Gym Gains by Gareth Brookes (Mini Kus! #115)

I enjoyed the washed-out colors (perhaps suggesting our own distorted perceptions of events and underlying motivations around us) and the crumpled paper effect that Brookes employs, as well as the overall high concept of the narrative being relayed text message style in-app. At times, I did find it a bit difficult to parse the reversed images running throughout book and what the intended effect was designed for purely from a storytelling standpoint. That aside, even if the methodology didn’t quite connect, I appreciated the experimentation with the medium and how to relay information; it feels a bit like a voyeuristic investigative experience as a reader, attempting to decipher the textual and visual clues surrounding the complexity of the relationships. The notes on a love triangle involving jealousy, suspicion, and envy serve as good reminders that actual happiness typically is not achieved through material gains externally, but from the internal peace and humility that comes with working on one’s own personality and how we perceive events and behaviors around us.