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A review by jenmaysiereads
Take It as a Compliment by Maria Stoian
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Unrated out of 5 stars.
‘Take It as a Compliment’ consists of twenty vignettes in which men and woman share their stories of abuse, sexual assault and harassment. Reading the stories, which are stark and matter-of-fact in conveying meaning was brutal. The form of a graphic novel leaves no room for the imagination; the stories are depictions of rape and abuse and are immensely difficult to read.
All of the stories in the anthology have been submitted anonymously but I applaud each contributors strength in telling their experiences, each different but connected by a thread of entitlement, betrayal and abuse. The stories in this collection are not unfamiliar but each is upsetting and heartbreaking in their own ways.
The art style is wonderful. The use of colours and shading work excellently to convey meaning and showcase emotion. One particular comic strip includes no dialogue, yet it conjures a distinct feeling of discomfort and fear that I remember all too well from nights I had to walk home alone.
The book is short but it works tirelessly to deconstruct harmful rape myths and victim blaming rhetoric such as “he was just joking”, “what were you wearing”, “maybe I’m too nice”, and “take it as a compliment”. Additionally, I really appreciated that this graphic novel collection included stories from men. I’m personally reading this as part a literary analysis for my thesis on sexual assault which is focused on women, but I nevertheless was really grateful to see from the perspectives of men and have their experiences honoured in the work—their stories are just as important and need to be told.
Books like these are incredibly important and I’m really glad to have read this even if it was immensely difficult to read at times.
‘Take It as a Compliment’ consists of twenty vignettes in which men and woman share their stories of abuse, sexual assault and harassment. Reading the stories, which are stark and matter-of-fact in conveying meaning was brutal. The form of a graphic novel leaves no room for the imagination; the stories are depictions of rape and abuse and are immensely difficult to read.
All of the stories in the anthology have been submitted anonymously but I applaud each contributors strength in telling their experiences, each different but connected by a thread of entitlement, betrayal and abuse. The stories in this collection are not unfamiliar but each is upsetting and heartbreaking in their own ways.
The art style is wonderful. The use of colours and shading work excellently to convey meaning and showcase emotion. One particular comic strip includes no dialogue, yet it conjures a distinct feeling of discomfort and fear that I remember all too well from nights I had to walk home alone.
The book is short but it works tirelessly to deconstruct harmful rape myths and victim blaming rhetoric such as “he was just joking”, “what were you wearing”, “maybe I’m too nice”, and “take it as a compliment”. Additionally, I really appreciated that this graphic novel collection included stories from men. I’m personally reading this as part a literary analysis for my thesis on sexual assault which is focused on women, but I nevertheless was really grateful to see from the perspectives of men and have their experiences honoured in the work—their stories are just as important and need to be told.
Books like these are incredibly important and I’m really glad to have read this even if it was immensely difficult to read at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, and Rape