I Ate the Whole World to Find You

Each of the linked stories in Ang’s moody debut depicts a young Asian American woman’s attempt to find safety and love. Jenny works a variety of jobs; in the first, at a food warehouse, a boss drawn as Mr. Monopoly barks at her and her male coworker to be more productive. But in between hauling boxes, a flirtation builds. Their budding romance is disrupted, however, by his feeder fetish, the obsessive desire to feed a sexual partner as they gain weight. Other stories explore relationships and vulnerability from different angles: a bus crash that prompts heartfelt confessions, a cousin’s mysterious physical ailment, the sobering aftermath of a fight and near-drowning at a pool. In the final chapter, Jenny is pregnant and talks to her unborn baby, whom she hopes, perhaps naively, will be a catalyst for her own rebirth. Despite shared themes, the connections between stories can be murky; it’s sometimes difficult to discern just how much each one is intended to stand alone. The similarity between some of the sketchy lined character designs adds to that opaqueness. Nevertheless, Ang conveys Jenny’s brooding nature, bodily discomfort, and veiled desires through believably messy slices of life. This poignant work will appeal to fans of Megan Kelso’s comics and Nicole Holofcener’s films. Agent: Jacinta Dimase, Jacinta Dimase Management. (Apr.)