The subtitle for this book is “Drawings, Thoughts, Poems, Comics, Anger, Happiness, Life, Death from a Difficult Period in Our History.” This engaging and entertaining collection delivers on that promise.
The collection includes very simple drawings, almost doodles, finished drawing and beautifully rendered illustrations. The theme, such as it is, is reflections on living during a plague. There is a considerable variety in the content. Including a series of portraits of Jamison Odone that feature different messages on a hoodie that he is wearing. Others are drawings of non-specific creatures who are uttering sharp comments.
There are brief sequences of drawings that are minor stories, they work well. They are short enough to just contain a single idea, something like a joke and a punchline. Sometimes without a punchline.
The thoughts are interesting. If spoken out loud, they sound a little absurd and sententious. Paired with drawings that slightly undercut them, they become more wry reflections on the stray thoughts that we all have and do not share.
For a work like this, the single most important element is invisible. The editing is critical; it shapes the way the reader encounters the fragments and guides them through the work. The structure of the book appears to be random, a collection of somewhat related items. There is no clear narrative thread to follow. A logical process must lead the reader through the collection. The sequencing of the items is vital. Jamison Odone manages this with wonderfully confident skill.
The variety of the topic and changes in the items means the reader is always being presented with something different to the last page. There is no sense of repetition in the book. The repeating items are nicely cumulative instead.
My First Pandemic has the feel of a comfortable conversation with someone you know. Moving off in different directions and then returning for a twist on a standard joke. This is an extremely hard task to complete. It requires a very sturdy structure in order not to fall into babble. Jamison Odone has the talent to create interesting topics and to also construct a most appealing work.
