Daniel Montague's Reviews > The Secret to Superhuman Strength

There was much to admire in this graphic novel. The illustration was top notch and thoughtful. The pop cultural references were astute. It was also an honest portrayal of a woman's ongoing struggle between the physical and mental. Even with all of these praiseworthy attributes, the further the work went the more annoyed I got at the author. She came across as melodramatic and quite recalcitrant in her actions. Her relationships, namely with her partners seemed one-sided and based on her convenience.

If I were to rate solely on illustration, this would be a 5 star novel. The ability to showcase movement and frenetic energy is amazing. Whether, Alison Bechdel is drawing herself in adolescence or a scene between William Wordsworth, his sister and Samuel Coleridge Taylor, her expertise is demonstrated. The various contortions and even the moments of gentle contemplations are shown with a passion. I gravitated towards the kinetic scenes but even the flashbacks were awe-inspiring.

The pop culture references as she navigates the various healthcare and self-improvement fads mostly worked. Whether it was describing the few options of footwear or sports available to women in her youth, my interest was piqued. It was clever the way she showed how each fad appealed to a particular decade. In the 60s', Jack Lalanne promoted a healthy lifestyle which relied on good nutrition and exercise along with showmanship that was geared to the "housewife" of the time. Towards the 70s and 80s, a more holistic approach which focused on the spiritual became in vogue. She is able to capture her experimentation with various forms of exercise and self-improvement with humor and affection.

An area where I felt an ambivalence was her constant tie-in to different time periods. While, I appreciate the ambition of tying in the Romantics, Transcendentalists and Beatniks with her ongoing transformations, it felt forced and frequently unconvincing. No doubt it sucked that Ralph Waldo Emerson did not treat his second wife with affection or Dorothy Wordsworth is largely forgotten but how they relate to a modern day woman cross-country skiing felt tenuous. She felt a bond between Jack Kerouac which is better explained as they shared a love of Buddhism and nature while both having issues with alcohol and anxiety.

My biggest gripe was the frustration I felt towards the author herself. The totality of the book is about the authors' personal growth and her constant desire to prove herself whether physically or mentally. She takes up all sorts of challenges and indulges in a slew of practices and activities to improve herself yet she oftentimes neglects her partners. To her credit she does go bike riding and skiing with her current wife, Holly but many of her previous relationships depicted her pursuing solitary activities simultaneously pushing away loved ones. The most glaring of the issues was her lack of compromise in domiciles. While, her partners including Holly advocated moving to a less desolate location she was adamant about staying put, even muttering, "she would die". I am far from an expert on Vermont's population density but moving from an area where your nearest neighbor is only 1 mile away instead of 3 miles does not seem very extreme. Another time was when she insisted that she must climb a mountain in Yosemite despite the strenuous protestations of her partner, Holly. Holly had previously lost her girlfriend, who was a cliff diver on a mountain that was similar to the one Alison was about to climb.

There is plenty to enjoy about this work but the hiccups gnawed on me. Whether it was the various explorations of previous eras or the sporadic references to her self-medication with pills or booze I felt a lack of coherence. While, the illustration and layout of the novel was superhuman the lack of a strong storyline proved it be its kryptonite.