Reviews

The Lie And How We Told It by Tommi Parrish

staplerscissors's review against another edition

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4.0

I felt just like the character at the end of the story, thinking about what I just read and running my fingers over the cover. 4.3 stars.

thepetitepunk's review against another edition

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pretty and colorful but not a lot going on…also felt a bit unfinished

wynnwave's review

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

finnmiles's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

4.0

seferiana's review against another edition

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reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

chillcox15's review against another edition

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4.0

The Lie and How We Told it is in turns a melancholic and hopeful view at love and interconnectedness (more specifically in the complex net of queerness, the closet, and sex work). Parrish's painted panels are often gorgeous in their flat, waterbrushed colors, and the design of the human bodies, with the heads approximately 25% the size they should be for the bodies, is engaging, especially when one of the characters breaks into a cartoonish rictus of false cheer. Also love the story-within-the-story conceit and the material effects used to pull it off. This is a great graphic novel!

lattelibrarian's review against another edition

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4.0

I absolutely loved the illustrations.  They flow so nicely and fit perfectly with the plotline as its about two old friends who are attempting to navigate the world and hold their own space.  Even more intriguing, I found, was the inner, metatextual graphic novel or zine or pamphlet that one of the characters finds about a prostitute who enters a relationship with an older man who has the "normal life" that she simply doesn't have.  I've tried to think about the supposed meaning of the parallel stories for a while, and I think I've come to the conclusion that regardless, none of us, including the outer and inner characters of the stories, will ever have the life we want or expected, and we may even feel like visitors to our own experiences.

Overall, I found this graphic novel so interesting and both pleasantly abstract and conforming.  Definitely worth reading, especially if you're into digging deeper for meaning.

Review cross-listed here!

eholyst's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

riotsquirrrl's review against another edition

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4.0

Painterly art of messy queers, good stuff. It’s spare enough that I read it twice to get ahold of everything.

mielybooks's review against another edition

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1.0

Portada