The Good Times are Killing Me by Lynda Barry

Young Edna Arkins lives in a neighborhood that is rapidly changing, thanks to white flight from urban Seattle in the late 1960s. As the world changes around her, Edna is exposed to the callous racism of adults; sometimes subtle and other times blatant, but always stinging. At the heart of The Good Times Are Killing Me is the forbidden friendship between Edna who is white and Bonna Willis who is black, and how the world around them forces them to challenge their loyalties to each other. As Barry does in her comics, she perfectly captures the awkward and earnest adolescent voice as Edna moves from childhood to middle school. Originally published in 1988, The Good Times Are Killing Me is as relevant now as it ever was. Its influence cannot be overstated as it was adapted into an off-Broadway play and won the Washington State Governor's Award. D+Q will be publishing the novella in hardcover with a new cover and the color illustrations from the first edition.

About the Author
Lynda Barry has worked as a painter, cartoonist, writer, illustrator, playwright, editor, commentator and teacher and found they are very much alike. She is the Chazen Family Distinguished Chair in Art and Discovery Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she is also an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Creativity in their Image Lab.


Book Information
ISBN 9781770462618
Author Lynda Barry
Format Hardback
Page Count 144
Imprint Drawn and Quarterly
Publisher Drawn and Quarterly