Cry Yourself to Sleep

(Top Shelf, 2007)
™ and © Top Shelf & Jeremy Tinder

Jeremy Tinder uses melancholy and humor juxtaposed to present the lives of three characters who seek for and need a happier life. Jim is a rabbit struggling to pay bills; Andy, the novelist, has problems coping with criticism of his writing; and a character simply identified as The Robot wants to be a better person.
Tinder’s writing is both clever and insightful, making for a story that readers won’t put down. The characters, though surreal, are easy to empathize with, and their situations are all too familiar to the everyman. His art is nothing new, though it is well-done and complements the story. In particular, the facial expressions of his characters—though they won’t wow—perfectly convey the situation with which they’re dealing.

The book shows promise, and it’s to be expected that more of Tinder’s work will be well worth reading. His ability to tell a story that involves readers and makes them look at their lives a little more closely is a talent always to be desired in any medium of literature.

—Ray Sidman

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