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A review by thequeeraunt
Commute: An Illustrated Memoir of Female Shame by Erin Williams
4.0
Commute is at times an uncomfortable read, but an important one.
Williams' reminiscences about alcoholism, sexual assault, and motherhood follows a meandering train of thought through what one can assume is an average workday. She is introspective and self-critical while also pointing out the social and external pressures that lead to destructive behavior. Her art is simple and direct - color is used sparingly for emphasis, but the majority of the memoir is in grayscale. Do not read Commute expecting a triumphant story of self-actualization. Williams embraces her own journey as a work-in-progress and while the message is perhaps a hopeful one, there is a lot of discomfort along the way.
I would recommend Commute to fans of the graphic memoir as a sub-genre of memoirs, and those who have an interest in the way that shame and social pressures influence us throughout our lives. There's a reason that Williams uses the word "shame" in her subtitle, and it is a theme that permeates the entire work.
Williams' reminiscences about alcoholism, sexual assault, and motherhood follows a meandering train of thought through what one can assume is an average workday. She is introspective and self-critical while also pointing out the social and external pressures that lead to destructive behavior. Her art is simple and direct - color is used sparingly for emphasis, but the majority of the memoir is in grayscale. Do not read Commute expecting a triumphant story of self-actualization. Williams embraces her own journey as a work-in-progress and while the message is perhaps a hopeful one, there is a lot of discomfort along the way.
I would recommend Commute to fans of the graphic memoir as a sub-genre of memoirs, and those who have an interest in the way that shame and social pressures influence us throughout our lives. There's a reason that Williams uses the word "shame" in her subtitle, and it is a theme that permeates the entire work.