A review by yarrowkat
The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel

5.0

Brilliant as ever. I started this thinking it was going to be a trivial, perhaps somewhat silly reminisce through Bechdel's participation in various fitness fads, as that's what reviews seemed to say. I'm delighted to report that the fitness angle is merely a frame through which Bechdel directs her incisive, exploratory gaze towards what it means to be human, via a thoughtful exploration of the parallels between the Romantics, the Transcendentalists, the Beat poets, and the present day. The interwoven layers of story and meditation on the meaning of life loop back and forth through the epistemology of the body itself.