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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I picked this up primarily because I’m intentionally trying to read books that are contested or currently being banned in libraries across the country.
No book should be banned in my opinion. This book is primarily contested due to “pornographic illustrations” which I disagree with. I don’t think any of the illustrations are pornographic in nature. But after reading it I do think the content itself is more suited for a high schooler or older. Because a lot of the subject matter is quite mature. It’s not PG13 material for sure. That said, in my opinion, instead of trying to get books banned, parents should read these books along with their children and provide appropriate guidance as they read the book.
I don’t typically read graphic novels but do think this one was very well done.
No book should be banned in my opinion. This book is primarily contested due to “pornographic illustrations” which I disagree with. I don’t think any of the illustrations are pornographic in nature. But after reading it I do think the content itself is more suited for a high schooler or older. Because a lot of the subject matter is quite mature. It’s not PG13 material for sure. That said, in my opinion, instead of trying to get books banned, parents should read these books along with their children and provide appropriate guidance as they read the book.
I don’t typically read graphic novels but do think this one was very well done.
Felt stuck between 3 and 4, decided to bump to the 4 because I couldn’t put it down until it was done and I really did enjoy the way Bechdel talks about her grief, her family, and especially the complicated relationship she has with her dad’s life/memory. Wendy recommended this to me after I talked about how much I love strong themes of grief in books/media in general. Six months later!!!! I finally read it!
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
I first read this book in college, in a class dedicated to writing about home and where we came from. I rented it then, thought about it for years, and purchased it for myself five years later from a bookstore. I give it a read every few months, when I need a good long reflection.
This story is nowhere close to mine, but I see echoes of myself in these pages, and the emotions expressed. The grief, heartache, loss, and trying to cope with a reality you never expected is one I’m sure many of us have felt at least once. Often, after reading this, I am inspired to write my own tragicomic. I always find something new to say to myself about my father, my family, and the home that raised me, yet I always find that I don’t have anything to say this book didn’t already.
It’s a favorite by far.
This story is nowhere close to mine, but I see echoes of myself in these pages, and the emotions expressed. The grief, heartache, loss, and trying to cope with a reality you never expected is one I’m sure many of us have felt at least once. Often, after reading this, I am inspired to write my own tragicomic. I always find something new to say to myself about my father, my family, and the home that raised me, yet I always find that I don’t have anything to say this book didn’t already.
It’s a favorite by far.
This doesn't really have spoilers, it's just there's no real way to keep a review private. Either way, I loved this book and even though the gratuitous literary references are a bit annoying and often make for a tenuous connection to her father, but she admits that literature and being gay are the only real connections she had to her him, so it only makes sense that she tries to understand her relationship to her parents through lit. In the same vein it makes sense that she has so many mentions of the books she read through college that helped her realize her identity.
Spoiler
I saw myself in this book a lot-- I have a very different relationship with my dad than Allison has with hers, but the closest connection I have to my dad is through literature. And, like Allison, it's through literature more than anything else that I have realized that I am a lesbian. My reading list is nearly identical to the stacks of books featured in the panels. And I think it's through literature that I came out to my dad more than anything. Yeah, there were some other things, but I think it was the moment that I shared my reading list-- books like Stone Butch Blues, The Letters of Virginia Woolf, Tipping the Velvet, this one-- with my dad that I came out to him. I'm glad I got a chance to read this, if nothing else to be reminded of why books matter.
challenging
emotional
reflective