Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel

I'm in a bit behind in my reviews. I actually finished Bechdel's latest a few weeks ago but haven't written any thoughts until now. I attended the signing for this book with my sister at the beginning of May and had a really nice time. After leaving the signing I was so excited to read this book. I loved her first memoir, Fun Home, and assumed the follow-up would have to be just as good. But you know what they say about assuming...

I didn't dislike this book altogether, it was just really hard for me to get beyond Bechdel's over-the-top self-absorption. It permeated the whole book in a way that felt like I was listening to a stranger complain about their problems for two hours, which is never fun. It really took away from the story as a whole. Let me explain: Are You My Mother? is very meta, which is to say the majority of the book concerns Bechdel's self; the story as a whole is very internal, recursive, and interior. We spend the majority of the novel inside Alison's head (Alison the character) as she attempts to piece together her identity, her faults, and her weaknesses in terms of the relationship she has with her mother. We go to Alison's therapy sessions, and more of Alison's therapy sessions, in which she discusses her mother, her childhood, her failed relationships, and her own psychoanalysis. These therapy sessions are never ending. Page after page, complaint and complaint; I'm all for the coming of age, story of self-awakening, but at times this book felt exhausting. Did I mention the therapy sessions?

With that said, the book does offer a lot to digest. Much of the novel is preoccupied with the writings of child psychoanalysis Donald Winnicot, and Bechdel incorporates his ideas into her story in a way that feels relevant and even at times, interesting. There are many layers and endless metaphors that come together and keep it interesting. The relationship Alison has with her mother is one of the many strands of the book. Virginia Woolf makes an appearance as a character, and Alison uses Woolf to make connections between her own dairy, memoir writing, and fiction writing. She also examines the idea of the transitional object; who has whom between a mother and a child?

At Bechdel's reading she described the narrative of the book as an "emotion excavation." I'm happy she found a way to let it all out, but for me as a reader, I lost interest quickly. In the end, I would really recommend Fun Home and if you happen to stumble across Are You My Mother?, I'd say skip it. (And really, I am quite pained to say that, as I was so very excited about this book.)

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 2012

Chicken With Plums by Marjane Satrapi

The Complete Persepolis is in my top three favorite graphic memoirs. I think one of the things the makes Satrapi's work so compelling is her ability to articulate her struggles with self-identity in an honest and humerus way. If you haven't read Persepolis, I highly recommend it. However, I am disappointed to report, I didn't not enjoy Chicken With Plums nearly as much as I did her first graphic novel. I felt it lacked the sense of intimacy and emotions her earlier books exuded.

Chicken With Plums follows Satrapi's great-uncle, the famous tar musician Nasser Ali Khan. The novel opens as he discovers his beloved tar is broken and thereby decides he no longer has a reason to go on living. We are then taken from the present to flashbacks and flashforwards, learning more about Nasser and the reasoning for behind decision to give up. I found the end of the novel quite lovely, but I thought the majority was missing something. As always, Satrapi's artwork is beautiful and functions to make the story more personsonal.

At it's core, this is a love story, and a depressing one at that. It offers a portrait of a heartbroken musician who uses his interment as a way of coping with his sadness. It's a testament to the power of imagination and the power of memories to stay with us, dictating how our future selves evolve. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into the book in the way I hoped I would. Maybe my hopes were too high since I enjoyed Persepolis so much, but I was a little let down by this one.

Publisher: Pantheon, 2004

A reading with Alison Bechdel

On Monday night Alison Bechdel came to Boswell Books, a lovely independent bookseller in Milwaukee, for a reading of her latest graphic memoir, Are You My Mother? I was introduced to Fun Home, her first novel, in an American Women's Writing class. We started with the traditional classics and progressed into contemporaries and then finished with Bechdel's Fun Home. I'm not sure I would have picked this one up on my own; it was my first graphic novel and at that point I didn't consider them "real" books. It turned out to be a longtime favorite that I lent to friends and family. I was quite excited about her new book and even more excited when I found out she was coming my way for a reading! My sister read Fun Home as well, so she joined me for the reading which was awesome since I normally go to these things on my own.

In person, Alison Bechdel is brilliant. She articulates herself so well and precisely that it's just a joy to hear her speak. Her love of books doesn't just come through in her work, rife with countless literary allusions. Prior to the reading, she was browsing the shelves of the bookstore. After she was introduced and before the reading began she discussed her book, telling us that the relationship with her mother was just one of the many strands of the book. It's also about the self and how we think about our own self. The book is preoccupied with Virginia Woolf, who makes an appearance as a character, and her connections between her diary, memoir and writing, and fiction writing. As a whole, Bechdel explains, the novel is internal, recursive, and interior.

When asked during the Q and A what her mother's reaction to the book was, Bechdel said her first response was, "Well, it coheres."

I didn't get any pictures of the actual reading, because no one else was taking pictures or even had their camera out and I didn't want to be that person. So the photo you see above is from a completely different reading at Politics and Prose in DC. But, you know, it's similar. I did manage to snap a stealth photo on my phone while waiting in line to get my book signed. Like the Eugenides reading, I was nervous to meet such a talented writer. I wasn't as nervous as I was for Eugenides, when I was literally shaking.

I'm about halfway through Are You My Mother? and while it's much different from Fun Home, in many ways it's also similar as it focuses on finding one's identity and looking back on the self. If you haven't read any Bechdel, I really recommend you get your hands on Fun Home! I really don't think you'll be disappointed.

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale by Art Speigelman

I'm sure you've heard of it. Maus is the story of a Jewish survivor, Vladek, in Hitler's Poland as told by Vladek's son, Art, a cartoonist. The complete Maus won the Pulitzer Prize Special Award in 1992. The structure of the novel weaves together two storylines: that of the modern day life that Vladek and Art experience and that of Jews living in WWII Nazi regime. This narrative framework is remarkable, as it places the reader inside of a unique story line; we learn of the narrator's father's tale of survival as he recounts it to his son, who takes notes for the book he is writing. The product is a heartbreaking and captivating graphic memoir in which the Jews are portrayed as mice, and the Nazis as cats.

I read this book in one sitting, which isn't a feat considering it's a 160 page graphic novel. Regardless, I didn't want to put it down and I'm upset I didn't just go ahead and buy Maus II along with the first. Those tricky publishers should have released them as one novel in the first place. But I digress, what makes this such a memorable novel that it's not only about WWII, it's also about history itself; how it's told, how it's remembered and how it effects generations to come. It also examines the complicated nature of families and the uniqueness of father/son relationships; the generational differences that ultimately cause tension and the difficulties of understanding one another.

Maus has been critiqued for portraying such a horrific and monstrous period in history in a unsympathetic medium, therefore downplaying the enormity of the Nazi regeme. However, I would argue that instead of belittling the subject matter, it actually portrays it in a haunting manner, expressing ideas and emotions that sometimes only pictures and illustrations can evoke.

Since Maus I ends quite abruptly, I plan on reading Maus II very soon.

Publisher: Pantheon Books, 1986

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger

The Night Bookmobile was originally published as a series of installments in the London Guardian. In 2010 it was published in its entirety as a book. Ever since I read the first few installments of The Night Bookmobile in The Guardian I've wanted to get my hands on this book. Then my wonderful sister bought it for me for Christmas and I have been saving it for a cozy night.

I've been a fan of Audrey Niffenegger since The Time Traveler's Wife, a novel that I really love. After reading Her Fearful Symmetry I knew that Niffenegger wouldn't disappoint me. The Night Bookmobile is not less magical than her earlier works. The book centers on one woman who comes across a bookmobile late at night. After stepping inside she soon discovers that this bookmobile houses everything she has ever read.

This is a story that book lovers can appreciate. It's fun and nostalgic, but includes a dark twist that is consistent with Nifenergger's work. It touches on the solitude that comes along with reading and what one gives up to continually read. It also explores the magic of books themselves - the deliciousness that is holding a book in your hands, petting the spine and turning the pages - and the enjoyment of revisiting books from our past. It highlights the idea that what we read makes us the people we become.

This is a short graphic novel so if you come across it, I'd suggest taking 30 minutes out of your day to read it. It's worth it.

Publisher: Abrams, 2010

Blankets by Craig Thompson

I haven't read very many graphic novels. This is my third (after Persepolis and Fun Home, both of which I adored). Blankets details Craig Thompson's childhood, up through his high school graduation: I was brought into a world filled with teen-angst, profound faith, first loves and challenges families face everyday. This was a comforting read, laying in bed on a cold Sunday afternoon with blanket of my own. Thompson does an excellent job conveying heavy, complicated emotions with his art. I don't have anything profound to say about this book, except that it kept me warm and I'll bet it would do the same for you.

Publisher: Top Shelf Productions, 2003

Just In Time For My Birthday!

It was finally announced that Audrey Niffenegger's graphic novel The Night Bookmobile will be for sale as of September 1st. Yay, just in time for my birthday!

So, for any of you who don't know what to get me...