{"product_id":"spent-a-comic-novel","title":"Spent: A Comic Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eThe celebrated and beloved \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003ebestselling author of the modern classic \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003eFun Home \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003epresents a laugh-out-loud, brilliant, and passionately political work of autofiction.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\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\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\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 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eDykes to Watch Out For\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs the TV show \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eDeath and Taxidermy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\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 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eshe\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ebe the writer for a critically lauded and wildly popular reality TV show…like \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eQueer Eye\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e...showing people how to free themselves from consumer capitalism and live a more ethical life?!!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eSpent\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\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” (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e) than the real Alison Bechdel.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCan a book about personal envy actually save the world?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"a-unordered-list a-vertical\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eAutofiction at its Finest:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\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\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eSatirical Social Commentary:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\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\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eBeloved Character Cameos:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Catch up with the middle-aged characters from Bechdel’s iconic \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eDykes to Watch Out For\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e as they navigate life, love, and the perils of their friend’s unexpected fame.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eA Modern Comic Novel:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e A uniquely brilliant and passionately political story from the celebrated mind behind \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eFun Home\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, blending skewering wit with deep, existential questions.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eby Alison Bechdel (Author\/Illustrator)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHardcover, 272 Pages, Published May 2025\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HARPER COLLINS PUBS","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47970793783483,"sku":"9780063278929","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0548\/0444\/7419\/files\/81gM3KKIovL._SL1500.jpg?v=1781633906","url":"https:\/\/shop.skirball.org\/products\/spent-a-comic-novel","provider":"Audrey's Museum Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}