Skamlebben

by Anne Mette Kærulf Lorentzen

Skamlebben er en autofiktiv tegneserie skrevet og tegnet af debutant Anne Mette Kærulf Lorentzen.

Skamlebben handler om Louise, der har det hele. Fire børn, et stort hus, en dejlig mand. Og lyst til kvinder.

Louise er 41 år og 'homo med forsinkelse'. Skamlebben er historien om hendes spring - fra kernefamiliens skød ud af skabet.

Anne Mette Kærulf Lorentzen er bedstemor, arkitekt og nu også tegneserietegner. Og så er hun 'homo med forsinkelse'.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Queer, Comics, LGBT, Lesbian, Memoir, Nonfiction

142 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2020

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this roman à clef graphic novel, a Danish woman finds herself in marriage counseling with her husband and an affair with another woman after a lifetime of suppressing her true feelings due to pressure from her family and society.



I was very interested in the premise, but the book frustrates with its meandering pace and the protagonist's constant waffling, cringey awkwardness, and deception.

And then, in an odd bit of serendipity, I saw this headline the next day:
Braunwyn Windham-Burke says she'd 'be heartbroken' if husband dates someone else after she came out last month

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, this graphic novel, book number 4 for the #Readathon was a dud. It felt disjointed and the anthropomorphized animals sometimes weren't differentiated enough for me to tell who was who. The scenes feel randomly strung together with no transitions. I thought this was memoir at first, which might explain the lack of narrative structure, but it's fiction apparently? I didn't learn anything about Denmark's LGBTQ community either. 🤷‍♀️

[Simone Hagemann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dette var ikke ligefrem den bedste læseoplevelse. Bogen omhandler et vigtigt emne, ingen tvivl om det, men jeg følte bare ikke rigtig, udførelsen af den var så god. Desuden kunne jeg slet ikke forholde mig til, at alle personer i historien er tegnet som dyr. Det gjorde bare historien/bogen en smule for distanceret fra mig, og hvad jeg kan relatere til.

[Alana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love graphic memoirs (especially ones about coming out!) but this one felt disjointed and was hard to follow at times. 3/5

[Maria Johansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louise lever efter bogen. Hun har fire børn og en sød og kærlig mand, som hun bor sammen med i familiens store hus, og sammen er de ved at planlægge deres kobberbryllup – sikken kernefamilie! I hvert fald udadtil. Men inde i Louise lever lysten side om side med skammen. Louise er nemlig til kvinder.
Vi møder en nervøs Louise, der er i gang med at iføre sig sin påspændingsdildo. Beskederne tikker ind på telefonen, for Anton skal hentes, mor skal ringes op og voksenlivet kalder. Da akten er færdig får Louise flashback til en barndom, hvor hun altid måtte bukke under for sin mors kønskonforme forventninger, og allerede her forstår læseren Louises påtagede heteroseksualitet og den skam, der tager bo i hendes krop, når der opstår uoverensstemmelse i hendes ydre og indre liv. Skamlebben er en graphic novel, hvor alle karaktererne er dyr med menneskelige egenskaber, der er med til at sørge for, at de mest tragiske scener tilføjes en komik, der løfter den tunge stemning. For stemningen ér tung for Louise, der er nødt til at bryde med det liv, hun kender for at leve som den, hun er. Hele livet har hun undertrykt sine lyster og i stedet gjort det “rigtige” og forventelige, og skammen over sit eget selv rider hende som en mare.
Jeg skriver meget mere lige her: https://bookmeupscotty.blogspot.com/2...

[✩☽ · Rating 2 out of 5]

the art style made it really confusing to differentiate the characters. the author depicting herself as a rabbit and out lesbians as wolves and alligators sure was an interesting choice.

[Raven Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

European mentality to sexual imagery, therefore, not for all audiences. This "late bloomer" finally came out to herself as being a lesbian, and this is a "journal entry" into the journey the author had taken. The MAUS like taking of animals into human forms is both a plus and minus. The plus is it gives a "separation" from the reality, but the minus is the stereotypes (one of the lesbians in the bar is an a "big bad scary alligator"). This is a "what is your personal okayness with this" kind of representation. Sometimes things can get a bit surreal and even at times oddly "off putting." This is not for everyone, but a strong story that we do not usually see.

[Breanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The panel where Louise goes down on Søs in the tub for the first time… that was so real

[Corinna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally have some time to write my review, I thought the story was moving and I actually found the art style enduring. There was some pacing/disjointed parts at times, but still enjoyable. Also, I'm glad for the representation of finding yourself later in life and despite all the obstacles!

[Topy.Loving.Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's the second comics I've read about a lesbian journey with anthropomorphized animals and I don't understand why they do that, as it doesn't make it more accessible. It's such a struggle to get into the story and to connect with the characters. Sometimes I even had difficulties to differenciate the characters. I didn't learn anything about what's like to be a lesbian in Denmark. Also the narrative was weird and off balance. And the heroine was really annoying so it didn't help to actually care about her journey.

[Anetq · Rating 4 out of 5]

En fin historie om at springe ud i en moden alder fortalt med dyr. Kaninen Louise er på vej mod et kobberbryllup, hun ikke orker fejre, så er der den demente mor, faren, der ikke kan klare sig alene, parterapien, der går dårligt og den uforklarlige lyst til damer... Historien er fint fortalt i korte episoder, absolut værd at læse.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art was... interesting, definitely unique. This, what I assume is a deeply personal story, is... one we've heard before. Narratively, it doesn't line up, but it's still worth a read.

(Do for the gays)

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just couldn't get over my dislike for the illustrations

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. There's not much to the story. The artwork is fine.

[Nora · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was fine, but there just wasn’t a lot to this story because it’s so short.

[Julianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I also started Fun Home on the same evening and both that and this book include the requisite cis woman's queer childhood anecdote of being forced into a dress against one's will. (Not unlike the way the stinky, shameful homecooked lunch is a MUST for every Asian immigrant story.) But for Alison Bechdel the dress incident is one frame in a jam-packed narrative that includes 5 other threads at once--childhood and commentary on gender and a lack of agency over one's life, sure, alongside the larger exposition about her father and his domineering self and her childhood home. For Anne M. K. Lorentzen the dress moment is forced to carry all the weight to show that the seeds of queerness were already sprouting in childhood.

There are other ways to be queer, is what I want to say. Femme erasure and blah blah blah. A queer kid chafing against a strictly enforced gender binary is undoubtedly stifling but I also want to tell the world (tell myself) that it's not a universal queer experience either. Not something that, without being able to lay claim to, should delegitimize one's own queerness.

ANYWAY. Lots of love to this woman and her family, and the compassion she's able to show her closeted, dreadfully unhappy past self. Sweet, jaunty renderings of animal characters. It's so thrilling to me how artists can convey so much with an arched eyebrow, a turned back, a quivering line.

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Full disclosure: I haven't read a ton of graphic novels in my life, so I have very little to go off of when it comes to deciding what makes one "good" or not. I enjoyed this, I thought it sweet and realistic. It was a super quick read, and I had a generally fun time with it. I just don't think I loved it.

The style of illustration isn't my favourite, which is 100% a personal preference, but that also means I didn't really take my time with it as I have in the past with other graphic novels. And because I read through it so fast, I didn't deeply connect with the character as much as I could have, and in general it just didn't have that big of an effect on me, emotionally speaking.

That being said, there were some small moments here and there that I loved or that I really related to, so I could definitely see other people really connecting to it. It might not be at the top of any of my recommendation lists, but I definitely don't think it's a bad book in any way, shape or form.

[Aida Celic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect example of how queer books are judged so harshly in comparison to straight stories that are basically about the same thing.
This book is messy and meandering and more of a stream of consciousness because it's someone's story. And queer stories aren't always clean and perfect, or inversely full of suffering. They are complex things with complete emotions because so are we. And I'm tired of people wanting a cookie cutter queer story that fits their preconceptions of queerness.
I want more stories like this, I want messy and real.

[Lotte M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the drawing style: simple yet very expressive with visual metaphors and details that supports the story telling. I also liked that the characters were animals, to me it added another way of expressing feelings as e.g. ears are used to express happiness or the opposite.
I would have enjoyed the story to be longer to get more examples of what was going on on the emotional journey of the author.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this brief graphic novel, a 40-something wife and mother begins to explore her attraction to women at long last. It was nice to see a representation of the complexity of coming out for those who are older and/or have already established households. The illustration style is really unique, with the characters appearing as anthropomorphic animals.

[Garrett Roney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a lovely little read, but may have benefitted from a little more length to flesh out the characters. However, this captured well the complacency of a life that feels chosen for you, the mundanity and the sadness of life—rejection, isolation, parents becoming a burden—so that coming out is that much more life changing.

[Devin Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have found out that I enjoy to read graphic novels in one sitting, right when I wake up on a Saturday or Sunday. I got a bit of a jumpscare with the first page, as I was not expecting something sexual off the bat (or at all!). For me, I just did not relate to the feelings expressed in the graphic novel, and it was a bit too surface level for a story I thought might require more depth.

Notes for me:
Next time I look for a graphic novel, something more lighthearted with a preferred art style!
DEFINITELY no intimate "scenes." Makes me uncomfortable.

[Aiden T. Rushing · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable book about a woman and her later-in-life coming out. Anyone with a coming out story will be able to relate on some level. And for those who came out well after their teens/early 20s it's a great read that will make you feel far less alone.

[Izzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was touching and an important delve into the complexities behind sexuality and life

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was not easy to follow and it was quite boring, is it bad to say that when it's an autobiography?

[jude · Rating 2 out of 5]

very disjointed and hard to follow. not a big fan of the art, either.

[kristen tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
i really like the art style and the story in general but it just didn’t resonate with me all that much

[Freja · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ⭐️: it was alright

[Felice Lam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storytelling with somewhat weird-looking characters which you might be into. We need more stories like these! :)

[Aklode]

Fun!