Comments (71)

Fun Home

a Family Tragicomic
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Nov 29, 2023bocalibrary_Sasha rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is a painful and poignant memoir that I had to read twice to really appreciate. It chronicles the author's difficult relationship with her father and the interesting parallels between their lives. The illustrations are simple but do a…
Sep 25, 2023jmbz38 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Finally crossed this one off my TBR and I was underwhelmed. An interestingly formatted memoir as far as the relaying of Bechdel's family history goes but this memoir may have just been too profound or intellectual for me. I shouldn't need…
Sep 18, 2023BashVacc rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I can see why this memoir is so popular and formative. Bechdel has a gift for weaving her father's queer story with her own, rife with literary references to connect them both. I would have probably given this 5 stars, but I am also…
Jul 04, 2023CareyMacaulay rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I read this super sporadically at work over many months off-and-on during lunch breaks. I don't know if it was because I could only read this in extremely short sessions but I didn't really get into it. I am actually sad about that because…
Jun 29, 2023impossibooks rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This title was what really got me into graphic novels. Amazing storytelling.
May 04, 2023
"-Beautiful illustrated graphic memoir about family secrets and struggles - LGBTQ+ - Lots of philosophy paired with growth/coming of age" - Raven P.
Jul 15, 2022black_leopard_152 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This is a graphic novel that will make you think. Hard. I loved the richness with which Alison Bechdel tells her story, and I think it's an important story to be told. I read it once in middle school and recently reread it last January,…
Feb 02, 2022betsymarzoni rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
I applaud the author for her honesty and for the depth of feeling that she was able to invoke. To me, the story of her childhood was tragic and sad. She makes a valiant effort to understand her parents, their behaviors, their choices.
Jan 03, 2022TheresaAJ rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This graphic novel by cartoonist Alison Bechdel details her growing up years with an emotionally distant father and an unhappy mother. Set in small-town Pennsylvania, Bechdel's parents teach English and run the family funeral home. Fun…
Aug 15, 2021susanbooks rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I found it self-indulgent and whiny. I have several gay friends, and one gay child, all middle-aged and very comfortable with their choice, so the lifestyle is not new to me. Tedious navel-gazing, repetitive literary devices, with some…
Jul 26, 2021shlby69m rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
For adults! Well done telling of interior designer/home restorer father who was also a funeral home director. lots of reference to Greek characters & from view of children made this so interesting I couldn't put it down. I'm neither gay…
Jun 30, 2021SPL_Emma rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
In this graphic memoir, Alison Bechdel weaves together her remembered experience growing up as a queer child with her complicated relationship with her closeted gay father. In Fun Home, Bechdel brilliantly evaluates the irony of her…
Apr 28, 2021JCLLizW rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Alison Bechdel is an icon in the comics/graphic novel world. Her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For gave birth to the Bechdel test which has helped bring attention to gender inequality in movies. Her graphic memoir, Fun Home, examines her…
Apr 05, 2021brentmorleysmith rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I loved this one
Jul 08, 2020
I was looking forward to discussing this book with my fellow bookclub members...and, then, Covid-19 happened. The graphic novel is without color. Is it drawn in grays as symbolism of the fact Alison Bechdel's life and relationships are not…
Jul 01, 2020lcarmody rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
A memoir, in graphic novel form. Definitely not a comedy, despite the title - but the title is ambiguous, isn't it? Does it imply that it is comic in a comical sense or comic in a graphic sense? I'd say more the latter. It also deftly…
May 04, 2020IndyPL_SteveB rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
An award-winning combination of memoir and graphic novel, about a young woman’s relationship with her domineering, emotionally distant father. Both have secrets – her father, Bruce, is a closeted gay high school teacher and part-time…
Apr 09, 2020atlbrazos rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This was the best book I read the year it came out.
Apr 05, 2020hjwwjxm rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
+ I love how honest author is about their coming of age story on gender exploration. - It's a little bit hard to read for me because there're a lot of literature metaphor and references
Nov 27, 2019alyshavictoriaann rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Smart, sexy, and solemn. I liked it more than the musical, and that's saying something! 5/5
Sep 18, 2019Chapel_Hill_KrystalB rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This title was recently included on a New York Times list of best memoirs, and while it may seem like an unusual choice given the format, I think its spot was well deserved. I found it extremely interesting, dark and funny in equal…
Aug 26, 2019Ms_Tiddilybops rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
There are so many layers to this story. Not every event is relatable, but a lot of it is: the way it examines the relationship of a child with her parents, the way it recounts the transitions from childhood to adulthood, the way we love…
Aug 18, 2019rlbeekman rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Bechdel is equally skilled at drawing and writing in this graphic memoir. It tells her story of growing up with a father who is a closeted but active homosexual, a high school English teacher, a funeral home owner, and a restorer of that…
Jan 15, 2019SnoIsleLib_AlyssaS rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Alison and her brother call their family's funeral home, where they live, the "Fun Home" for short. This graphic novel memoir appeals on multiple levels. Though Alison Bechdel's philosophical ponderings can be intimidating, they work…
Nov 19, 2018Lady_Librarian rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This was an okay graphic novel. While I appreciated hearing about the author's life and learning about her complicated relationship with her father I was kind of bored the whole time.