dodge border police and finally make their way into their desired country. There, they beg, borrow, and steal to feed themselves and make their way deeper into the country. Eventually, Ulli gets fed up with not only the way she's objectified by the Italian men but by her one-sided friendship with Edi, and decides to head back home to her parents in Austria.
But truly, it is a shock that Ulli survives long enough to go home again. Not only is she raped by her acquaintances, but she also shoots heroin under peer pressures and finds herself on the wrong side of the Mafia by refusing to sleep with one of the local bigwigs. And she does all this at the tender age of 17. No wonder her parents were livid when she finally makes her way back home.
Another reviewer mentioned that she didn't enjoy the memoir because she couldn't relate, that she didn't ever want to run away from home or EXPERIENCE LIFE (in all caps) like Ulli did. But when I read a memoir of someone who climbed Mt Everest, I don't find a lack of enjoyment because I have no desire to climb mountains myself. It's all in looking at another person's experience and taking away the meaning behind the experience, in this case, Ulli's developing feminism from becoming fed up by all the "mind rape" she experienced in Italy, the fact that she was nothing more than a sexual organ meant to satisfy the Italian men.
Highly recommended, but it does contain quite a bit of adult material.
But truly, it is a shock that Ulli survives long enough to go home again. Not only is she raped by her acquaintances, but she also shoots heroin under peer pressures and finds herself on the wrong side of the Mafia by refusing to sleep with one of the local bigwigs. And she does all this at the tender age of 17. No wonder her parents were livid when she finally makes her way back home.
Another reviewer mentioned that she didn't enjoy the memoir because she couldn't relate, that she didn't ever want to run away from home or EXPERIENCE LIFE (in all caps) like Ulli did. But when I read a memoir of someone who climbed Mt Everest, I don't find a lack of enjoyment because I have no desire to climb mountains myself. It's all in looking at another person's experience and taking away the meaning behind the experience, in this case, Ulli's developing feminism from becoming fed up by all the "mind rape" she experienced in Italy, the fact that she was nothing more than a sexual organ meant to satisfy the Italian men.
Highly recommended, but it does contain quite a bit of adult material.
June 17, 2017
465 sayfa dile kolay. İlk başta nasıl bitireceğimin korkusu. Ancak ilk sayfalardaki çekincenliğin atlatılmasıyla su gibi akan 465 sayfa. Kimi zaman 150 sayfalık gayet makul bir comicsi bitirebilmek çok büyük bir çileye dönüşebiliyor. Lakin anlatacak şeyi çok olan bir yazar/çizeri ortalamanın çok ötesinde okumak çok keyifli ve eğlenceli bir süreç olabiliyor işte. Ulli Lust'ın anlatacağı çok şey var. Elbette doğulu bir muhafakazar okurun empati kurmasını, kahramanların yaşadıklarını ahlaki ve makul görmesi olanaklı değil, keza kahramanın maceralarını anne babasının bile onaylamadığını tüm hikaye boyunca biliyoruz. Ancak tüm hikaye boyunca bir ülkenin (italya) kuzeyinden güneyine süren yolculukta toplumsal değişimi, demografik ve etik değerler değişimini de gözlemliyoruz. Kuzey Güney ayrılığı, dünyanın hemen her yerinde geçerli olan bir zıtlık/farklılık hakikati sonuçta.
Bir genç kızın her ne kadar yaşadığı ve hiç sevmediği toplumdan kaçışının ve farklı toplumları tanımasının hikayesi gibi gözükse de aslında kendi iç dünyasına yolculuk aynı zamanda. Ve en önemlisi erkeklerin dünyasını ve kadına bakış açısını tanıması.
Ulli Lust'ın çizimleri çoğu kişiye basit ve görkemde uzak gelse de bence tüm hikaye boyunca yüz mimiklerini ve duyguları ustalıkla yansıtması açısından bence çok başarılı. Gerçek insan hikayelerini, yaşam öykülerini okumak her zaman çok keyifli kuşkusuz.
Bir genç kızın her ne kadar yaşadığı ve hiç sevmediği toplumdan kaçışının ve farklı toplumları tanımasının hikayesi gibi gözükse de aslında kendi iç dünyasına yolculuk aynı zamanda. Ve en önemlisi erkeklerin dünyasını ve kadına bakış açısını tanıması.
Ulli Lust'ın çizimleri çoğu kişiye basit ve görkemde uzak gelse de bence tüm hikaye boyunca yüz mimiklerini ve duyguları ustalıkla yansıtması açısından bence çok başarılı. Gerçek insan hikayelerini, yaşam öykülerini okumak her zaman çok keyifli kuşkusuz.
August 19, 2015
Funny, that I read this in english. The book was reduced at my local bookstore (to a mere 7 Euro). I glanced over the backcover and liked what I saw enough to risk the 7 Bucks.
At home I realized, the author was from my city and wrote the novel originally in german, my mothers language.
Not only that, but with a lot of austrian slang too as I realized when reading the faksimile of her notes at the end.
Still, that didn't bother me at all. I devoured this documentary of her teenaged trip to Italy. Not only because it's well written and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Not only because this is one of the best comic-autobiographies I read up to now, but also because I could relate quite a bit, having taken a similiar trip three years after the author at the age of 18(only I went to greece and am male, so I didn't live through the abuse parts). I really congratulate Ulli Lust for her portrayal of the "freak culture" which I also learned to know on my 7-month trip to greece and turkey. Also awkward situations at foreign police stations and them bitching because of some knife rang more than a bell with me. Last but not least the youthful punk-attitude which we obviously shared ...
1000 reasons for me to love the hell out of this novel.
At home I realized, the author was from my city and wrote the novel originally in german, my mothers language.
Not only that, but with a lot of austrian slang too as I realized when reading the faksimile of her notes at the end.
Still, that didn't bother me at all. I devoured this documentary of her teenaged trip to Italy. Not only because it's well written and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Not only because this is one of the best comic-autobiographies I read up to now, but also because I could relate quite a bit, having taken a similiar trip three years after the author at the age of 18(only I went to greece and am male, so I didn't live through the abuse parts). I really congratulate Ulli Lust for her portrayal of the "freak culture" which I also learned to know on my 7-month trip to greece and turkey. Also awkward situations at foreign police stations and them bitching because of some knife rang more than a bell with me. Last but not least the youthful punk-attitude which we obviously shared ...
1000 reasons for me to love the hell out of this novel.
June 27, 2017
Trigger warning: sexual assault.
The pervasive rape culture shown in this memoir is really heartbreaking. It takes place in 1984, but I wonder how much things have changed (Italy still has a reputation for being full of Casanovas)... Many reviews mention how foolish it was for penniless punk 17 year old Ulli & her friend Edi to hitchhike from Vienna to Sicily and live on the streets, or that they resorted to prostitution sometimes when looking for a meal or a place to stay... but that sounds like victim blaming to me. :(
Aside from the sexual content and the issue of consent, there were many other themes - friendships formed on the road, betrayal, the line between drug use and addiction, the shame of begging, honor in the mafia, the punk worldview and search for new experiences...
My only complaint is that I think Lust could have set the scene more succinctly, but the momentum of the book picked up.
The art style was mostly loose sketches, but sometimes explosive - it reminded me a lot of punk music. The REVENGE page is burned into my mind! Other pages contained peaceful landscapes - I was glad for Ulli that she was able to see some beautiful places, even at the cost of her innocence.
The pervasive rape culture shown in this memoir is really heartbreaking. It takes place in 1984, but I wonder how much things have changed (Italy still has a reputation for being full of Casanovas)... Many reviews mention how foolish it was for penniless punk 17 year old Ulli & her friend Edi to hitchhike from Vienna to Sicily and live on the streets, or that they resorted to prostitution sometimes when looking for a meal or a place to stay... but that sounds like victim blaming to me. :(
Aside from the sexual content and the issue of consent, there were many other themes - friendships formed on the road, betrayal, the line between drug use and addiction, the shame of begging, honor in the mafia, the punk worldview and search for new experiences...
My only complaint is that I think Lust could have set the scene more succinctly, but the momentum of the book picked up.
The art style was mostly loose sketches, but sometimes explosive - it reminded me a lot of punk music. The REVENGE page is burned into my mind! Other pages contained peaceful landscapes - I was glad for Ulli that she was able to see some beautiful places, even at the cost of her innocence.
June 16, 2010
Very intense (true) account of two punk girls hitchhike from Vienna to Sicily in the 1980s with lots of not really too casual sex - another excellent graphic novel of this edition. -- What I found missing to give it more points is some reflection in the telling, as it is, it is incredibly direct - like you were inside her mind at the time. That's on the one hand definitely a strength, otoh, idk... I definitely don't want her to dismiss/devalue her lifestyle at that time - I guess what I want is (her acknowledgement of) the possibility of the same wildness/intensity of experience without the same agonies. But life has no restart/retry options, so suffering stays inevitable. Hm.
EDIT/PS: I learned a lot, I think: about being Punk, being female, also about being a (male,natch) mafioso (all of those in their way terribly, sadly, restricted)- about the incredible suppression of women and the even more incredible acceptance of the fact< at least, at that point, at that time, at that place. Perhaps I can rephrase that better, later.
EDIT/PS: I learned a lot, I think: about being Punk, being female, also about being a (male,natch) mafioso (all of those in their way terribly, sadly, restricted)- about the incredible suppression of women and the even more incredible acceptance of the fact< at least, at that point, at that time, at that place. Perhaps I can rephrase that better, later.
October 31, 2019
Waarschuwing: Verkrachting, pogingen daartoe, seksueel misbruik.
Dit boek begon nog best goed, 2 punk meiden besluiten om te reizen naar Italië, naar de zee, naar iets nieuws en spannends. Maar toen begonnen dingen al snel mis te gaan en ik zat vaak met een zware maag te lezen want ik kan gewoon niet tegen seksueel misbruik/verkrachtingen en dan was het ook best grafisch. In het begin vond ik de meiden nog wel stoer, dat ze dit durfden. Gewoon weggaan, gewoon het doen. Maar nu ik het hele boek heb gelezen. Edi was gewoon verschrikkelijk en manipulatief. Ulli was naïef en vervelend. Ik snap dat ze niet naar huis wilde, maar na zoveel verschrikkelijke dingen zou je toch zeggen dat ze wist dat het een kut idee was om met mannen mee naar huis te gaan? Of in een auto te stappen? Plus ik vond het gewoon sneu voor haar ouders die maanden niets van haar hoorden. De tekeningen vond ik wel mooi gedaan, en ook leuk dat er nog wat meer informatie was en ook foto's. Maar ja, ik was dus op een gegeven moment wel klaar met het boek. Goed begin, meh middelstuk, en nope einde.
Dit boek begon nog best goed, 2 punk meiden besluiten om te reizen naar Italië, naar de zee, naar iets nieuws en spannends. Maar toen begonnen dingen al snel mis te gaan en ik zat vaak met een zware maag te lezen want ik kan gewoon niet tegen seksueel misbruik/verkrachtingen en dan was het ook best grafisch. In het begin vond ik de meiden nog wel stoer, dat ze dit durfden. Gewoon weggaan, gewoon het doen. Maar nu ik het hele boek heb gelezen. Edi was gewoon verschrikkelijk en manipulatief. Ulli was naïef en vervelend. Ik snap dat ze niet naar huis wilde, maar na zoveel verschrikkelijke dingen zou je toch zeggen dat ze wist dat het een kut idee was om met mannen mee naar huis te gaan? Of in een auto te stappen? Plus ik vond het gewoon sneu voor haar ouders die maanden niets van haar hoorden. De tekeningen vond ik wel mooi gedaan, en ook leuk dat er nog wat meer informatie was en ook foto's. Maar ja, ik was dus op een gegeven moment wel klaar met het boek. Goed begin, meh middelstuk, en nope einde.
June 11, 2016
Seems like I've been saying this a lot lately, but I think I would have enjoyed this more when I was younger. In all honesty, I read a little over half, but I got fed up with her making the same mistakes over and over and OVER again and skimmed the rest. I'm not sure that I missed much. I'm sorry she went through what she did, and I hope she found better friends later in life. I've never been to Italy, but this definitely reinforces all the worst stories about how Italian men behave.
March 25, 2016
Flott, sår og ærlig tegneserie om å være pønker, reise pengelens rundt i Europa og generelt leve et ubeskyttet liv. Leste mange lignende beretninger da jeg selv flørtet med pønken på ungdomsskolen. I dag er jeg glad for at jeg bare leste og ikke opplevde de samme tingene som Ulli Lust: Narkotika, mafia, prostitusjon, voldtekter... Håper hun gikk til en god psykolog.
August 26, 2017
450 pages and about 400 of them include Italian men unable to comprehend that "no" means "no". . . which makes it a somewhat repetitive graphic memoir in which the narrator suffers the conflicts of female teenager v. male gaze, men, mafia, authorities, parents, heroin, and worse.
June 27, 2013
Here's my review of this book from tcj.com:
http://www.tcj.com/reviews/today-is-t...
The gist of it: this comes highly recommended.
http://www.tcj.com/reviews/today-is-t...
The gist of it: this comes highly recommended.
August 13, 2015
Holy cow what an undertaking. P damn good.
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