I debated for a while about what I wanted my final book review to be. I recently finished “Blood Debts” by Terry J. Benton-Walker, which was an absolutely fantastic young adult magic story. “How to Be Perfect” by Michael Schur recently came out in paperback and remains one of my recent favorites, and Sabrina Imbler’s “How Far the Light Reaches” was absolutely stunning.
However, feeling nostalgic as I close out my final semester here at Colorado Mesa, I chose to return to something I read earlier in my college career.
Jonny Sun’s 2021 release of “Goodbye, Again” remains one of my favorite collections of personal essays. The book is filled with his musings on everyday life, and he imbues the mundane with so much importance and beauty.
I first got into Jonny Sun’s work in 2017 with the publication of his debut book: “Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur an Aliebn Too.” While it is primarily geared toward younger audiences, the book uses extremely simplistic animal drawings and an alien to explore what it means to be human and what it means to exist here on Earth.
While at first glance the story appears to only be for entertainment and a quick laugh, it ultimately became a book that had many philosophical and important things to say. A quick Google of the book’s drawings might just be enough to draw you in! From this, I waited patiently for the release of his collection of essays. In April 2021, “Goodbye, Again” was published, and it quickly became one of my favorite books of that year.
Sun began 2018 with the goal of taking time away from writing and from being toxically overproductive. In his rest, Sun writes that there was a desire to “have some sort of proof that [he] was taking time off, [which] turned into the idea that this needed to be a project.” In short, while the book proves itself to still be a product of his need to be busy, the collection itself is focused on the little moments in life where we should be seeking joy. Sun imbues each essay and each chapter with some form or another of reflection and lets us see bits of his life through the objects and the scenery that surround him.
Ranging from pages to merely a title, the chapters each take on some profound part of him, which he then is able to bring the reader into. In learning more about him as an author, you learn more about yourself and where you are. Reading “Goodbye, Again” made me stop and reflect on all the mundane parts of my own life, and it made me see the beauty for what it is, as well as seeing the heartache as its own type of beauty.
This is not to say that the entire book is merely looking for beauty. Sun also spends the bulk of the novel exploring his own mental illness, his struggles with burnout, death and other complicated topics. He continuously highlights the highs and lows that come with living, and he lets readers see that life requires that we experience them both.
Finally, outside of his beautiful prose and insightful themes, the book also features more of his drawings. Many chapters are filled with houseplant drawings and animals, all done in Sun’s signature style.
At its heart, this book is a stunning exploration of complex topics that Sun unravels with tact and beauty. Each essay makes you stop and take a breath, and the book will continuously show you the beauty in even the darkest parts of our lives. If you like nonfiction or collections of essays, you’ll love Jonny Sun’s work!
