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The Secret to Superhuman Strength

By Alison Bechdel
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel is a graphic memoir exploring the author's lifelong obsession with fitness. Through engaging illustrations and personal anecdotes, the book delves into Bechdel's quest for physical prowess, examining how it intersects with her search for happiness, self-understanding, and transcendence. It's a humorous yet insightful journey that combines personal stories with broader reflections on strength and the human spirit.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This graphic novel may appeal to you if you're intrigued by an introspective journey blending memoir with a quest for physical and emotional strength. With Alison Bechdel's characteristic wit and insight, it explores themes of self-discovery, mindfulness, and the balance between striving for fitness and finding inner peace, offering both humour and depth. Whether you're a fan of graphic storytelling or seeking motivation through personal reflection, this engaging read provides a rich, multi-layered experience.

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The Secret to Superhuman Strength

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

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 an elusive secret...

The secret to superhuman strength. She has looked for it in her favourite books, the lives of her heroes, celibacy, polyamory, activism, therapy, and most obsessively, in her lifelong passion for exercise. Skiing, running, karate, cycling, yoga, weightlifting — you name it, she's tried it. "Oh, to be self-sufficient! Hard as a rock! An island!"

But as she gets older, her body isn't getting any stronger. And in a changing, sometimes overwhelming world, are "cantaloupe-sized guns" all a person needs? Maybe the all-important secret is not where she expected to find it...

The Secret to Superhuman Strength practically glows with a beguiling mixture of intellect, warmth and humour. (Daily Telegraph)

In this, her third graphic memoir, Alison Bechdel has written a deeply layered, personal story about selfhood, self-sabotage, mortality, addiction, bliss, wonder, and the concerns of a generation. This is an extraordinary, laugh-out-loud chronicle of the conundrums we all grapple with as we seek our true place in the world. Truly, a must-gift book this Christmas.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Alison Bechdel's The Secret to Superhuman Strength is highly praised for its impressive blend of ingenious storytelling and visual artistry. Critics commend Bechdel's ability to weave warmth, humour, and intellectual depth into a narrative that explores fitness, selfhood, and the passage of time. The graphic novel is described as profound, beautifully written, and aesthetically striking, with a notable use of colour that enhances its appeal.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780224101905

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 06 May 2021

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Jonathan Cape Ltd

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 24.0mm

Width: 198.0mm

Height: 260.0mm

Weight: 919g

Pages: 240

Collections

Alison Bechdel Education & Reference Fiction Graphic Novels Health & Fitness Health & Wellness Penguin Books Self-Help & Personal Development

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/

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