Commute - An Illustrated Memoir of Female Shame

Author(s): Erin Williams

Graphic Novel

An intimate, clever, and ultimately gut-wrenching graphic memoir about the daily decision women must make between being sexualized or being invisible In Commute, we follow author and illustrator Erin Williams on her daily commute to and from work, punctuated by recollections of sexual encounters as well as memories of her battle with alcoholism, addiction, and recovery. As she moves through the world navigating banal, familiar, and sometimes uncomfortable interactions with the familiar-faced strangers she sees daily, Williams weaves together a riveting collection of flashbacks. Her recollections highlight the indefinable moments when lines are crossed and a woman must ask herself if the only way to avoid being objectified is to simply cease to draw any attention to her physical being. She delves into the gray space that lives between consent and assault and tenderly explores the complexity of the shame, guilt, vulnerability, and responsibility attached to both.




As Virginia Woolf does in Mrs. Dalloway and Christopher Isherwood in A Single Man, Williams’ narrative takes place in a single day, chronicling her train journey from home to her workplace, her day at work, and then the ride home. But within this ordinary day is a lifetime of emotions and experiences. Throughout every quotidian activity, Williams does a deep dive through a myriad of memories and past relationships; readers are made privy to both her witty and/or withering observations, as well as her painful regrets. Eventually, her thoughts focus on her pre-recovery alcoholism, then zero in on the sexual traumas she has suffered. Williams’ ultimate subject is the misogyny and female objectification in our culture and the heavy psychic and physical toll it takes on women. —The Comics Journal


"...[Williams] adds an eloquent voice to the chorus of stories testifying to the daily experiences of women under patriarchy. Commute is a book that really should be read by everyone."-- "BookPage, Starred Review"
"Williams is as unapologetic in this book as she is vulnerable, which makes for a unique, timely, and powerful read." -- "The Beat"


 

45.00 NZD

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Product Information

General Fields

  • : 9781419736742
  • : Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
  • : Abrams ComicArts
  • : 0.3
  • : 01 October 2019
  • : ---length:- '20.4'width:- '15.3'units:- Centimeters
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Erin Williams
  • : Hardback
  • : 1910
  • : English
  • : 304