Booklist gives My Picture Diary a Starred Review

To read this graphic work without context provides universally empathetic glimpses of a wife and mother increasingly overwhelmed by home life, suffocating under sexist expectations. Her four-year-old son is growing up, she’s exhausted by endless household chores, and she argues often with her lackadaisical, withdrawn husband, who eventually admits to needing professional help.

The work is presented in two-page spreads: on the right, a deftly detailed, emotionally revealing black-and-white ink drawing; on the left, the weather with a succinct description of the day’s highlights. Entries begin on January 4, 1981, with regular, near-daily additions through the end of April, and then skip ahead to just four dates in May, July, November, and December, as if everyday duties left no room for creative expression. Fujiwara unapologetically notes in her afterword to the original 1982 Japanese edition, ”I realize I didn’t say a single cool thing about [her husband], showing only his bad side.”

For manga aficionados seeking deeper engagement, translator Holmberg, a powerhouse comics historian and professor, appends a not-to-be-missed illuminating essay reclaiming Fujiwara’s artistic autonomy—as a renowned underground actor as well as author-artist—despite being too long eclipsed by famous husband Tsuge Yoshiharu, considered the inventor of literary manga. Holmberg, who has also translated all of Tsuge’s titles available in English thus far, rightfully ensures Fujiwara gets a book of her own.