I found myself more curious about her relationship with her father, which seemed traumatic and was mentioned quite a few times but not explored, but reviews of this book indicate that Alison wrote out that relationship in an earlier book.Very introspective, even for a memoir. Is there such a thing? Read to the end. Now, a second thrilling tale of filial sleuthery, this time about her mother: voracious reader, music lover, passionate amateur actor. This, her mom book, bears some resemblance to Fun Home, her dad book, in that it is in part an autobiography, and very very carefully layered, entertwining its story of her mother with Bechdel's reading of other texts. Bechdel was born in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. This book seems to have been written for the sake of the writer, rather than the reader. I felt like I was reading this slowly - although clearly not, as I finished in two-three days or so. this book was TERRIBLE. And even tho' I was processing throughout and after each section, I still feel that I need another five reads to get all of what Bechdel is saying here. )Another absolutely spectacular entry into the graphic novel canon. A new chlorine-resistant swimsuit? Her new graphic memoir, ARE YOU MY MOTHER?, ostensibly centers around her mother this go-around. You won’t like her, but you will love her.
Each page is meticulously constructed, as the OCD-laden and -blessed Bechdel makes sure every line and word matters. great literature produces great responses!ETA i'm reading around in GR, checking other reviews of this book, and there are SO MANY that are SO GOOD and make points that are different from mine, or points that are similar to mine but say it better. by Houghton Mifflin Memories from childhood, both overtly happy and appearing quite sad. I am having a hard time believing how much I disliked this book. First, because it evokes (thematically) a I love the title of this book. There are pages and pages of transcriptions from the writings of eminent Freudians, pages of Bechdel's therapy, and pages of the dreams of both Bechdel and eminent Freudians. She is the daughter of Helen Augusta (née Fontana; 1933–2013) and Bruce Allen Bechdel (1936–1980). I found it recursive, uninteresting- no, stultifying, masturbatory and at heart fairly hollow. Start by marking “Are You My Mother? The book looks pretty. And who else would write: ‘The fact that the mother is the original love-object for both males and females presents Freud with a sticky wicket’? Welcome back. All the psychoanalytic jargon sure got wearying after a while, even if the conclusion was moving - especially since Bechdel has the grace and maturity not only to see, but be thankful for, how her parents gave her the ability to survive and succeed the painfully limited family their lives created together. As an artist who grew up in a museum, as the daughter of a complicated and creative mother (hi, Wow. I'm sure this book was cathartic for her to write, but it was not the least bit enjoyable to read.I love the title of this book. Finally, it's not as much about her mother as it is about how your experience of one person is connected to your experience of other people and your reading and work and everything. Le Guin's words could stand as an epigraph to this diptych: Glad I stopped a few pages in and read Fun Home first - that not only provided context, but made this sequel a lot more palatable. There were similarities between Bechdel's mother and mine that I recognised immediately, and funnily - those similarities became even more apparent as I read on. Her father was an army veteran who was stationed in West Germany. Six years after Fun Home, Bechdel has published a second memoir in comics form, Are You My Mother?, but it’s more than simply the maternal counterpart to its predecessor.