Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel Graphic Novel
Fun Home was a very interesting read. The novel is Alison's coming out story (as a lesbian...moreFun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel Graphic Novel
Fun Home was a very interesting read. The novel is Alison's coming out story (as a lesbian) but it is also very much a story about her relationship with her father. It is not told chronologically, but almost thematically. In each chapter you learn more about her family and even though many of her revelations about herself and her father come in college or later in life, much of the book is about her childhood. A few weeks after Alison tells her parents she is a lesbian, her father is hit by a truck and killed. Alison suspects that this was no accident even though there is not tangible proof that it was suicide. After coming out to her parents Alison learns that her father also had gay tendencies. This causes her to look back and reexamine her childhood and her relationship with her father. She does not always paint a happy picture of their family. The 'Fun Home' was their name for the funeral home that they ran as a family business. For the most part, the book focuses on her father's life, death, and its relation to her being gay. She never felt particularly close to her father and he was not an affectionate person, but after coming out to her family, they shared a sort of secret bond. While this is a graphic novel it was not an easy read. She writes poetically in long prose with advanced vocabulary. In each chapter there is often an ongoing literary analogy to some aspect of her life. There are tons of literary references and quotes throughout the book. It is very well written, but heavy reading. I felt more like I was reading a novel than a 'comic book'. There are some very explicit illustrations and sexual references that make this book inappropriate to teach in the classroom. I would even consider not putting it on a bookshelf in my classroom. It would take a certain kind of student to enjoy this book. It deals with very heavy themes, the obvious one being coming to the realization of being gay and being open about it. It also deals with parent-child/father-daughter relationships, the effects of child rearing, and alienation. (less)
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