Synopsis
In Alison Bechdel’s hilariously skewering and gloriously cast new comic novel confection, a cartoonist named Alison Bechdel, running a pygmy goat sanctuary in Vermont, is existentially irked by a climate-challenged world and a citizenry on the brink of civil war. She wonders: Can she pull humanity out of its death spiral by writing a scathingly self-critical memoir about her own greed and privilege?
Meanwhile, Alison’s first graphic memoir about growing up with her father, a taxidermist who specialized in replicas of Victorian animal displays, has been adapted into a highly successful TV series. It’s a phenomenon that makes Alison, formerly on the cultural margins, the envy of her friend group (recognizable as characters, now middle-aged and living communally in Vermont, from Bechdel’s beloved comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For).
As the TV show Death and Taxidermy racks up Emmy after Emmy—and when Alison’s Pauline Bunyanesque partner Holly posts an instructional wood-chopping video that goes viral—Alison’s own envy spirals. Why couldn’t she be the writer for a critically lauded and wildly popular reality TV show…like Queer Eye…showing people how to free themselves from consumer capitalism and live a more ethical life?!!
From: HarperCollins
Notes on This Title
This title features a fictionalized version of the author, along with characters from her previous work, Dykes to Watch Out For.
Awards
Best Books 2025 - Publishers Weekly
Best Books 2025 - Kirkus Reviews
2025 NPR Books We Love
New York Times - Best Graphic Novels of 2025
The Beat’s Best Comics of 2025
Library Journal - Best Books 2025
Reviews
“In this playfully fictionalised memoir, Alison runs a pygmy goat sanctuary while making a name for herself on stage and screen.” (Source: The Guardian)
“Bechdel is incisive, tender, and funny—often at the same time.” (Source: Kirkus Reviews)
“In her new book, Bechdel writes characters whose lofty ideas about society exceed their ability, or desire, to change it.” (Source: Vulture)
Interviews
None.