Amazon.com Review
Daddy's Girl is a powerful book that uses a childlike graphic style to explore the adolescence of a young girl, Lily, whose life is being destroyed by sexual abuse. Drechsler pulls no punches in her depiction of incest, and many scenes are hard to read, but this book shows that comics can be a vehicle for serious subjects; the drawings pull the reader into her world more completely than the written word ever could. Drechsler's depiction of childhood is perfect, and there are happy moments within the horror of Lily's life. In one chapter, Lily and a friend contemplate suicide, then walk into the woods, away from their problems. In the last panel, as they sit eating tiny wild strawberries, there is a moment of hope which resonates long after the book is finished.
From Publishers Weekly
Drechsler's quiet but formidable reputation in alternative comics can be traced to a series of melancholic short strips dealing with the incestuous victimization of a young girl by her father. This collection includes those dark tales as well as others that relate the painful experiences of Lily as she deals with both the usual problems of teenage adjustment and the ominous presence of her father. In "Sixteen," Lily's efforts to be social veer into an episode of sexual degradation and teenage cruelty. But Drechsler's touching stories of familial gloom also feature veins of subtle irony and hope-laden humor. In "Helping the Poor," Lily's self-righteously benevolent mother insists the family deliver gifts to a poor black family, and the delightful encounter between the children of the families reveals Drechsler's knack for wit and gentle pathos. Her drawings are characterized by an expressive linear flair and dark, vividly patterned forms-a stylish and poetic example of nuanced cartoon realism perfectly attuned to these affecting, humane vignettes.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
