My Friend Dahmer

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Friend Dahmer is an account of Derf Backderf's high school friendship with an oddball named Jeff Dahmer.

Someone recommended this to me way back in 2012 but I'm not normally a true crime fan so I passed. My wife and I have watched some serial killer documentaries lately so I finally picked this up.

Derf Backderf's account comes primarily from his time spent with Dahmer so it's not sensationalist. Rather, it's the sad account of an odd kid who didn't even fit in at home, much less the dog eat dog world of high school. Dahmer had a few friends among the other outcasts at the bottom of the social ladder but didn't even fit in with them and walks down the road to hell a single baby step at a time. Like Derf asks "Where the hell were all the adults?"

The art has a unique feel to it, underground yet polished. I like it quite a bit. Derf does a great job showing Dahmer as he was, not going out of his way to make him a sympathetic character but still conveying Dahmer's sad circumstances growing up. Would a teacher or parent been able to make a difference once Dahmer was in high school or was it already too late by then? No one will ever no, unfortunately.

My Friend Dahmer is a powerful book, an unflinching look at the developmental years of Jeffrey Dahmer through the eyes of someone who knew him. Five out of five stars.


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