Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it is too dark to read. ~Groucho Marx

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel

Image from amespubliclibrary.com

I will be the very first to admit that my intellectual limitations are considerable. 

I'm an excellent actress, and have made it this far pretending to be a functioning member of society. I've got you all fooled...

...but this book made me feel dumb.

I enjoyed and appreciated Bechdel's Fun Home despite the frequent literary and scholarly references. At times I even felt as thought I was able to follow along. Even if the reader doesn't absorb the deep, philosophical and artistic...um...stuff, her first novel had twists, turns, and engaged the reader. 

In Fun Home she depicted her father's story and how it shaped her own. In Are You My Mother she does the same for her mother. Both books appear to have been therapeutic outlets for the author,  but whereas the first novel was engaging, the second was exhausting. The scholarly references were pervasive and I found myself hoping for action and dynamism. It is as though the reader is sitting in on a very long therapy session. True to life, I suppose, the resolution seems to accept the fact that life's great struggles never resolve themselves neatly.  "Happily ever after" certainly wasn't warranted in Mother and I'm glad that she didn't try to include it. However, the ending felt hurried, unmotivated, and uninspired. 

Nice things to say? Well, of course.The art is excellent and I found the repetition of the same scene from a different angle interesting and innovative. I enjoyed thinking about the subtitle "A Comic Drama." That was clever. 

My thoughts on Fun Home

Arielle's Recommendation: Readers particularly interested in parental psychology will find a treasure in Are You My Mother. For mature audiences.


Bechdel, A. Are You My Mother: A Comic Drama. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2012. Print. ISBN: 9780618982509 Hardcover. U.S. $23.00

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Sweet Reads/ Belly Flops

The verdict is in! For the last month EPL's Teens have had the opportunity to weigh in on the best and worst books you read this summer! 

SWEET READS
Matched by Ally Condie
Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
The Ranger's Apprentice Series by John Flanagan
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Yes by Jordan Sonnenblick
The Lying Game by Sara Shepard
Only the Best Series by Beverly Lewis
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
and..."books by Lurlene McDaniel"

BELLY FLOPS!

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Great suggestions, everyone!