Alison Bechdel, cartoonist: We've gotten so polarized in the United States that we're unable to see each other's humanity'

"Alison Bechdel has written a graphic novel about a character called Alison Bechdel. Both are famous cartoonists, live in Vermont with their partner, an artist named Holly, and had phenomenal success with their autobiographical work about their father's homosexuality a success they are still processing. In the case of the real-life Bechdel, her graphic novel Fun Home was adapted for Broadway and won five Tony awards."

"The fictitious Bechdel is tormented by the televised version of her great work, and by the liberties taken by its production team, as well as the sensation of having sold her artistic independence for a (healthy) sum. To round out this experiment, the flesh-and-blood Bechdel has brought back some of her character from Dykes to Watch Out For, the influential 1980s comic."

"The result is Spent (Mariner Books), an entertaining reflection on the contradictions of always being on the side of the good guys, the traps of capitalism, the withering of ideals with the passing of the years, and the concessions that one makes with age in addition to being a brilliant telling of what it means to be alive, in a liberal environment, in Joe Biden's United States."

Real and fictional versions of the protagonist, both cartoonists, live in Vermont with their partner Holly and contend with the aftermath of a hugely successful autobiographical work about the protagonist's father's homosexuality. One version's graphic memoir reached Broadway and won five Tony Awards, while the fictional version resents televised adaptations and the sense of having traded artistic independence for money. Revived characters from a 1980s comic relocate nearby, prompting reflections on moral certainty, capitalism's traps, the erosion of ideals with age, and necessary concessions. Visual vignettes render intrusive headlines that overwhelm attention and concentration.

Read at english.elpais.com