Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes
by Mary and Bryan Talbot
Publisher: Jonathan Cape
Out: Now
The Book:
Part personal history, part biography,
Dotter of Her Father's Eyes
contrasts two coming-of-age narratives: that of Lucia, the daughter of
James Joyce, and that of author Mary Talbot, daughter of the eminent
Joycean scholar James S. Atherton. Social expectations and gender
politics, thwarted ambitions and personal tragedy are played out against
two contrasting historical backgrounds, poignantly evoked by the
atmospheric visual storytelling of award-winning graphic-novel pioneer
Bryan Talbot.
Produced through an intense collaboration seldom seen
between writers and artists,
Dotter of Her Father's Eyes is smart,
funny, and sad - an essential addition to the evolving genre of graphic
memoir.
The Review:
Father/daughter relationships can be fractious at best of times.
Either the former is too protective of the latter, becoming
inadvertently overbearing and prescriptive or, conversely, too immersed
in work or personal projects and thus aloof and distant. It’s rare the
father that can tread this tightrope successfully. It’s this
relationship that Mary Talbot examines in her new graphic novel,
Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes.
Juxtaposing her own relationship with her father, James S. Atherton, a
noted Joycean scholar, with that of James Joyce and his daughter Lucia,
Talbot has created a bittersweet drama that will resonate with anyone
who has a parent.
For a debut graphic novel, Mary’s writing is incredibly confident and
assured. This may be partly due to her being an established, published
scholar in her own right, and partly due to the fact that the book is
drawn by her husband, Bryan, one of the UK’s most accomplished masters
of the art. Bryan’s artwork mellifluously transports us up and down the
timeline so effortlessly that we simply go with the flow. He very
cleverly uses highly simplified, full-colour Julian Opie-like characters
for the present day and Mary’s life story; a washed out sepia tone for
Mary’s post-war childhood; and finally, a more rendered reality in a
blue-wash to recount the tale of Lucia.
The majority of this collaborative
endeavour is incredibly smooth, but there are a couple of points where
Mrs. Talbot has to highlight her husband’s inaccuracies (such as how her
classroom was laid out) in margin notes. While this is an endearing
insight into the creative process, it feels like too much fourth wall
breaking to sit comfortably, instantly reminding the reader that they
are reading a graphic novel, rather than being engrossed in the
fascinating tale.
Perhaps it is unsurprising that Mary’s academic career has focused on
gender politics and power, once you have read this story. Being the
only daughter with four elder brothers; a domineering father; the
appalling repression and treatment meted out to women in the
pre-Feminism era; and that she had two sons; all indicate a natural, and
understandable, desire to readdress the balance somewhat. Yet despite
the obviously painful, and joyful, recollections, and analysis of her
relationship with her father, Mary never descends into mawkishness or
hand-wringing self-pity, and remains refreshingly clear of the mire of
the “misery memoir” that the book could so easily have become. Mary’s
writing remains constantly engaging, and brings every character to
vibrant, empathic life, as she contrasts her coming-of-age with that of
Lucia’s. Where Mary’s father seems distant yet authoritarian, Joyce
appears weaker, agreeing with his wife Nora’s more bombastic and
conservative views on womanhood, as both girls are belittled for failing
to live up to their parents’ expectations.
Thankfully, Mary’s tale ends
happier than the tragic Lucia’s, but both resonate long after the final
page has been turned. This is destined to become a set text for graphic
novel scholars.
I’ll confess my ignorance when it comes to Joyce, but this book
sparked an interest in his life and writing and I started actively
searching out further information, and no greater compliment can be paid
than that. Fortunately there’s a comprehensive bibliography in the
back.
Most fathers remain enigmas to their children, and it’s this attempt
to understand her father’s motivations and moods—to get behind both his
public and home personas, and in turn closure—that makes Mary’s writing
so intriguing. Like the title’s pun suggests, Mary Talbot is wrapping up
her father’s business, his memory and legacy. Dotting his eyes and
crossing his tease.
• This review is cross-posted with permission from the Comic Book Alliance web site: the web site championing British comics and their creators
• More about Dotter of Her Father's Eye's on Mary Talbot's official web site
Blogs/Interviews about the Book
More Reviews
"Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes is a fascinating addition to the
emerging tradition of autobiographical graphic novels by the offspring
of complex, often difficult, parents..."
"The book... not only educates but it inspires"
"Dotter of Her Father's Eyes will strike chords far beyond those interested in James Joyce and his
own creativity; but it will be additionally fascinating both for those
devotees and followers of Bryan Talbot, for there are insights to be
gleaned into the comic creator's teenage years when first meeting Mary,
and their shared trepidation of life under the threat of nuclear
annihilation."
"The Talbots continue the recent excellence in using the graphic novel
as a tool to educate of important social issues. Although the issues
are from a distant past,
Dotter reminds us of the urgency in women’s
issues and keeps the momentum moving along in the present and into the
future."
"Talbot’s illustrations show exceptional dexterity in moving from the
monochromatic past to the more colorful present, with the changing color
palette suggesting the changing social climate for women. Those looking
for a graphic memoir that provides an insightful study of how
20th-century sexual politics played out on the home front will be hard
pressed to do better than the present title."
"Talbot has a keen eye for the revealing detail, an important skill if
you are working in comics. She makes connections, but never labours
them."
"There are some very deft little touches where she comments on her
husband’s artwork – the fact her mother would have never worn a frilly
apron; the way he doesn’t segregate the sexes in the classroom scenes.
This is within the context of a wider awareness, from education to
ballet lessons to obstetrics, on how women’s lives were directed into
the 'unnatural. There can’t be many more frightening and saddening
moments in graphic novels than the account of the birth of a first
child, and the terse note 'without anaesthetic'."
"Borrowing its punning title from Finnegans
Wake, this compact graphic memoir mixes Mary Talbot’s memories of
growing up alongside her father, the irascible Joyce scholar J S Atherton,
with a biographical sketch of Joyce’s troubled daughter Lucia.
"The hazy parallels between the stories have to do with clever men being so
absorbed in their work that they neglect and inhibit the women in their
lives which, in the autobiographical segments at least, makes for some
forceful bouts of score-settling."
"I am still reeling from the impact of the combination of images and
texts, and this book had me both laughing out loud, crying, nodding my
head, and enraged at the prevalent attitudes of other people in Lucia
and Mary’s life."
