Paying for It
Paying for It, "a comic strip memoir about being a john", is a 2011 graphic novel by Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown. A combination of memoir and polemic, the book explores Brown's decision to give up on romantic love and to take up the life of a "john" by frequenting prostitutes. The book, published by Drawn & Quarterly, was controversial, and a bestseller.
| Paying for It | |
|---|---|
Cover to the first edition | |
| Creator | Chester Brown |
| Date | 2011 |
| Page count | 292 pages |
| Publisher | Drawn & Quarterly |
| ISBN | 978-1-77046-048-5 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Louis Riel |
The book is concerned with Brown's conflicting desire to have sex, but not wanting to have another girlfriend after his partner Sook-Yin Lee breaks up with him. His solution is to forgo traditional boyfriend/girlfriend relationships and marriage. He takes up frequenting prostitutes, and comes to advocate prostitution as superior to the "possessive monogamy" of traditional male–female relations, which he debates with his friends throughout the book.
Brown presents his views in detail in the closing 50-page text section, which includes a 23-part appendix, end notes, and a note from friend and fellow cartoonist Seth. Despite being about the separation of sex from romantic love, Brown calls the book "a type of love story".