Everything is Flammable

by Gabrielle Bell

"Gabrielle Bell's pen becomes a kind of laser, first illuminating the surface distractions of the world, then scorching them away to reveal a deeper reality that is almost too painful and too beautiful to bear." —Alison Bechdel, Fun Home and Are You My Mother

In Gabrielle Bell’s much anticipated graphic memoir, EVERYTHING IS FLAMMABLE, she returns from New York to her childhood town in rural Northern California after her mother’s home is destroyed by a fire. Acknowledging her issues with anxiety, financial hardships, memories of a semi-feral childhood, and a tenuous relationship with her mother, Bell helps her mother put together a new home on top of the ashes. A powerful, sometimes uncomfortable, examination of a mother-daughter relationship and one’s connection to place and sense of self. Spanning a single year, Everything is Flammable unfolds with humor and brutal honesty. Bell’s sharp, digressive style is inimitable.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Memoir, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Biography, Womens

160 pages, Hardcover

First published June 6, 2017

About the author

Gabrielle Bell was born in England and raised in California. In 1998, she began to collect her “Book of” miniseries (Book of Sleep, Book of Insomnia, Book of Black, etc), which resulted in When I’m Old and Other Stories, published by Alternative Comics. In 2001 she moved to New York and released her autobiographical series Lucky, published by Drawn and Quarterly. Her work has been selected for the 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Best American Comics and the Yale Anthology of Graphic Fiction, and she has contributed to McSweeneys, Bookforum, The Believer, and Vice Magazine. The title story of Bell’s book, “Cecil and Jordan in New York” has been adapted for the film anthology Tokyo! by Michel Gondry. Her latest book, The Voyeurs, is available from Uncivilized Books. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
(source: http://gabriellebell.com/contact/)

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw Bell this summer a couple times at CAKE here in Chicago, once at the opening night at Quimby's, but I didn't talk to her because this book was on sale and I hadn't yet read it. I had read four other autobiographical comics books by her and felt like I was still waiting for her to grab me with an important story. I saw her a second time, talking to another autobio comics artist, Keiler Roberts, whom I will now forever think of in tandem with Bell, at Roberts's booth, but again, I didn't interrupt. Today, I would introduce myself. Maybe.

[Get on with the review, Dave.]

[But this IS my way to write a review of autobiographical comics, when I can. Hey, if she can talk about her life in a comic, why can't I in a review?!]

Everything is Flammable isn't just a kind of random collection of events as some diary comics can be (and Bell's comics, too, sometimes); it spans one year in Bell's life, focused on her mother's recovery from her house burning down, and with Bell's help, replacing that house. We see the fierce independence and mental fragility of both Bell and her mother. Features lots of dogs, bears, crazy men, nice and helpful men. Therapy for anxiety for Bell.

Bell feels very present on the page, very much like she is talking to me/us [it's a book, Dave, she doesn't know who you are! What about your mental "fragility," imagining the author as your special friend??!] and I read it all through like it was water on a hot day. She and her mother live on the edge of financial collapse, seemingly on the edge of sanity, but there's some warmth that comes through here in a way I haven't previously seen, caring for herself as she cares for her mother. Obsessing about her garden. Feeling somewhat pleased her mother's house burned down so she can help her for once, and also have a subject to write this book about! She's in a pretty good place in this book, overall, it seems. I smiled and winced and laughed. This is my favorite Bell book so far because of its focus on her mother.

Roberts and Bell are linked in my head because they both write honestly about their struggles with mental stability, stories of which I just love for what they reveal about them. It reminded me of my own early working class life, my Dad bankrupt, living on the edge sometimes. All those mixed drinks and cigarettes and my 300 pound truck driver uncle Lee, who willed me his gun when he died when I was 13. My own occasions with near-insanity, usually about broken obsessive relationships.

Here is Bell talking about her (earlier) work and process for 7 minutes:

https://www.goodreads.com/videos/1147...

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like comic book confessionals, Gabrielle Bell is certainly a unique voice in this medium-genre. I had previously only read Lucky, which was of the black-and-white quirky little tales about the artist variety. Everything is Flammable, however, is more polished in some ways and also more stranger in other ways.

It is in color, unlike many other indie comics, and has a beautiful shine which feels in contrasts to the personal stories within. This time, the focus is on Gabrielle's rather nontraditional family. It starts off showcasing her own life in outer New York, in the style of those familiar one-page vignettes. Then her mother's house burns down and she flies to rural California to take care of her. That's when it gets long-form, and interesting. And also weird. Her mom lives off the grid in what seems like a very difficult life and needs a lot of help, among some truly odd characters along with a cadre of wild pets. There are some off-putting people here and there, but the narrative is always told with humanity and compassion in mind.

It's a slice of life, simply told 'as is' about the hardships of these people, without judgment and also really funny. The humor is despite (or maybe because of) the underlying depression often beneath the surface. Gabrielle Bell is an experienced cartoonist who knows this craft, and while this particular book may not be the first autobiographical comic I'd recommend it does hold up as well as most.

[Paul Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe this was one glum memoir about a depressed-but-not-unsuccessful New York based therapy-attending graphic artist and her oddball also-depressed mother too many. It had that strong indie movie atmosphere that I like* but there was just so much gloom, I think nobody smiles once in the whole 156 pages. And there were several pages of utter inconsequentiality too many

- Disposing of a bag of smelly fertilizer
- Trying to figure out if they are looking at a star or a drone
- Buying stuff and talking to pretty nice salesmen
- Buying more stuff and talking to more pretty nice salesmen
- Being slightly awkward with people
- Mistaking a guy’s outerwear for camouflage gear
- Asking for advice about a cucumber plant infestation



And many more, that was just a quick random sample.

No offence intended but Gabrielle Bell paints herself as a sad person riven with social anxiety and finding everything a strain (except that she negotiates a complicated journey from Brooklyn to North California perfectly well, which I surely couldn’t do). Whilst she explores her relationship with her batty old mother (more offence not intended, but really, this mother would give anybody dangerously high blood pressure, beginning with setting herself on fire and burning down her own house) and other friends there’s a large empty space where a significant other might have been, and this is never alluded to. Well, a memoir is always partial.

I liked the bit where both she and her mother think at the commencement of this woebegone tale that she should make the complicated trip to California because it will give her some interesting material for her graphic novels. (And something to mention to her therapist.) But it turns out that burning down your own house can be quite a dull business.

Note to cat lovers : There is a horrific section where GB details the many terrible deaths of cats she has known in her life. It is like The Texas Chainsaw Cat Massacre. You have been warned.

2.5 stars rounded up because I am a nice person and I love graphic novels



*Half Nelson, Trees Lounge, Me and You and Everyone we Know, Old Joy, Stranger than Paradise, and so on.

[Juan Naranjo · Rating 4 out of 5]

La autora de este cómic recibe una llamada en la que se le informa de que el cobertizo en el que vive su madre ha salido ardiendo, y eso la lleva a hacer un paréntesis en su caótica vida para cruzar el país y tratar de echar una mano a que la mujer se reponga de esta desgracia. Abrir este libro es adentrarse en un mundo en el que impera la precariedad y en el que esta lleva, casi inevitablemente, a la exclusión y a la vida en los márgenes. Las vidas de madre e hija son muy diferentes: una intenta abrirse camino como dibujante en Nueva York, la otra sobrevive aislada de la sociedad y ayudada por la gente de su entorno… pero ambas lidian con la salud mental, los traumas y la incertidumbre.

TODO ES INFLAMABLE es una historia tremendamente auténtica y real. Tanto en el tratamiento descarnado y sin paños calientes que se le da a las protagonistas, como por el tipo de cotidianidad que se describe. Las vidas de estas mujeres transcurren anodinas entre recados, temores, cansancio y modestos planes que suponen una tenue luz de esperanza en unos días que, casi siempre, son grandes nebulosas grisáceas. Y en eso está su grandeza porque, aunque nos empeñemos en mostrar lo contrario en Instagram, es así como transcurren el grueso de nuestras cotidianidades.

Este es el segundo libro de Gabrielle Bell que leo. El primero, CECIL Y JORDAN EN NUEVA YORK, no me convenció porque me resultó demasiado fragmentario y un pelín presuntuoso. Creo que a la autora le sienta mucho mejor el formato de historieta larga a la hora de retratarse a sí misma, a su entorno y, de alguna forma, también a su (nuestra) generación. Muy recomendable.

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed Bell's work in the small-scale. There's a poignancy to her storytelling that hits me in my gut.

This is the first large-scale piece that really WORKED for me, though.

I'd heard about this book, and it turns out that my expectations were not quite correct.

I was expecting this to be a longform Graphic Novel (autobio, natch) in the larger sense. But Bell holds to her short-form style, and this feels very episodic, rather than like chapters of a whole. She eases us in, with a few comics (albeit full-color) that seem unrelated to the larger topic of her mother's living situation.

Once she got into the meat, I was riveted, though. Off-the-grid living is fascinating.
She doesn't dig as deep as my voyeur heart wanted, but the day to day logistics of building a home from scratch is interesting enough.

Pretty great.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice long slice of autobiography from Gabrielle Bell. Some of these strips I've read before, though not, if memory serves me, in color. Taken together, they tell the story of about a year's worth of time, during which Bell travelled across the country to California to help her mother rebuild after her house burned down. The book focuses on the relationship between the two women, both of whom have strong independent streaks and tend to favor the fringes of society. As always, Bell is honest almost to a painful degree. Her style is reminiscent of cartoonists like Debbie Dreschler, Julie Doucet, and Lynda Barry. There's a scratchy, dark, almost claustrophobic feel to it, though it's not a dark and depressing story. There are ups and downs, humor and tragedy. It's a well done graphic novel that will linger in the mind after you've finished. Recommended!

[Emilia P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moms man.
Bell explores the aftermath of her mom's house fire, her struggles to cope and rebuild, and Bell's own struggles to support her and deal with their past and ... lots of the tough stuff that moms pass on to their kids.

As both a parent of a wonderful, creative(probably a little pre-emptive of me!) girl and a kid of a strong-willed and self-defined mom, this was both engaging and hard. As it should be.

Gabrielle Bell tries to keep you out, but keeps writing good, emotional stuff, which of course draws you in....she's very much like John Porcellino in that right, and both...are fascinating, and frustrating, and the more I read of her, the more I want to read. This is no exception.

[Emmkay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked this melancholy little graphic memoir, although as a cat person, I could have done without a gruesome few pages about the rather awful ways the author’s childhood cats met their various ends. Focuses on the author’s relationship with her mom, who lives a somewhat marginal rural existence, made all the more so when her place burns down and she moves into a trailer without indoor plumbing. There’s a guy on the property who’s recently out of jail, a lot of dogs, another young guy next door who likes to shoot his AK-47, and some unfinished business between mother and daughter. It was poignant and witty, and I appreciated it. 3.5.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the second half much better than the first, although I am not sure if that’s due to the subjects discussed, getting to know Bell, or a mixture.

Bell lives in New York City, while her mother lives in Ukiah, CA with a population under 20,000. Her mother’s home is lost in a fire and much of the story is about recovering from that.

Very slice of life, although one that has been doing work to overcome traumas. I appreciated the female familial relationships (daughter, mother, grandmother), interesting and meaningful friends, the open talk of mental health and honest feelings, covering the use and frustrations of bureaucratic aide in both states, the commentary on glamour. I also related to Bell not driving and have also ridden Amtrak trains and buses and BART; she mentioned ‘the crazies’ on BART and have to wonder how it compares to the NYC metro.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gem of a book

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

b&w advance - Solid, but failed to reverberate with me in a truly memorable way. I think Bell does a good job capturing the relations - things said and unsaid - between the characters, but the primitive art sometimes makes it hard to distinguish people, and the focus on mundane aspects of the rebuild lacks emotion. I felt those aspects could've been portrayed more dynamically or tied to the relationships in some way, but the process-oriented aspect of the rebuild fell flat for me.

[Tante Tzvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mother-and-daughter relationship, mental health, financial struggles, living in the margin of society, living off the grit, good and bad relationships, dogs and cats and even a few bears - and add to that an intense way of storytelling that grips you (I had to put the book aside a few times). Recommended!

[KWinks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone on the back of this book describes it as a "raw nerve" and could not agree more. I found myself getting anxious while reading this and had to put it down. That's not to say it's not awesome and interesting, it totally is! Bell's mom lives off-grid and this is the story of how she rebuilds after a fire. I had a hard time with the treatment of the animals in the book, Ghost Cats especially kind of ripped my heart out and stomped it into the floor. I will never understand animal cruelty.

I want to read more of Bell's work.
That said, I have one big negative about the book and it has everything to do with the construction of it. The panels were too small. There were times when I found myself removing my glasses and squinting at the print. They should have made the panels larger or the book itself larger or something.

[Sierra Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving, awkward (intentionally), and often difficult. A really compelling family story.

That said, $38 for a thin hardcover is insane. I'm glad I borrowed this from the library.

[Rachel Drrmrmrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this but I felt myself reading through it too quickly at times. Still, I really liked this. A little sad, a little dark, a little self indulgent. Perfect.

[Kate Atherton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Gabrielle Bell's finest work, or most compatible with me and my desires for her work....Everything is Flammable is a collection of clear, perfectly written, real to life stories about the period of time the artist is helping her mother relocate to a new cabin after her cabin in the woods burns down. It effortlessly transitions from family memories to current scenes of stove shopping, back to Gabrielle and her friends (familiar to the reader from her other works) and her obsession with her planter garden...It all fits together, it's all her real life! My favorite scenes are those with Gus, her mother's semi-menacing but ultimately sweet and caring ex-con neighbor who helps her build her cabin but pisses her off often. I must admit I selfishly enjoy this work because it's a Gabrielle Bell book not really at all about WRITING comics for itself - it's ALL conversations, all so real and rich to read. I remembered liking this book from the first time I read it but, in re-reading it, it holds up to my memories and has even more to offer that, I hope in a way I won't remember so it will feel like I am reading it for the first time AGAIN.

[Juju · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you examine several raw nerves simultaneously with objective wit and insight? This is how. Gabrielle Bell uses the experience of her mother suddenly losing her home in an accidental fire to dig into their problematic relationship, her dynamics with some of her friends, the weird folks she meets when visiting her mom to help her, her internet addiction and financial worries, and her anxious adventures in container gardening. Taken together these reflections are a humorous, unflattering, and highly relatable portrait that shows empathy for all these strange characters.

I give Bell credit for not trying to wrap this story up with false reconciliation or grand insight, because the late-night conversation with her grandmother near the end is some cringe-worthy shit. And yea, Gabrielle Bell crafts these unassuming panels into a memoir/novel-like meditation on our fragile existence, but you can also just read the hilarious Ferilizer Saga in the first 20 pages and come away satisfied.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gabrielle Bell and her mother have had difficult lives, and neither one of them apologizes for that. Bell's unflinching honesty and ability to reflect on her struggles with family relationships and mental health are admirable. They were a little difficult for me to read - I think just because I related to her so much. She has an ability to slow down and capture her thoughts in a way I never seem able to, and it's a little anxiety-inducing for me to see those trains of thought written out so clearly when I usually do my best to distract myself from them.

It's a great slice of nonfiction, though it feels a little disjointed at times - but then again, so is life. I've been thinking about it off and on since I finished it, which is always a good sign. I'm going to have to revisit this one in a few months.

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced readers copy, since I'm working on an essay involving Bell's work. This is being framed as Bell's first sustained graphic memoir, but the structure of the book -- it's short segments, especially -- isn't much different from her previous works. There is a primary narrative line, though, one involving her mother and Bell's efforts to help her get back on her feet after an accident.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those graphic novels that makes me wonder if graphic novels become acclaimed simply because they're written by pretentious people doing hipster things. Bell's novel was just about the most disjointed, boring memoir I've read in some time. It recounts boring people (her mom, friends, acquaintances) doing boring things. I'm not sure if it was meant to be as random as it was, but overall I feel like I wasted my time reading this.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's, well, it's not exactly a "fun" graphic novel. The style, softly, organically rumpled, with an intentionally drab palette. The paneling, always, always, six to a page. Of the panels, there will be six. Six is their number.

There are no superheroes or action or murder or drama.

But that don't matter none. Bell's memoir was just so very real. Those panels are her life, and they live and fret and sigh with complete authenticity. "Delicious cringe," promised the estimable Patton Oswalt in his blurb, but I found myself respectfully disagreeing.

I did not cringe. There was pain, but it was a softer pain. Awkwardness, but not in the manufactured Lemon Number 3 way of so much modern comedy. It was too alive for that.

Intimate and wistful. A four point four.

[Ali E9 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything is Flammable by Gabrielle Bell is worth reading for many reasons, but I have to highlight one short story in it—"Ghost Cat’s"—which is one of the best graphic nonfiction short stories I’ve ever come across. Honestly, just for that story alone, this book is highly recommended.

Overall, this partial memoir—presumably covering a year of Gabrielle’s life—captures so many human moments. Bell lays bare her vulnerabilities and the dysfunctions in her family with an honesty that feels rare. It’s like knowing someone casually and then having them suddenly open up to you. There’s a purity here I can’t quite explain yet. I’m looking forward to reading more from her.

[lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I was put off by the blurry pictures, and the cramped panels, but once I got into the story I found I liked this a lot. There is a matter of fact honesty in Bell's depiction of her mother's life, and her own. As someone who knows people who fight fires in Northern California every year, I appreciated this look into the life of someone who is affected by these fires. The story of Bell's relationship to her mother was harder to read, but since I didn't find she dwelled too incessantly on it, I could appreciate how difficult it must have been to grow up in her situation, with her mother.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent. This is a truly wonderful autobiographical piece of work. I’ve been a fan of Bell’s for years mostly reading her in anthologies (MOME, The Best American Comics)Everything is Flammable digs deeply into the complex relationship between a mother and daughter. At times I feel the grown daughter is raising the mother as they struggle through a series of life issues. The artwork is beautifully rendered and the writing is precise and interesting. 5/5

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book just wasn't for me. We picked it for comic book club, and I'm happy I finished because I think it'll make for interesting discussion. I got some bad news halfway through reading, so I wasn't in a great headspace and might have felt differently otherwise, but I don't think I'll be revisiting it.

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual, because the author's mother lives "off the grid." What some people would consider intolerable seems to work for her. Bell interviews people which make up a good part of most of the book.

Quirky, and a little weird, and somewhat disconcerting with all of the black that she uses in her illustrations.Still, there is something compelling about her work. I will look for more books by her.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

More so than The Voyeurs, I liked that the bulk of this book was a single story, that of Gabrielle helping her mother get settled in a new house after her mother's former house gets destroyed in a fire. It's a nice combination of the narrative and diary format and I was drawn more to Gabrielle's character more in this one. Excellent! I want to read more!

[Akira · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5🌟🌟🌟.💫I liked how raw and honest she was as well as how open she was w/her issues. I thought the artistry was just okay. I just felt it was missing direction, and didn’t transition very smoothly. Overall I did enjoy it for the most part 🙂

[julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

lo cogí de la biblio sin haber oído nada de la autora, pero me ha encantado. el estilo bebe mucho de crumb pero sigue siendo muy único y estructura sus recuerdos a forma de crónica cercana e informal. te zambulle en las experiencias de bell y consigue retratar a su familia y amigos de una forma muy honesta y divertida. los rasgos estilísticos también me parecen originales y bonitos y, sobre todo, muy únicos. leeré más de ella.

[Hannah Garden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gabrielle Bell makes what appear to me to be the platonic ideal of comics. Her books are as satisfying as a sandwich to sink your pointy little lonesome-hearted teefs into and I love them to bloody shreds.