{"product_id":"spent-a-comic-novel-isbn-9780063278929","title":"Spent: A Comic Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe celebrated and beloved \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of the modern classic \u003ci\u003eFun Home \u003c\/i\u003epresents a laugh-out-loud, brilliant, and passionately political work of autofiction.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Truthful, rueful and delightful.”—\u003ci\u003eLA Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Alison Bechdel’s hilariously skewering and gloriously cast new comic novel confection, a work of sharp literary humor, a cartoonist named Alison Bechdel, running a pygmy goat sanctuary in Vermont, is existentially irked by a climate-challenged world and a citizenry on the brink of civil war. She wonders: Can she pull humanity out of its death spiral by writing a scathingly self-critical memoir about her own greed and privilege?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, Alison’s first graphic memoir about growing up with her father, a taxidermist who specialized in replicas of Victorian animal displays, has been adapted into a highly successful TV series. It’s a phenomenon that makes Alison, formerly on the cultural margins, the envy of her friend group (recognizable as characters, now middle-aged and living communally in Vermont, from Bechdel’s beloved LGBTQ+ comic strip \u003ci\u003eDykes to Watch Out For\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs the TV show \u003ci\u003eDeath and Taxidermy\u003c\/i\u003e racks up Emmy after Emmy—and when Alison’s Pauline Bunyanesque partner Holly posts an instructional wood-chopping video that goes viral—Alison’s own envy spirals. Why couldn’t \u003ci\u003eshe \u003c\/i\u003ebe the writer for a critically lauded and wildly popular reality TV show…like \u003ci\u003eQueer Eye\u003c\/i\u003e...showing people how to free themselves from consumer capitalism and live a more ethical life?!!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSpent\u003c\/i\u003e’s rollicking and masterful denouement—making the case for seizing what’s true about life in the world at this moment, before it’s too late—once again proves that “nobody does it better” (\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e) than the real Alison Bechdel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCan a book about personal envy actually save the world?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAutofiction at its Finest:\u003c\/b\u003e Follow a fictional cartoonist named Alison Bechdel on her Vermont goat sanctuary as she spirals over her own success, her partner’s viral fame, and the end of the world.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSatirical Social Commentary:\u003c\/b\u003e A sharp, laugh-out-loud critique of consumer capitalism, performative ethics, and the complicated envy that thrives even in a communal Vermont paradise.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eBeloved Character Cameos:\u003c\/b\u003e Catch up with the middle-aged characters from Bechdel’s iconic \u003ci\u003eDykes to Watch Out For\u003c\/i\u003e as they navigate life, love, and the perils of their friend’s unexpected fame.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Modern Comic Novel:\u003c\/b\u003e A uniquely brilliant and passionately political story from the celebrated mind behind \u003ci\u003eFun Home\u003c\/i\u003e, blending skewering wit with deep, existential questions.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“If [Bechdel’s] characters are sad and bewildered by the state of the world, their frustration feels like a reassurance to readers who share it, and perhaps a gentle reminder that it’s easy to confuse being socially conscious with being self-serious…[Bechdel’s] genuine affection for her characters — with the possible exception of the one who bears her own name — gives \u003cem\u003eSpent\u003c\/em\u003e a sweetness that makes even its cheapest shots feel good-natured…” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[\u003cem\u003eSpent\u003c\/em\u003e] is very smart on the questions of what we do with our money, and our money and our morals. And it’s also just riotously funny.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKathryn Schulz, on The Ezra Klein Show\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Filled with Bechdel’s usual wit and humor, \u003cem\u003eSpent\u003c\/em\u003e is an enjoyable call out that interrogates the ways we all, including the author, fall short of our ideals.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDallas Voice\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Bechdel’s latest is a celebration of the joy and hope to be found in community, and the power only fiction has to expose a special kind of truth–literary and universal–that binds us.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePEN.org\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Alison Bechdel’s new book \u003cem\u003eSpent\u003c\/em\u003e is like nothing she’s ever done before — and it’s like everything she’s done before all at the same time.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAutostraddle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Thoroughly wonderful . . . Alison and her friends are beautiful and ridiculous and ridiculously beautiful, and Bechdel is such a master of her craft that it might take a little while to appreciate what she does here. Bechdel is incisive, tender, and funny—often at the same time.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eSpent\u003c\/em\u003e is the best kind of autofiction, braiding together strands of the author’s career into a brilliant new creation... A sly social satire and a rollicking good time.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eSpent\u003c\/em\u003e is the best kind of autofiction, braiding together strands of the author’s career into a brilliant new creation... A sly social satire and a rollicking good time.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“There’s something charming and funny on practically every page of \u003cem\u003eSpent\u003c\/em\u003e.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMinnesota Star Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In teasing herself and her friends, Bechdel finds a new way to have fun with both.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“There’s a real joy to seeing [Dykes to Watch Out For] characters return, their shapes a little baggier, their hair greyer, but their spirits the same.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eSpent\u003c\/em\u003e is a welcome return to the bickering polyphony of \u003cem\u003eDykes to Watch Out For\u003c\/em\u003e, with each member of the ensemble acting as a zany spokeswoman for one of Bechdel’s many conflicting views. It is a pleasure to see Bechdel take up the satirist’s pen once more.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVulture\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[S]elf-deprecating and delightful . . . Bechdel takes a gentle approach toward her well-meaning characters, but wields a razor-sharp scalpel when it comes to the indignities of modern life. For Bechdel’s fans, it’s a dream to see her skewer fame with such hilarious precision.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“How, for all these years, in a remote corner of Vermont and mostly stuck in her own head has [Alison Bechdel] figured out just what to say to us?” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAtlantic Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Truthful, rueful and delightful.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLA Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eSpent\u003c\/em\u003e’s mix of witty self-deprecation and queer countercultural sex romp is gleefully entertaining\u003cem\u003e.\u003c\/em\u003e” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Hilariously honest…\u003cem\u003eSpent\u003c\/em\u003e succeeds at skewering the absurdities and inconsistencies of [Bechdel’s] life as a progressive artist with a diverse group of friends.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Sharp, funny and beautifully drawn.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mariner Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48588043354341,"sku":"NP9780063278929","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780063278929.jpg?v=1773961032","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/spent-a-comic-novel-isbn-9780063278929","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}