Friday, March 27, 2015

Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel

When I think of the title, Are You My Mother?, I immediately think of my beloved childhood favorite by P.D. Eastman.  A young bird falls from his nest and embarks on a journey trying to find his mother.  In the end, he returns to his nest and his mother appears by his side.

This book is NOT one in the same!

In Bechdel's version, it is a much more complex story, from the loss of her father to suicide to coming out to her mother.  She also features personal relationships, romantic and otherwise, as well as her professional journey as an artist.  And, all of it is paralleled with the psychoanalysis of Donald Winnicott.

I tend to read through most graphic novels fairly quickly.  Bechdel's Are You My Mother? is an exception.  I found myself reading this one over days, frequently revisiting pages.  When I read the final page, I thought the book was good, but not great.  BUT, Bechdel's story has stayed with me.  I find myself returning to her story in my mind at random times throughout the day.  And, when I saw her previous novel Fun Home at the library, I had to have it.  I had to read more of her story.  Maybe with these lasting ripples, Bechdell's book was better than I initially thought.  Because I think that I will be continuing to think about it for a long while.

Have you read Bechdel's Are You My Mother?  What did you think?  Was your initial response the same as the lasting one?

8 comments:

  1. I love that you mention the children's book, because it's all I can think of when I hear people talking about this book. One of my earliest reading memories is reading it out loud to my little brother, and how much he loved the "Snort."

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    1. Charleen Lynette ... I did the same thing until I read it! I cannot even tell you how many copies of this children's book I have gone through. One of my all-time faves!

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  2. Same here, Tif! The P.D. Eastman version was one of my absolute favorite books as a kid (back in the 60s!) This sounds totally different lol

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    1. writersideup.com ... This is definitely a very different story!!

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  3. I haven't read Are You My Mother yet, but I thought Fun Home was really good. I've heard a number of people say that Are You My Mother was denser and more difficult, so I'm trying to prep my brain for that.

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    1. Jenny @ Reading the End ... I actually just read Fun Home recently too. This one is definitely more dense than that one.

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  4. The children's book is what I keep thinking of when I see mention of this book, too. It was even the inspiration for a children's book I wrote when I was in high school. I can't decide if Bechdel's version is one that I would enjoy or not.

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    1. Becca Lostinbooks ... I will say that it is not an easy read. It's one you have to take time to get through and still probably not gather everything it has to offer in one reading.

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