Lee Lai is one of the most exciting new voices to break into the comics medium and she has created one of the truly sophisticated graphic novel debuts in recent memory. Relationships are hard, feelings are difficult, and Lee Lai’s debut graphic novel, Stone Fruit manages to crystallise the moments of joy and sorrow that are all mixed up in everyday life and love.

To support the Guardian order your copy at . Over the weeks that follow, Ray and Bron take time apart to heal, reminisce, and reconnect with their families. Taking a leap of faith, each opens up and learns they have more in common with their siblings than they ever knew.Īt turns joyful and heartbreaking, Stone Fruit reveals through intimately naturalistic dialog and blue-hued watercolor how painful it can be to truly become vulnerable to your loved ones - and how fulfilling it is to be finally understood for who you are. Stone Fruit by Lee Lai is published by Fantagraphics (29.99). It’s not often that a graphic novel debut heralds the emergence of a storytelling talent the way Lee Lai’s Stone Fruit does.' Publishers Weekly (starred review) 'A beautiful and evocative reflection on queer identity, relationships, vulnerability and acceptance of self and others. As their emotional intimacy erodes, Ray and Bron isolate from each other and attempt to repair their broken family ties - Ray with her overworked, resentful single-mother sister and Bron with her religious teenage sister who doesn't fully grasp the complexities of gender identity. Their playdates are little oases of wildness, joy, and ease in all three of their lives, which ping-pong between familial tensions and deep-seeded personal stumbling blocks. Stone Fruit explores the awkwardness of navigating mundane problems as a queer adult after the sparkle has faded from the rainbow.- 'Women Write About Comics' Lai poignantly illustrates the sometimes futile search for happiness and the grace in being open to the changes around us. 2021 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 HonoreeĢ022 Lambda Literary Award Finalist, LGBTQ Comicsīron and Ray are a queer couple who enjoy their role as the fun weirdo aunties to Ray's niece, six-year-old Nessie. At turns joyful and heartbreaking, Stone Fruit reveals through intimately naturalistic dialog and blue-hued watercolor how painful it can be to.

Stone fruit novel