Reviews

My favorite book I have read this year so far. Alison Bechdel's memoir through exercise is fun, relatable, and insightful. She shows astute knowledge in the way that she links her relationship to her body to the relationship she has with the people and world around her, but it never feels heavy or dense. The way she talks about her body, too, is refreshing for a female writer in particular. She is not obsessed with it as a vessel of trauma or as a bauble to show off, but primarily talks about it in terms of what it can do. The art in the book is also her best yet-- the risks she takes truly pay off. The weakest parts of her story are her tiebacks to authors of yore. In particular, I found myself skimming the sections about the Romantic writers. Nevertheless, these sections do not detract from the memoir as a whole. Would recommend to anyone who has a body and who has thought about how and why they use and abuse it.

alwroteabook's review against another edition

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5.0

This was great. A woman investigates our obsession with staying in shape (hence the title) but ends up going on a voyage of discovery along the way. The author bares all in this well-drawn and often hilarious graphic novel. I think the choice of format is perfect, as I feel much of it would have been lost in a traditional book.

smolbeez's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

marykohl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.0

noelles's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

bestdressman's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.25

For someone who is more of a fitness dabbler and wannabe fitness enthusiast, it was both surprising and comforting to find out how much of this was NOT about fitness. I really enjoyed Bechdel's way of bringing me in to the humanity of wellness, and even more succinctly narrating the human process navigating aging and meaning making in our lives. I always love a good book that references other books and wisdom (whether or not I follow through on reading said references like I intend), and this book was rife with them. Surprised I haven't already read Bechdel prior, but the motivation is definitely here now!

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