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.