by Maria Amador
HARDWICK — On June 12, around 90 people gathered in the Hazen Union High School auditorium for an evening with renowned cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Less a reading and more a conversation between Ms. Bechdel, her drawings, and her audience, the event centered on her latest book, Spent — a work of autofiction born of the challenges and idiosyncrasies of modern consumer politics.
Ms. Bechdel said the road to Spent began in 2022 with a sense that money seemed to be at the root of many issues plaguing the United States. Think: homelessness, disinformation, wealth inequality.
Even after Donald Trump’s first term in office, “things still seemed pretty precarious, democracy-wise,” Ms. Bechdel said.
“So, I thought maybe I could solve all those problems by writing a scathingly witty memoir about capitalism,” she said, this with the self-deprecating sarcasm of someone who has hindsight on their side. Her audience laughed with understanding.
The memoir would feature…
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