As I'm in the final stretch of my master's, I'm starting to look forward to attending to some of those things I've been neglecting these past three years. Top of that list is spending more time with my family. Don't get me wrong, I've not been a total shut-in, but they've had to be VERY patient with me. Sorry, can't play a game right now, I'm working on my course. Can't come watch the soccer game A User's Guide to Neglectful Parenting, I just had to read it. But not to worry, I read it after they went to bed. It would have been too sadly ironic to bear reading it front of them!And it's hilarious. Mostly, I suspect because I saw myself in Delisle. There's a vignette when he thinks it would be funny to pretend he's cut off his hand with a chainsaw, mortifying his child in the process. Yep, been there!
But, despite the cover and the title, it's not so much a collection of stories about neglecting his children as it is about the... less than wise parenting decisions he makes when he does spend time with them. It's sweet in a way, as you can tell these are things Delisle's actually chastised himself for, but in all honesty they're harmless (it's not real neglect like starving a poor kid to death or anything) and in fact, show a goofy, average dad spending quality time with his kids.
The cartooning is simple. They put the emphasis on the jokes on simple stories, without developing elaborate backdrops or details that quite frankly would have felt out of place here. It's a quick read, designed to give a dad more time to spend with the kids and (not really) scarring them forever.
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