THE AMERICAN DREAM? A JOURNEY on ROUTE 66 DISCOVERING DINOSAUR STATUES, MUFFLER MEN, and the PERFECT BURRITO: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR by Shing Yin Khor

 











Published in 2019 by Zest Books.
Illustrated by the author, Shing Yin Khor.


In another recent review I wrote this:

I have a real weakness for oddball travel books. I have read a memoir about a man that hitchhiked throughout Europe and North Africa, a book about a man's bicycle trip from the UK to India, a book about a man who walked across Afghanistan, a book about a man who rode a motorcycle around the edges of Afghanistan, a book about two women who biked from Turkey to China, a book about a man who walked the length of the Nile, a man who walked the Appalachian Trail with his deeply irresponsible friend from high school...and more. And more. And more.

This book continues that tradition with a twist - it is done in comic book style. Usually, this is called a graphic novel, but this book is not a novel because it is not fiction. The author calls it a "graphic memoir."

Illustration from the back cover
The author/illustrator is an immigrant from Malaysia. She came over as a child and is very familiar with southern California. She realizes that she doesn't really know a lot about the rest of her adopted country so she decides to travel the old Route 66.

The author travels with only her little dog as a companion. She is on a tight budget so she often sleeps in her car.

Along the way she sees a lot of interesting Americana, Americans of all types and ponders her relationship with the country and its people. Plus, her dog makes friends everywhere.

I rate this graphic memoir 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: THE AMERICAN DREAM? A JOURNEY on ROUTE 66 DISCOVERING DINOSAUR STATUES, MUFFLER MEN, and the PERFECT BURRITO: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR by Shing Yin Khor.

Comments

Popular posts over the last 30 days

BRIAN EPSTEIN: A LIFE from BEGINNING to END (kindle) by Hourly History

VICKSBURG, 1863 by Winston Groom

JOHN DENVER: A LIFE from BEGINNING to END (kindle) by Hourly History

BEAT the REAPER (audiobook) by Josh Bazell

THE BIG EMPTY (Elvis Cole/Joe Pike #20) (audiobook) by Robert Crais

SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL by Kurt Vonnegut and Ryan North.

NPR AMERICAN CHRONICLES: WORLD WAR I (audiobook) by NPR

THREE WEEKS to SAY GOODBYE by C.J. Box

Amberville by Tim Davys

Lights Out: Islam, Free Speech and the Twilight of the West by Mark Steyn