Review of "I, Parrot," by Deb Olin Lanferth & Elizabeth Haidle

Review of

I, Parrot, by Deb Olin Lanferth & Elizabeth Haidle ISBN 9781936787654

Three out of five stars

 This is not one of the most riveting graphic novels every written or illustrated. The main character is a woman named Daphne that has a son and an ex-husband. She has not been able to remain employed at a solid job, she currently records short inspirational audio messages. Daphne has a boyfriend that suffers the same affliction of being unable to hold a quality job. As a consequence of her difficulties, her son is now spending almost all of his time with his father.

 Desperate for cash, Daphne accepts a job house sitting for her boss and taking quality care of her flock of high-quality birds. The owner tells her that together they are worth over $100,000, so there is pressure on Daphne to maintain their health. This proves challenging, so Daphne requests the assistance of her boyfriend in tending to the birds.

 Things go wrong with the birds and between them and her son comes to stay with her for a short time at her boss’s house. In general, the book becomes a story of a woman that can’t seem to get her life together and there is always something going wrong. She laments how her husband now has their son for the majority of the time, but if the reader follows the story with an open mind, it is a logical consequence of their comparative economic and social positions. Daphne is also critical of her ex-husband and his new wife.

 I found the material about the parrots interesting, but the interactions of the humans at times very boring. Daphne’s arguments with her boyfriend are often childish and unproductive when so much is at stake. Overall, this is a minimally good book.