is on the run, And then, she runs into Lou,
This chance encounter sends them on a journey through West Texas, where strange things follow them wherever they go.
The landscape morphs into an unsettling world, a mysterious cat joins them, and they are haunted by a group of threatening men.
To stay safe, Bea and Lou must trust each other as they are driven to confront buried truths, The two women share their stories of loss and heartbreakand a startling revelation about sexual assaultculminating in an exquisite example of human connection.
While they were all well executed, I didn't feel that the separate strands the two travelers fleeing their individual woes the cat the pursuers meshed very well.
The shift from magical realism to surrealism and back was a bit odd,
This might work better for a reader who has any associations with West Texas or is familiar with the landscape, but I have nothing beside a couple old country songs that make me think I never want to visit.
This book certainly didn't change that opinion,
I didn't find either the art or the story as interesting as my previous read by this author, sitelinkOn a Sunbeam.
A sorrowful and hopeful graphic novel that follows two women on a road trip through West Texas, both struggling to process and move past their respective traumas and grief.
Not much happens in this story plotwise, which gives space for Bea and Lous quiet and caring interactions to take center stage.
Their friendship felt like the softly shining center of Are You Listening, how they learn to trust one another despite their painful pasts and their stress on the trip.
At its strongest, Are You Listening serves as a poignant exemplar of the power of sharing your heart with another person, no matter how shameful or scary that sharing may feel.
The artwork adds an element of eeriness and beauty to the story,
By the end of the book I found myself wanting more: a little more depth in Bea and Lous friendship, a little more backstory, a little more processing of their experiences.
Yet I so appreciate Are You Listening for what it does offer, and I applaud Tillie Waldens sensitive handling of a plotline related to sexual assault.
Looking forward to reading more of Waldens work in the future and I feel grateful for a graphic novel that highlights the healing capacity of friendship, an undervalued form of relationship in contemporary society.
Bea and Lou are both on the run from something in a way, And I really appreciated the fact that they had each other to lean on, It's clear the two of them needed someone that they could talk to and that would listen to what they had to say.
I must say I really wasn't a fan of the magical realism part of this graphic novel, I felt like it was unnecessary.
Also, I expected something different from the ending, No, just pure love Out of the three parts, I read the first part, The illustration at the beginning was so amazing, However,the storyline is a bit boring and I really dislike one of the main characters, She sucked out all the positivity out of me, I feel sorry for the other main character, Not going to read the rest, ./Stars
I think this might be my least favourite of Tillie Walden's graphic novels that I've read so far, mainly because I just didn't feel as connected to this one as nothing felt like it was fully explored enough.
I loved the magical realism aspects but we got pretty much zero explanations, though I did appreciate the discussions on sexual assault and grief and I think they were done pretty well.
This wasn't a bad read, overall, I just think I might benefit from a reread!
Want more sapphic books You can find me here: sitelinkBook Blog sitelinkTwitter sitelinkInstagram This book will always have a super special place in my heart because I read the entire thing from start to finish at Disneyland lt
TW: sexual assault, death of a parent Are You Listening is a graphic novel about a magic, surreal road trip with two LGBTQIA characters.
Cushioned against a backdrop of winding roads is the budding friendship between Lou and Bea, an adult woman and a young teen, both running away from past trauma of their own.
Fresh from their own wounds, Lou and Bea's interactions show the tenderness that trauma leaves you with, and how it feels like to hold it, give it space, and share that with someone who cares.
I love the symbolism of the magical realism plot and how it parallels the journey of coming to terms with your trauma.
It a beautiful metaphor and it flows with Bea and Lou's journey, As they run further from their hurt, the roads seem to stretch on forever and they got lost, And more comes when they have to confront it, and eventually, find ways to seek comfort and solace,
"Are you listening None of this is your fault, "
I feel that Walden could have delved more into talking about the trauma, and exploring more in depth the complex feelings and ways of coping Lou and Bea may have tried.
Perhaps it was her intention to leave it lightly touched on, That Lou and Bea opened up tentatively and without saying too much to each other is definitely much closer to reality than the narrative that you have to pour it all out.
Overall it was beautiful, touching, and helped me through some bad times of my own, Stories like these make me feel less alone, Comecei e terminei a ler ontem a noite, ALGUMA EDITORA PRECISA COMEÇAR A PUBLICAR AS HQS DA TILLIE WALDEN AQUI NO BRASIL URGENTE!!!!!
É um quadrinho tão bonito visualmente e muito sensível.
A arte da tillie walden como sempre PERFEITAAAA!! A paleta de cores desse me lembrou bastante On a Sunbeam da autora.
Mas cuidado gente, tem vários gatilhos nessa hq!! A história é contada de forma muito sensível mas mesmo assim dá aquela sensação ruim de gatilho.
E tem umas partes meio que de realismo magico eu acho que são meio creepy, ./
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tillie walden is slowly becoming my favorite graphic novel author.
. . RTC. It was beautiful but I feel like it tried too hard to be too many things Tillie Walden just gets better and better with every book.
She manages to combine painful explorations of emotion and identity with fantasy elements in a way that no one else does.
TW: sexual assault described but not depicted Dos estrellas menos porque algunas acciones de las protagonistas no tenían sentido, de hecho, casi nada lo tenía.
Si bien
logré entender el significado detrás de los recuerdos random y los diálogos que en una primera impresión parecen tontos, faltó profundidad para tratar un tema tan fuerte.
Rescato el dibujo, que es muy bonito, y la capacidad de, como ya dije, hacer que diálogos que en un principio parecen tontos cobren sentido una vez que entiendes porqué ambas chicas están donde están.
.Stars
SOMEBODY TELL ME WHY I READ THIS!
The plot was weird, I barely knew what was happening at times, and and the whole concept was weird, I didn't get it.
Plus the graphics/pictures, were too exaggerated, DID NOT LIKE IT!
“Everyone, everything has potential for magic, You just gotta be standing somewhere in the world and in the body that lets you see it, ”
representation: lesbian MC's, MC of colour,
trigger warnings are listed at the bottom of this review and may contain spoilers
omg i loved this sooooo much.
Two deeply hurt characters coming together to help get a magical cat home and taking steps towards healing along the way.
perfection.
trigger warnings: loss of loved ones in the past, panic attacks, creepy dudes bein creepy, rape in the past, pet being hurt.
Full review: sitelink wordpress. com
“But here, everything is listening, The road, the cloud, the trees they know all your secrets, Everything youve seen is built by you, Which is why youll never see it again, ”
Are You Listening is a beautiful piece of magical realism, with enough mystery and heart to make it refreshingly profound as well as easily rereadable.
Id not only recommend it to fans of Waldens previous work, but also to anyone looking for one of the most original graphic novels Ive read in a long time.
For fans of: Texas, Road Trips, Ridiculous Talent nothing wrong with this book, i just didnt like it as much as i thought i would.
i definitely enjoyed the second half more than the first half though especially when it became more magical, and the art style was as beautiful as always!
“You told me.
You told me. That's fighting. ”
This was so, so intense, I didn't know that this had fabulist elements in it, so I was a little bit caught off guard by that but this was so powerful and well done.
I read an ARC, so I don't know how this is gonna look fully coloured but the first couple of pages were already so promising and in general the art is absolutely beautiful.
I could imagine that I'd give this five if I reread a finished copy!
Trigger warnings for rape.
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This was gifted to me by the wonderful sitelinkMelanie Want to see more bookish things from me Check out my youtube channel: sitelink youtube. com/channel/UCfer
I received a copy of this from the publisher in exchange for my honest review
After running away from home, Bea runs into Lou.
They set off on a road trip to West Texas, As the two get to know each other, emotional information is brought to light, Lou tries to be the mentor Bea never had.
This was interesting. Half the time I was a bit confused on what was actually going on, At one point I think there was a magical cat I liked the mix of coloured and black and white panels, I think it worked well for the atmosphere of the graphic novel.
I liked Bea and Lou as characters and how they each leaned on each other in their time of need.
the biggest problem i have with graphic novels is always that i never FEEL ANYTHING, there's so little to them, they're like a meringue, and honestly, who likes meringues anyway
but i digress,
at the best of times, a graphic novel tends to feel incomplete, this is only truer if that graphic novel contains two separate character arcs, plus a handful of very thorny and complex social issues, plus a nearinexplicable introduction of some very complicated magical realism.
basically what i'm saying is that i was incapable of feeling much of anything for these characters, because they never once felt developed to me, and also i had no goddamn idea what was going on for approximately a third of this book.
and tragically, neither the fact that it's quite lengthy for a graphic novel or that the art is very very pretty was enough to change that.
bottom line: no thank you, except to the art! to that i say yes thank you,
you had me at "lgbtq magical realism graphic novel with gorgeous illustrations and also it's a road trip"
thanks to first second for the ARC while tillie waldens illustrations remain as beautiful as ever, i found it difficult to feel much of anything as i read this ultimately, this story tried to jungle too many themes at once and couldnt manage to keep itself afloat.
i have, however, enjoyed other works from this author so if youre looking for a beautiful graphic novel featuring found family and tender sapphics i would highly recommend walden's On A Sunbeam lt
representation: sapphic mcsThis is the third graphic novel I've read by this author, and I think this is her best one yet.
content warnings: mention of rape, loss of loved ones, panic attacks
It's essentially a road trip novel, albeit a fairly short one with supernatural elements,
This is the story of two women, one older, one younger, who are both running away from home.
They meet up and the developing relationship is a delight to watch unfold, Both women are queer, and I so liked that the story did not follow predictable plot lines, I was rather confused by the supernatural overlay, but that cat was really cool, The art is lovely and wonderfully evokes the moody and somewhat surreal landscapes the travelers pass through, It's always a delight when you see an author start to hit her stride, and I look forward to seeing what she creates next.
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