Having survived one Backderf book and knowing that this is his more famous work (it won an award at Angoulême in 2014), I decided to give it a try.

The story is of Backderf’s childhood association with Jeffrey Dahmer, who grew up to be a serial killer. Dahmer’s crimes are horrifying—I had to put the book out of my mind before going to sleep—but he was caught when I was 3, so I wasn’t really aware of the story.

The most interesting part of the book, though, is Backderf’s wrestling with what it means to have known one of history’s most deranged killers as a high school student. He never excuses Dahmer for his crimes, but he paints a pitiful picture of a sad childhood and wishes people had done more for a young Dahmer.

• Jeffrey Dahmer
• My Friend Dahmer
• Derf Backderf