What Goes Around Comes Around
Mean Girls who? This is *the* burn book of the early aughts
Welcome to the cultured version of quickie: a book club but make it snappy. Perfect for the literary non-committal, ADHDers, or the just plain too busy. With a flurry of rabbit-holes to dive into, let’s get into this recommended title along with annotated-by-me passages and exercises to put the vibes into action.
What Goes Around Comes Around by Daisy de Villeneuve
From publisher, Chronicle Books:
Bridget Jones and Carrie Bradshaw move over! Chick lit meets Mean Girls meets hipster graphic novel in this compelling, gossipy package by fashion world maven and celebrated artist Daisy de Villeneuve. Fresh on the (high) heels of her first book, He Said, She Said, Daisy doesn't mince words as she delves into the world of single girls, sex, dating, and the cruelty of female friendships. In a series of gossipy vignettes, What Goes Around Comes Around lets readers in on the sordid details of girlfriends who aren t really friends at all ("what they all have in common is that they are of the same 'Bitch'."). Each vignette is quirkily illustrated with Daisy's signature cartoon-like felt-tip ink drawings. Pushing the envelope of style and attitude, What Goes Around Comes Around is a fresh addition to every girl's bookshelf.
The lesson of the book?
Make art that’s personal
When we create from our pain points, we open up the opportunity to understand the experience from a safe place.
Personal also means simplification, an approach which allows you to communicate without getting into the thick of it. This minimalist way can represent the truth more than embellishing does.
I love how Daisy simplifies these real women via marker drawings and typewriter text (actually typed out on a second-hand Olympia from 1947). Described as “cartoon-like” drawings, the strength in that style is the more simplified a figure/face, the more people can project their own experiences on it.
When you go hyper-specific with art, you can alienate that reliability. Which isn’t always a bad thing. But, in this case, when the viewer can place their life on top of the suggested figure, a lot more emotional connection occurs. And that’s a beautiful thing.
So don’t let anyone tell you that basic, cartoon-like styles aren’t “real art”. Art makes people feel something. Period. Do that and you are doing art right. It doesn’t have to be a challenge to create or bedazzled with pre-Raphaelite-esque detail. It can be made up of scribbles and doodles. And feel carefree and quick.
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Mean it, girls
Told in tableaus, meanness is the fuel that drives this book’s text. The biting, acerbic truths that hit your funny bone as much as it makes you cringe.
Here are the excerpts that made me cackle most. (Note: The annotations for the passages below focus on the emotion achieved from such simple set-up and descriptions.)
She's not someone you search out, you just stumble across her. She's normally a friend of a friend, or you work with her, or went to school with her, or she's a friend of the family or you live with her, or god forbid she's a relative1. It's not like there's an out.2 It's kind of about the circumstances you encounter.
Her make-up was all messed up, it kept getting in her eyes.
"Don't rub your eyes" I said.3
Once we were outside and had walked ten minutes, she would turn to me and say, "I need to re-do my make-up".
After three attempts of her coming and going back to the house. I should have figured, if this was annoying at the beginning... just imagine how the evening would end!4
I observed how guys would act art around her, the more badly behaved she was the more they liked her. She could be a total bitch to her girl friends right in front of any man and he would still think she was the sweetest thing on earth.5
Wearing her big fake Fendi sunglasses she'd say in a baby voice6, "I don't have any money for the train", and he would reach into his pocket and give her some cash.
“You have to meet this guy, you'll really like him," she says. I meet him and think he's cute, we all go back to his house. She's running around the house with a camera. I'm lying on the guy's bed with him. She looks through the door and goes "Ooooooohhhhhh".
Something happens and he gets up, she corners him and he spends the rest of the night with her. I leave early in the norning. I ask her if she slept with him? She says "No comment".7
Women supporting women
Switching from the excerpts to a warm and fuzzy story…
Back in the early aughts, as a baby artist fangirl, I emailed Daisy on a hope and a prayer to ask if there was any guidance she could pass along.
Lo and behold, she replied with a personalized response along with a series of answers to questions she was frequently asked. I thanked her, to which she replied with her own message of gratitude because “so many people ask me things & never thank me.”
That latter exchange alone was inspiring. Two people on different plains of their artistic journeys, sharing in appreciation. It’s truly the little things/gestures that stick with you the most.
Let this be a lesson that gratitude is truly the best form of mutual support as well as the perfect mean girl antidote.
Your FAQs
As a bonus, here are some of the questions that she shared. There’s a ton of value in finding the answers yourself…
How would you answer the following:
Do you choose the projects you want to do? What are these selections based on?
When you are working on a project what kind of preparation do you go through beforehand?
What deadlines do you work with?
Do you spend more time on developing ideas as opposed to post-production?
How do you visualize your idea (hand drawings, digital mock-ups, storyboard…)?
Is technology influencing your media?
Have you worked with multimedia and if not do you think you will in the near future due to industry demand?
Join the discussion… Share your favorite insight in the comments below. I want to hear if it got you thinking about your work differently or not. And what you think of this book!
Until next time…
Stay creative,
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I already feel like I know this person. Don’t you?
The way that these circumstances create a “trapped” kind of friendship is fascinating.
A bit too relatable as I do this and therefore must only wear tubing mascara, lol.
Love the way this creates intrigue with so few words.
Such pick-me / guy’s girl energy.
Character details that matter!
Almost feels as chilling as Miranda Priestly’s “That’s all”.