The Secret to Superhuman Strength – Alison Bechdel

I’m a big fan of Fun Home and graphic novels in general so I was really happy to see that Bechdel had a new book coming up. Unfortunately The Secret to Superhuman Strength didn’t live up to my expectations and as I write this I haven’t actually managed to finish it – a rarity for me with a graphic novel.

Spanning the whole of her life, Bechdel explores the various exercise crazes she has attempted throughout her life. It’s a bit of a tenuous theme, but probably relevant in today’s society.

My inability to connect may be more down to me personally than anything else, but it’s full of historical references about literature, poetry and the like that mean very little to me, if anything and these interruptions into the narrative made it really difficult for me to keep track of what was being depicted.

I’m still giving this a star rating as I enjoyed the artwork in as far as I got – and I may end up picking this up in the future, but for now, it’s a disappointing read for me.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.