Alison [Hardcover]

This graphic novel chronicles the fictional life story of Alison Porter, whose talent as a painter blossoms in bohemian 1970s London. Mournful, lovely... Stewarts dynamic, warm, flowing art invites the reader in. Theres a quiet but powerful immediacy to [Stewarts work] that will appeal to lit fic fans who may not always pick up comics. Its a heartening journey, a delicious portrait of London and a more universal tale of a working-class young woman making a life in a world that has not been designed for the likes of her. For all its effortlessness [...] Across sublimely written, memoir-style passages, we watch as Alison prevails; navigating life, love and her burgeoning work in a sequence of milestones, some devastating, some euphoric, but all thrillingly real. A clever portrait of an artists journey that smartly combines prose and art, Stewart takes the tone and emotional depth of Posy Simmonds and weaves her own magic to create a remarkable graphic novel. Magnificence beckons. Elegantly told, exquisitely illustrated, Subtle and deliciously complicated, this is a big book on big subjects, but lightly, elegantly done. I loved it. This book is a testament to the right to choose your own life. It made me long for my friends; the dreams we have shared over the years and the ways in which they make the world feel possible. I want to give a copy to everyone I love. Every now and again a book comes along that is such a bright joy, so true, so beautiful and moving.