When two young men go to a party, the young women there are so much more than what they expected.
This short story by Neil Gaiman, adopted in a graphic novel format, perfectly captures (in a science fiction-tinged bubble) the bewilderment that goes along with communication and young adulthood.
Sometimes, when you’re trying to chat up members of the opposite sex, it’s as if you’re talking to someone alien from yourself or even just the idea of a person. Gaiman takes this concept and, in typical Gaiman-fashion, runs with it.
He is even able to touch upon the darker side of young, romantic flings. The popular young man in the story gets all the female attention he could want, but at what cost to both him and the young women he leaves behind?
The other young man, referenced in the title because he is hesitant to “talk to girls at parties”, is the one who the narrative follows. His adventure into the worlds of the mind is certainly as wild as his friend’s experience.
This is a quick read, only 10 or 15 minutes, but I found it stuck with me. I was wondering at the layers of meaning in it.
The artwork is beautiful but strange. The women’s eyes are drawn slightly too large for normalcy. It set me on edge and made most of the story unsettling, which I suppose is also the point of the thing.
The story made me think about how much of our relationships take place because we’re brave enough to face that unsettling feeling. And by experiencing “the other”, we come back home a new person than who we were when we left. Maybe not a better person, but different.
Recommended for teens or adults who enjoy science fiction. I think anybody who has faced down their own fears to talk to someone they find enchanting will find something to ponder in this graphic novel.
Thanks for reading!
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