Dealing with our "Shortcomings"

I read Adriane Tomine's Shortcomings for the first time two years ago. It was a gift from Monica during a time in my life when nothing was certain and all paths seemed to lead to a dead end. Things happened that I wish I could undo now or do differently. I could've handled them better if I weren't so caught up in myself. In the end, I hurt someone that means the world to me. 

Much like its main character, Ben Tanaka, I was having difficulty accepting change. The book, however, wasn't to my liking. It tainted Adrian Tomine for me after I had shown interest in his works in the past. I dubbed the book as a waste of shelf space and carried on to read something better. 

Two years later, I find myself reading Shortcomings once again, in a different, less jaded light. Much like 2008, I've been burdened with the sudden shift of change in the air. It seems that the aftershocks of two years ago has carried over through 2009 and landed dabbed in the early months of 2010. This was the reason why I picked up Tomine's graphic novel for the second time. Rather than pining at the end of something in my life, making pathetic attempts of grabbing onto strings, I've come to accept them for what they are. 

Nothing about Shortcomings has changed between the two reads. Perhaps, I've changed. Learned to accept things for what they are. It isn't the best book out there, or the most imaginative, but it is something to which we can relate.