Spent: A Comic Novel

The celebrated and beloved New York Times bestselling author of the modern classic Fun Home presents a laugh-out-loud, brilliant, and passionately political work of autofiction.

"Truthful, rueful and delightful."--LA Times

In Alison Bechdel's hilariously skewering and gloriously cast new comic novel confection, a work of sharp literary humor, a cartoonist named Alison Bechdel, running a pygmy goat sanctuary in Vermont, is existentially irked by a climate-challenged world and a citizenry on the brink of civil war. She wonders: Can she pull humanity out of its death spiral by writing a scathingly self-critical memoir about her own greed and privilege?

Meanwhile, Alison's first graphic memoir about growing up with her father, a taxidermist who specialized in replicas of Victorian animal displays, has been adapted into a highly successful TV series. It's a phenomenon that makes Alison, formerly on the cultural margins, the envy of her friend group (recognizable as characters, now middle-aged and living communally in Vermont, from Bechdel's beloved LGBTQ+ comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For).

As the TV show Death and Taxidermy racks up Emmy after Emmy--and when Alison's Pauline Bunyanesque partner Holly posts an instructional wood-chopping video that goes viral--Alison's own envy spirals. Why couldn't she be the writer for a critically lauded and wildly popular reality TV show...like Queer Eye...showing people how to free themselves from consumer capitalism and live a more ethical life?!!

Spent's rollicking and masterful denouement--making the case for seizing what's true about life in the world at this moment, before it's too late--once again proves that "nobody does it better" (New York Times Book Review) than the real Alison Bechdel.

Can a book about personal envy actually save the world?

• Autofiction at its Finest: Follow a fictional cartoonist named Alison Bechdel on her Vermont goat sanctuary as she spirals over her own success, her partner's viral fame, and the end of the world.
• Satirical Social Commentary: A sharp, laugh-out-loud critique of consumer capitalism, performative ethics, and the complicated envy that thrives even in a communal Vermont paradise.
• Beloved Character Cameos: Catch up with the middle-aged characters from Bechdel's iconic Dykes to Watch Out For as they navigate life, love, and the perils of their friend's unexpected fame.
• A Modern Comic Novel: A uniquely brilliant and passionately political story from the celebrated mind behind Fun Home, blending skewering wit with deep, existential questions.