The Contradictions

The Eisner Awardwinning story about a student figuring out radical politics in a messy world Sophie is young and queer and into feminist theory. She decides to study abroad choosing Paris for no firm reason beyond liking French comics. Feeling a bit lonely and out of place she’s desperate for community and a sense of belonging. She stumbles into whatwho she’s looking for when she meets Zena. An anarchist studentactivist committed to veganism and shoplifting Zena offers Sophie a whole new political ideology that feels electric. Enamored—of Zena of the idea of living more righteously—Sophie finds herself swept up in a whirlwind friendship that blows her even further from her rural California roots as they embark on a disastrous hitchhiking trip to Amsterdam and Berlin full of couch surfing drug tripping and radical book fairs. Capturing that time in your life where you’re meeting new people and learning about the world—when everything feels vital and urgent—The Contradictions is Sophie Yanow’s fictionalized comingofage story. Sophie’s attempts at ideological purity are challenged time and again putting into question the plausibility of a life of dogma in a world filled with contradictions. Keenly observed frank and very funny The Contradictions speaks to a specific reality while also being incredibly relatable reminding us that we are all imperfect people in an imperfect world.