Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel

Alison Bechdel's Fun Home might be my favourite book ever, so I was very excited to pick up her newest memoir in comic strip format, Are You My Mother?, when I was in Chicago last month for the Comics Philosophy and Practice conference.

Bechdel at conference in Chicago.
Background image from Fun Home.

Are You My Mother? is just as fabulous as Fun Home. With the same self-deprecating humour and poignancy that she used to examine her relationship with her father, Bechdel dissects her interactions with her mother. It is more complicated, partly because her mother is still alive. It is even more personally revealing than her previous work. Bechdel has spent her life wanting more from her mother than her mother is equipped to give. Her struggle is to come to terms with that fact, and to accept the gifts of strength and independence that she received from her mother.

Bechdel has a large fan base of lesbians who, like me, have followed her since her early Dykes to Watch Out For comic strips. With the release of her two memoirs, her readership has broadened and now people of all stripes are finding relevance in her work.

When I'm talking to folks who are new to graphic novels, I always say to go slow. It takes time to absorb visual information and to synthesize it with printed text. This advice especially holds true with Are You My Mother? The pages are dense and the narrative is layered. It makes for a rich experience that rewards re-reading. (My sweetie has read it twice already.)

Bechdel's artwork is highly controlled, yet expressive. In Chicago, she talked about her need for accuracy. This is reflected in her careful imagery. While she chooses her words skillfully as well -- and there is plenty of written text in Are You My Mother? -- Bechdel knows when pictures say it best. I love the way she depicts her response to her therapist's question about her religious beliefs:

from Are You My Mother, p 103

Very highly recommended. Readalike: Stitches by David Small.