Alison

Lizzy Stewart

From Shelf: The brilliant @lizzystewartart drew every book she read in 2022. Here's the shelf.

A visually stunning and beautifully written debut graphic novel of love, life and art.

AN IRISH TIMES FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 A GUARDIAN BEST COMIC AND GRAPHIC NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2022 A TELEGRAPH BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2022 'Alison absorbed, delighted and moved me with its quiet truthfulness' Helen Garner 'A genius graphic novel (but lots of words) about a young woman from Dorset who leaves her life to be with a much older famous artist in London. It's also brilliant on relationships, creativity and friendship (and the art world)' India Knight 'Every now and again a book comes along that is such a bright joy, so true, so beautiful and moving. Alison is one of those books. I loved it' Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist 'Alison is Posy Simmonds meets Edward Bawden - and really, what higher praise could there be?' Observer 'Subtle and deliciously complicated, this is a big book on big subjects, but lightly, elegantly done. I loved it' Tessa Hadley, author of Free Love Alison is newly married, barely twenty and struggling to find her place in the world. A chance encounter with an older artist upturns her life and she forsakes convention and her working-class Dorset roots for the thrumming art scene of London in the late seventies. As the thrill of bohemian romance leads inevitably to disappointment, Alison begins to find her own path - through art, friendship and love. 'This book is a testament to the right to choose your own life' Jessica Andrews, author of Saltwater 'A delicious portrait of 80s and 90s London and a more universal tale of a working-class young woman making a life in a world that has not been designed for the likes of her. For all its effortlessness [...] Alison ends up carrying a great emotional heft. It's a lovely book, and I cried at the end.' Guardian