Earlier this year, I had to go on a temporary special diet due to health reasons. Knowing it was temporary and that it would keep me out of pain until the situation could be corrected with surgery made it not such a big deal.
Now, if someone I lived with had told me I had to go on this diet just because they wanted me to, I would not have been happy. I had to give up some of my favorite foods which made shopping, meal planning, and my daily eating habits very bland and very inconvenient to me and everyone I ate with.
We all have reasons for our lifestyle decisions, and I’m as aware of and sensitive to those decisions as anyone. I’m also a pacifist and a people pleaser, particularly to those who have my best interests at hand.
So, I understood author Michael Anthony’s internal struggle in his graphic memoir, Just Another Meat-Eating Dirtbag. Below is my review of Anthony’s book followed by an interview with the author.
Just Another Meat-Eating Dirtbag plot summary
Michael Anthony begins by introducing the reader to himself and his girlfriend, who is only referred to by his nickname, Coconut. Michael spent six years in the army reserves and worked as an operating room technician, having seen horrific war injuries and plenty of tragedy. He’s also an omnivore.
Coconut is a nurse who has a history of eating disorders and is an established vegetarian. The two fall in love. However, as their relationship progresses, Michael notices that Coconut is beginning to dive deeper into the culture of vegetarianism.
Then one night, the two attend a seminar hosted by a well-known vegetarian and animal rights activist. The seminar is life changing for Coconut who begins to dive deep into the rabbit hole of animal cruelty, American farm culture, and activism to the point of obsession. Eventually, she asks Michael to become a vegetarian.
Afraid of jeopardizing their relationship, Michael agrees, but the animal cruelty videos she shows him reminds him of some of the horrific operating room experiences he had overseas, and her obsession becomes the focal point of every conversation. He understands how her viewpoint is wrapped up in her own personal history, and he’s afraid of taking that away from her. However, it gets to the point where Michael concocts a plan to use the facts he has learned about vegetarianism and veganism against her and slyly trick her into reverting back to her old ways.
The story and characters
Just Another Meat-Eating Dirtbag is essentially a love story about how differing belief systems can turn a relationship on its head. This is not to say that opposites cannot attract. The introductory pages prove that their differences did not get in the way of their early relationship.
However, Coconut’s infatuation with animal rights activism is almost cult-like in her devotion to it due to how strongly she latches onto it. So, it’s easy to see how Michael fears that this might be a dealbreaker if he should refuse.
That being said, Coconut isn’t the villain of the story. Michael is constantly reminding the reader of where she’s coming from and how he understands where’s she’s coming from. We all know a person who talks about a particular topic nonstop, and it’s the deal you make in order to want any kind of association with that person.
Likewise, Michael also isn’t the villain of the story, despite what the title suggests. His guilt is prominent throughout, and his passive aggressive plan is clearly far-fetched and avoidant of any actual real communication. However, it’s clear that his intentions are noble. He’s happy, and he wants to save the relationship because it makes him happy. He also cares for her, but he doesn’t want their entire relationship to center around a cause that he’s clearly not invested in.
The layout and tone
The book benefits from the graphic memoir layout by allowing the author to jump around and veer off course for a spread or two and then easily jump back into the main details of the story. I love illustrator Chai Simone’s use of scrapbook style of collages, notes, and images that appear to be pulled from Coconut’s notebooks, complete with girlie handwriting, multi-colored ink, and simple doodles that illustrate the facts about animal cruelty and a plant-based diet, both the good and the terrible.
There’s a ton of dialogue in the book that helps to tell the story very cinematically as Michael turns to advice from friends while dancing around his conversations with Coconut. There’s a humorous tone, though not really any laugh out loud moments.
The story also never gets hyperbolic. It takes its conflict seriously. There are a lot of head-nodding moments that show how this seemingly surface-level conflict has deep roots in both of their personalities that could be very painful to yank out of the ground on both sides. And despite some very horrific flashback moments, it doesn’t linger in the worst of the dark subject matter, making it ultimately a fun, page-turning read with a moral about how important it is to be up front about your feelings and to put them out there in a mature and earnest way.
My recommendation
I recommend Just Another Meat-Eating Dirtbag to anyone looking for a well-balanced, easy to read memoir that deals with very serious issues without taking it too dark or too light. You don’t have to have lived through a similar experience in order to appreciate the author’s conflict. It has a lot to say about standing by what you believe in while allowing others to do the same as well as making sure your response to dealing with a conflict doesn’t leave you guilt-ridden or with unfinished business that remains unspoken.
My rating
An interview with Michael Anthony
What inspired you to decide to tell your story as a graphic novel?
I’ve long been a fan of memoirs, comics, and graphic novels, and thus fell in love with the genre of graphic memoirs; and although I’ve only ever written prose before, and have zero artistic talent, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head of this memoir, Just Another Meat-Eating Dirtbag, being told in a visual format.
Eventually, even though I had a prose version fully written, I just decided to see if there was a way to partner with an artist and get it done. I somehow partnered with the talented artist Chai Simone and together we created an amazing book, and the rest, as they say, is history!
Did you consult your friends who show up in the book to try to get the nature of the conversations that you have with them in the book as accurate as possible?
Yes. Whenever I talk with someone who is in my stories, I always try to get their perspective and hear what they remember feeling, seeing, thinking, hearing, etc.
But ultimately, for the most part, I must keep with my own understanding and interpretation of events since the story is based on my point of view. But it’s always good to double check for accuracy!
How closely did you work with illustrator Chai Simone? Did you have any specific directions for her?
Chai and I worked very closely together. I would send her the script of the prose to appear in the book and what to draw and then she would interpret it based on what was written and what was possible on the page. Sometimes we’d go back and forth a dozen times on specific pages/images and sometimes she’d give it one pass and we’d both love it.
What is your favorite non-spoiler moment in the book?
For the art, although I truly loved all of Chai’s artwork, my favorite drawing in the book is the one she did of “World War Vegetarian!” With Myself, Coconut, and a Cow preparing to go to war. For the story, my favorite part is at the end when I’m sitting at a bar and talking to a fellow veteran about my plan and everything that had been going wrong in life and how to fix it.
Is there any food that you first tried while going vegetarian that remains a current favorite?
When I started eating vegetarian it forced me to open my palate and eat a wide variety of foods. One food (group) that I never ate before was nuts, but after becoming vegetarian I found a love of almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, and pistachios.
The story’s main conflict is a fear of coming clean with your true feelings. What tips do you have for couples who may fear compromising their relationship if they speak up about a topic that they disagree with their partner about?
I think anyone who doesn’t bring up an issue in a relationship for fear of risking the relationship is also risking the relationship by not bringing the issue up. Because everything that’s not brought up will always boil to the surface some time or another, and the more you push something down the harder it comes out when it finally does.
What tips do you have for writers who want to write and publish a graphic memoir or novel?
My tip for writing a graphic memoir is to make peace with “killing your darlings.” Because when you’re a prose writer and start writing a graphic memoir (or graphic novel) you really have to become economical with what prose you leave in and have faith in what you allow the images/pictures to explain for the story.
What’s next for you?
Next, I’m working on some fiction books, which I find much harder to write than non-fiction.
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