Passing for Human - by Liana Finck (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A visually arresting graphic memoir about a young artist struggling against what's expected of her as a woman, and learning to accept her true self, from an acclaimed New Yorker cartoonist

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Guardian, New York, Refinery29, Kirkus Reviews

In this stunning graphic memoir, Liana Finck goes in search of a thing she has lost--her shadow, as she calls the "strangeness" that has defined her since birth, the part of her that has always made her feel as though she is living in exile from the world. In Passing for Human, Finck is on a quest for self-understanding and self-acceptance, and along the way she seeks to answer some eternal questions: What makes us whole? What parts of ourselves do we hide, ignore, or chase away because they're embarrassing, or inconvenient, or just plain weird--and at what cost?

Passing for Human is what Finck calls "a neurological coming-of-age story"--one in which human connection proved elusive and her most enduring relationships throughout childhood were with plants and rocks and imaginary friends; in which her mother's creative life had been snuffed out by an unhappy first marriage and a deeply sexist society; in which her father, a doctor, secretly struggled with the guilt of having passed his own form of otherness on to his daughter; and in which, as an adult, Finck finally finds her shadow again--and, with it, her true self.

Part magical odyssey, part feminist creation myth, Passing for Human is an extraordinary, moving meditation on what it means to be an artist and a woman grappling with the desire to pass for human.

Review Quotes

"In its ambition, framing, and multiple layers, [Passing for Human] raises the bar for graphic narrative. Even fans of [Liana Finck's] work in the New Yorker will be blindsided by this outstanding book."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A sure hit for readers of graphic memoirs, this explores feeling different while recognizing sameness in others and making art while embracing being a work-in progress oneself."--Annie Bostrom, Booklist

"Alienation is both blessing and curse in this elegant graphic memoir of being the odd woman out. . . . Finck's whimsy acts as a microscope to better understand family, romance, and isolation. This story is as tender as it is wry. . . . Becoming human is a lifelong task--but Finck illustrates it with humor and panache."--Publishers Weekly

"Passing for Human is one of the most extraordinary memoirs I've ever read. It's a story about becoming a person, about creativity, about love, all told with originality and grace. An amazing, amazing book."--Roz Chast, author of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?

"If even for a minute, somewhere along the way, you've wondered whether you may have been uneasily zipped into a human body, you need this book, a magical, moving, twelve-dimensional tale of fugitive soulmates and fugitive souls. No one draws like Liana Finck, and no one enchants like her either."--Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra

"Liana Finck has crafted an inventive, one-of-a-kind memoir that's as heartfelt as it is unpredictable."--Adrian Tomine, author of Killing and Dying

About the Author

Liana Finck is a regular contributor to The New Yorker, The Awl, and Catapult. She is a recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, and a Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists. She has had artist residencies with the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and Tablet magazine. Her first book, A Bintel Brief, was published in 2014.