Reviewed by annieb123 on
The Secret to Superhuman Strength is an engaging and accessible stream-of-consciousness philosophical memoir by Alison Bechdel. Released 4th May 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it's 240 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats.
I've been a fan of the author's work for decades and really looked forward to this latest slice-of-life intimate and casual look into her lifelong interest in personal strength, training, and physical fitness as it's impacted (mostly) American life in the last 6 decades (with brief forays into previous centuries). As always, her personal internal reflection and laser focus are interesting and relevant.
The author and I are of an age (she's a couple of years older), but the commercials, programs, and attitudes from media and the lifestyles she highlights are -absolutely- spot on. There's a palpable honesty in her work in general and this one is no exception.
The artwork is spare, subtle, and expressive; much like her work on Fun Home and DTWOF. The points she makes discussing fitness are salient and interesting, but it's the side points, the observations she makes about human nature and life in general which are really illuminating.
This would be a good selection for library acquisition, fans of modern memoir/culture commentary, and I can also see it being an appropriate choice for inclusion as support literature for subjects such as gender studies, American culture, sociology, and similar.
Five stars. She has a lot of relevant things to say and does so in an engaging and honest manner.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 9 May, 2021: Finished reading
- 9 May, 2021: Reviewed