Queen of Snails: A Graphic Memoir

by Maureen Burdock

Explores the author’s family history in graphic novel format, examining the emotional baggage of violence, abandonment, and displacement.

Uprooted from her childhood in Germany and set adrift in the American Midwest, Maureen was raised by a kind but neglectful mother who loved Jesus more than her own child and a stern, disinterested grandmother who waxed nostalgic about Nazi Germany. Growing up queer and isolated, Maureen often felt unmoored and unloved.

Years later, Maureen reflects upon her complicated past. Queen of Snails follows Maureen through time and memory in her quest to untangle the trauma passed down to her over three generations of women. Part memoir and part family history, Queen of Snails is a beautifully drawn, powerful story that examines and transmutes the emotional baggage of violence, abandonment, and displacement.

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

233 pages, ebook

Published January 29, 2023

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Queen of Snails by Maureen Burdock is a comics memoir of her rocky road to identity, complicated by being neither quite German nor American, estranged from her family, sexually abused, anorexic and much more. Nazism! Queer in the eighties!

The snails reference in the title is to a point of view; hers is not a bird's eye vision, but more ground level, I guess. Or maybe right there in the dirt, it occurred to me. Tough story, with pretty steady misery--I don't recall she ever smiles!--though the art is sometimes lighter and lovelier than the story, selectively colored (what do I mean by that?!) or, black and white with certain aspects of the panels colored. It may be that because I am reading so much that I was not quite as engaged as she would like me to be. Hard times, almost exclusively.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, so?

I spent a couple hours reading about this woman's life, and I just really could not bring myself to care at any point.

Maureen Burdock's family comes from Germany. During World War II, some of them were Nazis or Nazi supporters. Her grandmother and mother ended up separated for a time in the aftermath of the war partially due to the country's war-torn condition and partially due to divorce proceedings.

Burdock muddles through life, taken from Germany to the United States as a child due to another divorce, this time between her mother and father. She lives with her mother -- an aloof figure, obsessed with Jesus -- in the Chicago area, but gets shuttled around to various relatives, friends, and even strangers at different points in her life. She briefly outlines obsessive thoughts, molestation, an eating disorder, and internalized homophobia but seemingly shrugs them all off in passing by exercising, being in nature, and taking up art.

The chapters are built around silly metaphors and stuffed with too many references to her symbolic dreams and nightmares. I think those are intended to obscure the fact that she never really did anything interesting.

Big yawning meh.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Prologue. Unmoored -- Part One. Queen of Snails -- Part Two. Whippoorwill's Requiem -- Part Three. Tumbleweed -- Epilogue. Reunification

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous deeply moving and brilliant memoir

This is unlike anything that you have likely ever experienced. The author draws you into a wonderfully intimate yet humorous storyline that will appeal to many of us that have love in our hearts, but may have been forced down a path for sake of conformity. There are countless perceptive observations of life- prejudices, religion, race, gender …to name but a few. Yet despite these serious topics, the author adds a touch of lightness, a little satire and love, to make you think about your own experiences. And maybe help to feel good about yourself- I know I did. You can read this in one sitting- took me about 3 hours. And then read it again more slowly. Each time I now pick it up, I randomly choose a page of beautiful wisdom. Bravo Maureen!

[Linda Felix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maureen Burdock’s ‘Queen of Snails’ made a powerful impactful impression on me. I was drawn into her beautifully illustrated memoir immediately. Having read quite a lot about WWII, I realized that I had missed a most important aspect - life after the war. Personal family trauma can be felt for generations and in many ways. As a person with mostly German ancestors, I was interested in reading about WWII; but now I’m expanding that to include much more. I wholeheartedly recommend Maureen Burdock’s excellently executed graphic novel to those who have similar interests and want to expand their knowledge.

[Karen Glazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. It had all the components: humor, sadness, adventure and very poignant. Also the artwork was exquisite and surprisingly easy to read. This was my first graphic novel and I look forward to Maureen’s next one.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionally good memoir dealing with displacement, generational trauma and abuse—and ultimately healing. Maureen Burdock is a gifted artist and storyteller with so much to say. I was enthralled from the very beginning.

[kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

a story of isolation and queerness, feeling alienated no matter where you go. very intriguing

[Holly L'Heureux · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a digital copy of this novel at the 2022 ALA conference The information was very eye opening in this graphic memoir. Some of the drawings were not my taste but that is really how things go with graphic novels. I am glad to have read it and can identify with the author on some things. It was absolutely worth the read.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this graphic novel has copious merits, it’s probably only best for committed fans of the misery memoir genre. This brings in fleeing the Russians post-WW2, orphanages, anorexia, within-household sexual abuse, and lives and families alike shattered by anything from religion to male hormones (if not both at the same time). Exceptionally well-crafted visuals do demand you be a fan of the very literal – someone feeling cleft asunder is shown to be, well, cleft asunder, and you’ll wish the creator had never heard of anyone looking daggers at someone. The theme of home, as seen by the most peripatetic family unit, and of finding yourself and your sexuality and your maternal line, actually manages to make sense in amongst all the Nazism and everything else going on here, so I guess that’s to this book’s merit. But I still felt some of this a little light on impact, and at no point did this grab me as a must-read. Three and a half stars, still, mind.

[Marc DiPaolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous, deeply moving masterpiece that is far superior to many acclaimed autobiographical comix (a.k.a. graphic narratives) I’ve read in the past. Burdock's story explores the broader wages of war and racism even as it depicts her personal efforts to use love, art, and self-acceptance to recover from layers of childhood trauma caused by generational family conflict, religious mania, immigrant displaced identity, and omnipresent (and violent) cultural misogyny. While all of these may be considered, to the unsympathetic-minded, dully "important" cultural issues, the importance of this work does not make it preachy or inaccessible. Instead, it is fairer to say that Queen of Snails is simply...great art.

Burdock reveals in these pages that her mission in life is to make humane art designed to reshape the world the world for the better. Assuming that is true, this book is a perfect example of that kind of art. I give it my highest possible recommendation.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.75

This was not at all what I was expecting when I picked up this graphic memoir. This was incredibly hard hitting and not something I would have usually picked up. My attention was rocky at the start, but soon enough I was hooked to the pages, unable to put it down. I read this over the course of a few months, picking up a few pages here and there, and then completely glued to the pages later on. The art style was also not something I’m generally familiar with in graphic novel form, but by the end I was enjoying and really “seeing” the story within the artwork, it did an incredible job portraying the authors thoughts and experiences. And those of her family, and ancestors. This really was a Family History report in graphic novel form. Both interesting and heartbreaking. World History was never something I paid attention to, however is something I’m learning more about now. I was grateful to learn so much from this graphic novel however there are many trigger warnings within this. This reminded me very much of my conversations with my own grandparents and learning about their history as immigrants.

TW: eating disorders, depression, sexual assault, abusive family / parents, displacement, WW2.

Thank you to Diamond Book Distributors for providing me an e-copy of this graphic novel to review. All thoughts and opinions are own.

[Taryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a dense, beautiful graphic memoir about all kinds of trauma - war, sexual abuse, migration, religiosity. This book is very emotional & vulnerable and will not appeal to people looking for a light read. As a daughter of German grandparents who migrated to the US, I am deeply interested in the ways that German identity is hidden, vaporized & demonized post-WWII. This book is an excellent addition to the genre of works only coming out in the past decade in English of the effects of transgenerational trauma while reckoning with the reality of the Holocaust. And the illustrations are beautiful & evocative. I especially liked the author’s use of metaphors such as the snail & its home to anchor the horror of much of this memoir in a reflective space.

[Elizabeth Serreau]

An excellent depiction of the influences of inherited family trauma on the self. Maureen Burdock has done deep memory work, going back to her grandparents' generation in war-torn Germany, to heal the scars of her isolated, bi-cultural childhood in the US. She recounts in this graphic novel, with the help of illustrations at times surrealistic, how her own mother's trauma and upbringing prevented her from showing warmth and love to her daughter; thus further deepening Maureen's sense of lovelessness and enhancing the emotional wounds she endures (sexual abuse, harassment) as she grows up in the US. The theme of the snail with a broken shell returning home to heal is a brilliant metaphor for this personal life journey, which ends up being full of hope and love.

[Seth Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an honest and beautiful graphic novel reflecting on lifelong trauma(s) and epiphanies. The art is thoughtfully rendered; the hand drawn style of linework and gently muted color palette reinforce the intimacy of the story itself. There's a deep examination of generational trauma and how it gets passed down, but the author opts for forgiveness and understanding rather than condemnation and that decision keeps a hopefulness even at the book's darkest points. It's an emotional and difficult journey but worth the investment. Stories like this remind us how human and vulnerable we all are, and we're all on a rocky, painful, exciting journey of our own identity.

[Deb Urbano · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author uses varied illustrations effectively to explore her family's history with a goal of personal healing from lived and inherited trauma. Mom was a very religious, very unaffectionate person who was left in a German orphanage for 3 years after WWII. Dad was abusive to Mom. There is a good deal of reconciliation between the author and her mother by the book's end.

Great use of graphic novel genre includes cohesive themes throughout. Snails are examined, for example, for their ability to carry their home with them among other parallels to the author.

TW: child molestation, eating disorders

[Harry Brake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastical, graphic, and grounded. The story from a European perspective, trying to maneuver and acclimate to an American immigration, amid bullying, anxiety from serious familial strife, whoa.

There is alot contained from cover to cover and yet, so much wisdom sprinkled in between when it seems the word is against you.

There are may obstacles presented to the main character in her life, often seemingly without hope and yet, the reader sees the rewards of hanging in there when hope can't be seen, and yet is right around the corner, and changes everything.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was amazing, and as soon as I finished it, I ordered a copy for a friend for whom I thought a number of topics might resonate. Maybe this book just hit me at exactly the right time, but the thoughts on childhood, families, religion, the impact of WWII and the Holocaust through generations, language - it was such a rich text. And the illustration style was just unusual and specific enough for maximum impact. I was reminded of Phoebe Gloeckner in theme and somewhat in style.

[Cam Mbayo]

I liked the image of home being a flame one carries within oneself. i learnt a little about an experience that is far away. & I really liked the surrealism in the art, it was wonderful.

maureen navigated a very challenging path and treated herself with compassion. it's the second graphic memoir I've read that talks about getting to a point of such desperation that one begins to count obsessively.

lots of information about post hitler ww2. it was my first time really thinking about the people who believed in Hitler & glad that that's something i don't have to think about often.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rough wallow through a sad childhood of abandonment and despair and religious zealotry. gThe illustration is gorgeous, I liked the exploration of snails as a metaphor and there is healing, moving on, and growing. It's a sad story about confused and mixed identity, feeling out of place in various countries and homes, within the family unit, as well as blossoming queerness.

[Pat Watt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exposition of family trauma through three generations during and after World War II. I found the first half confusing since the narration point-of-view shifted frequently without warning or clues from daughter to mother to grandmother and back. The cramped handwriting was sometimes hard to read. Not a very enjoyable read.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating memoir about what growing up as a German immigrant in the USA post WWII is like, especially with a Nazi sympathizer grandma and emotionally unavailable parents because, well, war. So much of this book could be used to explain the generational context of why Germany is the way it is today.

Plus, delightful snail art and easily digested bits of history!

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best memoirs I’ve ever read, highlighted by Burdock’s beautiful style. Vulnerability is key in memoirs and this is chock full of it. Combined with critical self assessment and a critical reflection on her own family history, Burdock allows you to know her, root for her, cry with her and watch her start to heal.

[ezra · Rating 4 out of 5]

a true labor of love (like many graphic memoirs), a story of looking inwards by looking to the past (generational trauma), some aspects of her story i personally wish were explored more in depth (self-soothing through connection with nature) which, in all fairness, isn't the main focus of the book

[Jill]

Found this in a little free library in the Jackson, WY airport and read it over two hours while my flight was delayed. The artistry was impressive in its detail. The author certainly had a lot of baggage to unpack in terms of generational trauma.

[Asheley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish this book. I hope the author has begun to separate actual Jesus from her mother’s interpretation of Jesus. And the cross too for that matter. A person should be able to tell their story without throwing Jesus under the bus.

[Leslie Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never seen a "graphic memoir" before, so of course I was intrigued. This book, both the writing and the illustrations are so very beautiful! I read this book on one sitting, and I absolutely loved it.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art work!

[Jennifer Van Oosbree · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is beautiful because Maureen Burdock bares her soul.

[Jared Raffan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burdock's examination of the events that have shaped her is a profoundly intimate reckoning with far-reaching effects.