A review of the 2021 book by Lee Lai, “Stone Fruit,” for inclusion in ARLIS/NA's 2021 Notable Graphic Novels Review

Lauren Scanlon

Nicole Santiago

Tara Spies Smith

English

Humanities Commons

ARLIS/NA Notable Graphic Novels Rev iew (NGNR) arlisna.org/notable-graphic-novels-review An annual publication celebrating the craft of sequential art, featuring titles nominated and reviewed by art information professionals.  This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. Review: Stone Fruit by Lee Lai. Fantagraphics, May 2021. 236 p. ill. ISBN 978-1683964261 (h/c), $24.99.  Lauren Scanlon, Instructional Designer, MERIT/School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Reviewed July 2022  Stone Fruit opens windows into the private lives of two women. Ray and Bron are rich characters whose stories are told almost entirely through dialogue and image. They grapple, sometimes silently, with the vulnerable dynamics of their own intimate relationship in a larger context of trans- and homophobia, racism, queer childcare, sisterhood, family systems, cross-cultural religious ideologies, personal identity, and belonging. We learn about them as they learn about themselves; we observe as they navigate complicated boundaries with the people closest to them.    As the novel opens, we see Ray and Bron with Nessie, Ray’s young niece. The three characters are on a hunt; they are fluid and wild. Their feral state in these opening scenes stands in stark contrast to the emotionally distant and halting interactions we observe as the story moves forward. Throughout the novel, Lai uses a constrained blue-gray palette to explore the challenges of being in relationship to self and others. Her detailed panels have a film-like quality and her brilliant line work carries us - and her characters - through states of being that no words can describe.     While cartoonist Lai’s work has been featured in The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, and Vice Magazine, Stone Fruit is their debut full length graphic novel. Stone Fruit will be an excellent addition to any library, but is a must-have for collections with an emphasis on queer and transgender narratives.     

Review: Stone Fruit

https://hcommons.org/deposits/download/hc:48578/CONTENT/scanlon_stonefruit.pdf/

Review: Stone Fruit

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