Karl Kling's story is one of revelations, and these he has addressed in a letter to his daughter, Hella, who had disowned Karl many years ago. Karl's letter is a cri de coeur from a father to a daughter he never really got to know, and he comes clean to her about his failed marriages, his fractured family relations--and his love for men.

Taking place between the end of World War II and the 1980s, Parallel chronicles Karl's efforts to comply with social norms in order to keep his sexuality a secret. It also paints a picture of a life torn between conformity and rebellion, and the cruel realities of twentieth-century German society, where homosexuality was proscribed and punishable until 1994. Matthias Lehmann poignantly depicts the story of a decades-long yearning to live an open and free life, and the price Karl and those he loves must pay for it. It is also a story of finding the courage to finally tell the truth no matter the obstacles...or the cost.

Parallel follows Karl in a dual timeline: just after WWII in a divided Germany, starting his parallel lives (marriage, kids VS being gay when it is a crime), and in his first months of retirement, in the 80s (fairly alone, estranged from his daughter).
This is a very sad story. It is a story of a gay man in a time and place where it was illegal to be. There is a flicker of joy here and there and it ends in a more or less uplifting note, but overall it's quite depressing. The characters are not loveable (except for one side character or two), they are complex and do as much bad stuff as they do good. But this makes it quite an unusual story to read. If you are looking for something to warm your heart I don't think this one is right for you. This one if for those that want an unusual queer tale from an unusual historical place and perspective.
The art style is quite monochrome and stark throughout, the colorfulness of the left side of the cover isn't present.
Overall, this one wasn't outstanding for me - something never quite clicked correctly, but it was an interesting read.
TW: Homophobia (by individuals and police), outing, suicide of a side character

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and OniPress for this opportunity.

I just really couldn’t get into this book. The author has a really good story but I just personally didn’t connect as much as I thought I would, the illustrations are also wonderful.

*Thanks to Oni Press for giving me the ARC of this graphic novel through NetGalley in exchange of a honest review.*

Parallel is a poignant graphic novel about Karl, an old man who tries to reconnect with her daughter by sending her a letter explaining why he wasn't a great father when she grew up. In the letter he explains the difficulties he had living as a homosexual man in post-war germany where homosexuality was criminalised. The decisions made in order to fit in, to avoid trouble, feeling miserable no matter what, etc. Most of his mistakes where product of his fight with himself looking for a bit of freedom albeit living a façade, which lead him to constantly hurt the people around him to the point of being left alone.

This books shows a glimpse of the lives of queer men in germany after the war, where just like in America, homosexuality was a criminal act and men were persecuted and arrested if caught whereas women were sent to psychiatric wards to be "cured". Since Karl's life embodies experiences devoid of queer joy, i couldn't help feeling disappointed at first, however, with some hindsight, i think portraying a gay man who wasn't able to find nor hold onto a community of like-minded people, who ruined his life and others in vain, and overall never found requited love is also part of the representation of the queer lives of the time and thus deserves to be told just like other memories with happier outcomes. What's important is to acknowledge where we come from and how long we have come in some places where there're no obstacles to live your true self.

I'm gonna be honest, i didn't enjoy Matthias Lehmann's art. The use of watercolors for the enviroment are fantastic but i'm not a fan of the stylization of the people, i had trouble identifying who was who and the time jump between present and past made it worse.

What an important, yet heartbreaking story that captivated me from start to finish. I will definitely be picking this up for my College Library

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for allowing me to read and review this

I found myself immersed in the story which was somewhat heart breaking at times.

The only thing bringing it down for me was that some of the characters were hard to tell apart in the images and the time frame often changed unexpectedly.

I would recommend this to others.

Brilliantly hauntingl
Parallel is a brilliantly haunting coming out letter from Karl Kling to his estranged adult daughter, Hella. Karl is coming out in an attempt to explain his absence during Hella's childhood, and his deep guilt over it. Parallel's pictures and phrases are simple, yet hauntingly convey one man's memories and regrets. Karl sincerely intended to be an excellent husband and father, and finds himself emotionally inaccessible to its members because of his relationships with other men. Karl is constrained by the social constructs of trying to escape being gay.

We never get a full explanation of what event transpired that irrevocably shattered the relationship between father and daughter.

Germany's division into two nations following World War Two adds an intriguing llayer to this narrative. Karl and his wife separate, and she and Hella move to the other part of Germany. We learn that Karl needs to get the right paperwork and employment in order to reconcile and join them. Many novels exist that take place during the war and/or during contemporary times. Parallel’s setting is unique in that it takes place in the dystopia that was Germany following the war.

I personally did not enjoy the art nor the writing of this graphic novel. However I would buy it for my library as I think there would be patrons who would find it interesting.

Parallel was probably the most raw and heart-wrenching graphic novel I've ever read and will ever read.

Jumping between the present day and the years following the end of WWII, this graphic novel follows Karl Kling desperately trying to find his place in the world. We learn about the harsh reality of 20th century Germany where homosexuality was treated as a crime, and shame and punishment was enforced on anyone who was caught. Longing for a family and a home, Karl tries to hide and bury his feelings and desires by starting a family. Following the years of shame and lies, present day Karl is filled with an unfathomable amount of regret and loss and in an attempt to reconnect with his estranged daughter, he writes her a letter.

The artwork in this Graphic Novel was very unique, set in black and white and displayed an incredible amount of detail. The storyline had a grip on me and I couldn't put it down towards the end. The only problem was I sometimes found it difficult to follow and differentiate between the switching timelines.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read and would definitely recommend it to others.
The English translation edition is being published on the 13th June 2023.

Thank you so much to Oni Press & NetGalley for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for a voluntary honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for allowing me to read and review this beautiful tale of romance, hope and perseverence.

I think I’m in love with this story. It’s not so simple to read because it’s so emotional and heartbreaking and bittersweet, but there is also hope here.
I love this a lot. And the drawings are also beautiful.
I really hope to read more stories like this. Historical, but not all sad, not hopeless. I’m really glad to have to privilege to read this, so thank you. For writing this and for share with me, with us.
Memories of our community must be preserved!

Thank you Netgalley e Oni Press for the arc!

This was a heartbreaking graphic novel. The story is nothing innovative, but it still is very emotional and the setting and the illustrations make it be a very special novel.

"There are some days when I just don't feel right. I would just like to run away and be on my own. I want to be left in peace and not see anyone. But I probably wouldn't last a day because I just don't like to be alone."

Wow, this was an incredible read. Could barely put it down. We follow the life of Karl in post WWII, struggling with his sexuality and trying to keep his life together. Beautiful and heartbreaking, it was a difficult read at times but overall an incredibly important read and a great insight into what it was like to be queer at the time.

The final part really threw me, his relationship with Helmut and the breakdown of his second marriage. But the ending was superb. A fantastic read.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley.

Karl lives in a historical period where homosexuality is denigrated and this will affect his whole life.
We see the parallelism between what he was back then and what he is now, a man who in his old age was left alone and we slowly manage to understand his whole life.
The story of his second marriage is the most incisive one, probably the one where he made the wrong choices forced to repress himself by a society that could not accept him.
We manage to put ourselves in the shoes of both Liselotte and Karl, very often we wonder why his actions and we squeeze our hearts for liselotte.
I really liked this story, Matthias Lehmann did a good job representing a broken man, with his mistakes not justifying them but not even denigrating them.

Wow. This graphic novel was hauntingly beautiful, really raw emotions just jumping off the page with the truly stunning illustrations.

I had to take my time reading as it’s quite a heavy topic but I’m so glad I did read this.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the arc!

I sat down to start this book and couldn't put it down.
90 minutes later, I am left in tears, with the heaviness of a man's entire life on my shoulders.

Parallel is like a punch in the gut (in the way that powerful stories sometimes are), and it stays with you beyond the last page.

Being queer is a journey that isn't easy, especially in post WWII Germany, and this book is filled with moments that will resonate for a lot of the LGBTQIA+ community. Tackling issues as big as being accepted in a society where gay love is a crime, family and community estrangement, and violent hatred, Parallel also finely addresses the often hidden difficulties of a queer existence, such as the search for belonging and profound loneliness.



Thank you immensely to NetGalley and OniPress for the opportunity to read this ARC of the English translation.

This was much more layered and heartfelt than i expected. I enjoyed every part of it. It wasn't all black & white but has a lot of points to just empathise with.

I loved this book so much!
In “Parallel” we follow the protagonist Karl. I loved the concept of the 2 story lines that we follow.
First Karl’s life just after WW2 ; how he wanted to fit in and have a family and not be alone.
And in his later life; how he wanted to rekindle with his daughter after many years of not speaking.
I also very much loved the art style!
Definitely a recommendation!

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy for review.

I have read a little in the past about life for lgbtqia+ people in Germany under Paragraph 175 and was very curious about Parallel.
The story takes place between the end of WWII and the 1980's, Karl Kling has just been forced into retirement. As he tries to figure out what to do with his life he starts to write a letter to his estranged daughter explaining to her for the first time that he lived a double life as a married family man and he would seek men for casual sexual encounters. Karl is called out by many partners in his retelling for being selfish, he is far from being treated as a flawless protagonist, but he is also painting a picture of the toxic masculinity that he had to navigate through.

I would absolutely recommend.

4.25 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for accepting me to be pre-publication review of this graphic novel.

This book begins which our main character Karl Kling being pushed into retirement and at a loss for what to spend his time on. A longtime friend, Adam, suggests he tries to reconnect with his daughter Hella who disowned him eight years prior. Unsure, he begins to look through old photos transporting him back to his youth starting towards the end of WW2 up through the 1980s and decided to write Hella a letter. In it he tells about his failed marriages, fractured family life and his love for men.

This is a really great book focussing on the internal and external dilemma queer people had during the time. Karl so desperately wants to fit into social norms and hide his ‘unnatural’ - and illegal - sexuality, keep up the illusion of the good family man and be ‘normal’. There’s this big divide between what he should want, what’s expected of him by society, and his needs that feels great at the time but constantly leads to regret. This quote from the books description perfectly sums this up ‘Lehman poignantly depicts the story of a decades-long yearning to live an open and free life, and the price Karl and those he loves must pay for it’ and the path to accepting yourself in a time where you’re forever told you are wrong. I felt there was maybe a few too many rehashings of the same conversations and events but it didn’t detract too much. The characters were quite realised and held nuance despite not getting to know them all that well. Like real people, they make mistakes and have their good and bad qualities which Karl mostly being lovable - there’s things he does that are wrong I guess but the context and time period has to be taken into account, as well as attitudes in the post-nazi divided German states.

The artwork was definitely well executed and added lots to the narrative. It is consistent, a bit messy at times but for the most part it’s quite clear what is being shown. It wasn’t my favourite in all honestly but certainly not bad by any means. The drawings really helped in brining the characters to life and shows their emotions well which isn’t always the case. I also loved how as the story develops Karl and other characters age which was done well.

I would for sure recommend this book, I haven’t read anything set in Germany during this time but am intrigued to do so again. The queer representation and internal dilemmas was great and although not the nicest story is a realised account of a gay man dealing with the parallels of a life he should live and one he wants to live.