Synopsis
A novel-in-cartoons follows the fortunes of a man who no longer wants to be a husband and father, who no longer wants any responsibilities, who wants only to be a two year old
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Review
It may seem crazy to say that there is nothing silly about a graphic novel whose central plot centers on a 42-year-old man who wills himself into the form of a 2-year-old boy. But this conceit, coupled with Jules Feiffer's trademark eye for social criticism, enables Tantrum to tackle heavy-duty adult themes: the weight of responsibility and the price of freedom. If you have ever experienced melancholy about where your life has gone, you should read Tantrum; it is written with a wisdom that only comes with age. The frantic quality of Feiffer's super-quick sketchy lines adds to the intensity and impatience of the work. The novel's best moment involves a Daliesque scene in which a woman is trying to diet herself into nothing but her pure essence. In the hands of a lesser writer, the vignette could come off as being in incredibly bad taste or pointlessly out-of-place, but Feiffer artfully, and with poignant skill, ties this woman's struggle to the 2-year-old's adventure.
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