100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Enjoy overnight NZ-wide delivery from our NZ-owned independent bookstore! 🎉

Spent

A Comic Novel
3.99 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 3,617 ratings, 696 reviews)
Brief Description
From her pygmy goat farm in Vermont, a cartoonist named Alison Bechdel wonders — can she pull humanity out of its death spiral by writing a scathing memoir about her own greed and privilege? 'The funniest, most satirical cartoon she has ever written — as well... Read More
Format: Hardback
$5000
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

From her pygmy goat farm in Vermont, a cartoonist named Alison Bechdel wonders — can she pull humanity out of its death spiral by writing a scathing memoir about her own greed and privilege?

'The funniest, most satirical cartoon she has ever written — as well as, perhaps, the most prescient' OBSERVER

Very funny and self-hating in a good way — ZADIE SMITH

But how is she supposed to sit here writing a book when the world hangs on a thread?

In this hilariously skewering comic novel, Alison is existentially irked by a climate-challenged world and a country on the brink of civil war.

Her first graphic memoir about growing up with her taxidermist father has been adapted into a highly successful TV series, Death and Taxidermy. It's a phenomenon that makes Alison, formerly on the cultural margins, the envy of her friend group.

As the TV show racks up Emmy after Emmy, Alison's own envy spirals. Why couldn't she be the writer for a wildly popular reality TV series which shows people how to free themselves from consumer capitalism and live a more ethical life?!

In Spent, the celebrated, bestselling author of the modern classic Fun Home presents a laugh-out-loud and passionately political work of autofiction, and once again proves that nobody does it better (New York Times) than the real Alison Bechdel.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781787335394

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 22 May 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Jonathan Cape Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 28.0mm

Width: 159.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 797g

Pages: 272

About the Author

Alison Bechdel is the author of three internationally acclaimed graphic memoirs, Fun Home- A Family Tragicomic, Are You My Mother?- A Comic Drama and The Secret to Superhuman Strength. Fun Home was a New York Times bestseller, won an Eisner Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. It was named a Best Book of the 21st Century by the Guardian, was adapted to a broadway musical which won five Tony Awards and is currently being adapted for cinema. For twenty-five years, she wrote and drew the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, a visual chronicle of modern life - queer and otherwise - considered 'one of the preeminent oeuvres in the comics genre'. Alison Bechdel is guest editor of Best American Comics, 2011, and has drawn comics for Slate, McSweeney's, Entertainment Weekly, Granta, and The New York Times Book Review. In 2014 she was named as one of the recipients of the MacArthur 'Genius' Award. http-//dykestowatchoutfor.com/

Also by Alison Bechdel

View all
  • Fun Home
    The bestselling memoir from a cult favourite comic artist, marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books. Fun Home was named a Best Book of the Year by Time, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, and People. Discover the bestselling graphic memoir behind the Olivier Award-nominated musical. 'A sapphic graphic treat' - The Times A...
    Paperback
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Fun Home
    ONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY Discover the bestselling graphic memoir behind the Olivier Award nominated musical. A sapphic graphic treat — The Times A moving and darkly humorous family tale, pitch-perfectly illustrated with Alison Bechdel's gothic drawings. If you liked Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, you'll love this. Meet Alison's father, a historic preservation expert and...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For
    This long-awaited collection of comic strips by the internationally-acclaimed graphic-literary talent Alison Bechdel offers an acerbically funny insight into the lesbian culture of 1980s America. Internationally-acclaimed graphic-literary talent Alison Bechdel offers acerbically funny insight into the lesbian culture of 1980s America in this comic strip collection. Bechdel's brilliantly imagined counter-cultural band of friends—academics, social workers, booksellers—fall in and out of...
    Paperback
    $4800
    Elsewhere:
    $5299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Essential Dykes to Watch Out for
    Settle in to this wittily illustrated soap opera (Bechdel calls it "half op-ed column and half endless serialized Victorian novel") of the lives, loves, and politics of Mo, Lois, Sydney, Sparrow, Ginger, Stuart, Clarice, and the rest of the cast of cult-fav characters. Most of them are lesbians, living in a midsize American city that may or may not be...
    Paperback
    $5400
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • The Secret to Superhuman Strength
    The new masterpiece from the bestselling, award-winning graphic novelist and feminist icon, whose fans include Gloria Steinem and Laura Marling. A GUARDIAN, OBSERVER AND FINANCIAL TIMES 'BOOKS OF 2021' PICK A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2021 From the bestselling, award-winning author of Fun Home comes this Christmas's must-gift graphic novel. All her life, Alison Bechdel has searched for...
    Hardback
    Sold Out

More from Graphic Novels

View all
  • New Release
    Heartstopper Volume 6
    Read it before you see it: Heartstopper Forever movie coming soon from Netflix Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. The final installment in the bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel series about life, love, and everything that happens in between. Everyone in school knows Nick and Charlie. Everyone knows they're going to be togetherforever. But Charlie's busy with...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Warriors Graphic Novel: The New Prophecy, Part One of Three
    The next graphic novel adaptation of the blockbuster, New York Times bestselling Warriors series covers the first two novels of the second arc, The New Prophecy (Midnight and Moonrise). The wild cats of the forest have lived in peace for many moons—but when Brambleclaw, a warrior of ThunderClan, receives an ominous prophecy from StarClan that speaks of a mysterious danger, he...
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Lightfall: A Place Between
    In the fourth installment of the award-winning, critically acclaimed Lightfall series, Bea, Cad, and their friends continue their quest to restore light on their dark world. Perfect for fans of Amulet and Avatar, this next book dives deeper into the magical world of Irpa, where ancient secrets and adventures abound.After surviving a shipwreck on the Fuerre Sea, Cad washes ashore on...
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Tokyo Ghoul Complete Box Set
    Ghouls live among us, the same as normal people in every way—except for their craving for human flesh. A box set that includes all fourteen volumes of the original Tokyo Ghoul series. Includes an exclusive double-sided poster. Ken Kaneki is an ordinary college student until a violent encounter turns him into the first half-human, half-Ghoul hybrid. Trapped between two worlds,...
    Paperback
    $23500
    Elsewhere:
    $31500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1
    Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1 by Gege Akutami introduces readers to the gripping world of jujutsu sorcery and supernatural battles. This first volume sets the stage for an explosive adventure that intertwines the fate of humans and cursed spirits. In a world where cursed spirits, malevolent entities born from human negative emotions, prey on the unsuspecting, fragments of the legendary demon...
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2099
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • MrBallen Presents: Where Nightmares Live
    From the New York Times bestselling author and creator of the hit MrBallen Podcast and YouTube channel comes a vividly illustrated graphic novel featuring nine spine-chilling stories, based on real events, of the horror that lurks within the unknown. In MrBallen Presents: Where Nightmares Live, John Allen, known popularly as MrBallen, returns with another heart-stopping collection of strange and mysterious...
    Hardback
    $4400
    Elsewhere:
    $5500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Dragon Ball Z Complete Box Set
    Prepare for an epic saga as Goku and his friends face off against intergalactic evil in the unparalleled action-adventure-fantasy-comedy-fighting series! Son Goku, Earth's mightiest hero, is living a peaceful life five years after vanquishing the demon king Piccolo. Having married and started a family, Goku is now a father to a spirited young boy named Son Gohan. However, the tranquillity...
    Paperback
    $34900
    Elsewhere:
    $46500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Demon Slayer Complete Box Set
    Contains Volumes 1-23. Full colour. Double-sided Poster and Commemorative Mini-Book. Tanjiro embarks on the perilous path of a Demon Slayer, driven by a mission to save his sister and seek justice for his slain family! In the backdrop of Taisho-era Japan, we meet the compassionate Tanjiro Kamado, a boy who makes a humble living by selling charcoal. However, his tranquil...
    Paperback
    $29500
    Elsewhere:
    $41000
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • One Piece (Omnibus Edition), Vol. 1
    One Piece (Omnibus Edition), Vol. 1 by Eiichiro Oda invites readers on an exhilarating journey across the vast and treacherous oceans. Follow the ambitious young pirate, Monkey D. Luffy, and his eclectic crew as they embark on an epic quest to uncover the legendary treasure known as the One Piece, a prize that will crown its possessor as the King...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2899
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Talons Of Power: The Graphic Novel (Wings of Fire, Book Nine)
    For every villain, there is a hero ... Turtle isn’t one of the heroes he reads about in stories. If he were, he’d use his animus powers to help Pyrrhia - instead of keeping his abilities a secret, even from his own sister. Now that Darkstalker, the sinister and impossibly old dragon from Pyrrhia’s most notorious legends, has returned, Turtle...
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2199
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • One Piece (Omnibus Edition), Vol. 2
    One Piece (Omnibus Edition), Vol. 2 by Eiichiro Oda continues the exhilarating adventure of Monkey D. Luffy and his diverse crew as they seek to uncover the world’s ultimate treasure, the One Piece. This omnibus edition compiles volumes 4-6 of the beloved manga series, presenting readers with an action-packed journey filled with friendship, courage, and burgeoning dreams. Monkey D. Luffy,...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2899
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 7--Steel Ball Run, Vol. 1
    A multigenerational tale of the heroic Joestar family and their never-ending battle against evil! The legendary Shonen Jump series is now available in deluxe hardcover editions featuring colour pages! JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a groundbreaking manga famous for its outlandish characters, wild humour, and frenetic battles. Riders from around the world gather in the Wild West for the race of...
    Hardback
    $3300
    Elsewhere:
    $4299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.