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.
About the Author :
Maureen Burdock is a graphic storyteller and scholar. She is the author of Feminist Fables for the Twenty-First Century: The F Word Project, and she has contributed comics to various collections, including the Eisner-winning anthology Menopause: A Comic Treatment; Covid Chronicles: A Comics Anthology; and Pathographics: Narrative, Aesthetics, Contention, Community. You can follow her work at maureenburdock.com.
Review :
“The rich, fascinating graphic memoir Queen of Snails addresses a personal history and heritage; it is a book that contains multitudes.”
—Peter Dabbene Foreword Reviews
“Burdock’s investigation into the history that has shaped her is a deeply personal reckoning, with global ripples.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A triumph of recovery and reinvention.”
—Martha Cornog Library Journal
“Queen of Snails is an artfully choreographed visual memoir that sensitively presents the tangled histories of places and individuals and the messiness of emotions and memory.”
—Sathyaraj Venkatesan Broken Frontier
“[If] readers aim to discover the bits and pieces that make up identity, if they’re hoping to discover how to fit into the world while making room for love, riding shotgun throughout Burdock’s bizarre, tear-jerking, heartwarming experiences serves as a wise place to start.”
—Alex De Vore Santa Fe Reporter
“Maureen Burdock has a delightful way of casting a spell upon the reader. It’s a slow and gradual process, much like coming from a snail’s point of view inasmuch as it is a refreshing way to see. What better way, really, to examine a life, especially when trying to connect all the dots and many of the dots seem out of reach or are missing.”
—Comics Grinder
“Maureen’s past and how it influenced her upbringing is complicated and sad but it is beautifully expressed in this book.”
—Literary Loon
“Maureen Burdock’s artwork is beautiful; you just wish to touch and hold those snails. Yes, one must dig deep to forgive distant parents and live with one’s history. But also to know and accept love.”
—Miriam Katin, author of We Are On Our Own and Letting It Go
“Maureen Burdock has produced a riveting graphic memoir that lays lush colors into subtle, grey-washed landscapes and contains both deeply considered essay writing and sharp dialogue. Queen of Snails uses surrealist imagery to illuminate an often-gritty narrative of a childhood struggling to understand itself amidst generational trauma and generational wisdom. Burdock brings us on an emotionally expansive journey as she searches for the elusive idea of home.”
—Justin Hall, editor of No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics
