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motherlatesha 's review for:
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
by Alison Bechdel
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
I absolutely love the way this story was written. The way that the author uses moments from the past, fictional classics, and her father’s own passion for interior design as analogies, call backs, references is so good. Every time a chapter would end in a full circle moment where she connects her complicated feelings for a her father to some innocuous element that she introduced I would be left in awe. It seems that everything in her life connected, at some points a little too perfectly.
She also presents a complicated situation that she conveys to leave the reader feeling just as conflicted as she does. Through her vulnerability, I saw myself at times. Even when I didn’t I could empathize with her internal struggles and wonderment at her own feelings.
Although, when someone decides to be vulnerable you tend to see more than their soft white underbelly. Bechdel is blunt when displaying things of a sexual nature. Regardless of how you feel about sex and nudity, there are things that should be handled a bit more delicately such as children being exposed to sex. Throughout the story she is careless with showing this whether it’s talking about her dad’s victims or showing how her and her brothers were exposed to nude depictions by adults. Her casualty seems to be a result of her childhood. These scenes are a bit uncomfortable at the best of times and horrifying at the worst. It could be a subtle commentary on the environment she was raised in or she could be completely unaware of how it shows in the way she approaches and displays sex.
I actually found myself a bit annoyed with the scenes of her and her girlfriend which was surprised by. Some people have complained that her writing seems pretentious and I definitely see that when she talks about and shows her exploration into lesbianism. Self reflection can turn narcissistic since you’re just looking and thinking about yourself. Bechdel seems to fall into that with this entire book in general.
I still love the way she tells this story and this story in general was interesting and is something you just don’t hear about. I would recommend anyone read and contemplate the questions this book arises.
She also presents a complicated situation that she conveys to leave the reader feeling just as conflicted as she does. Through her vulnerability, I saw myself at times. Even when I didn’t I could empathize with her internal struggles and wonderment at her own feelings.
Although, when someone decides to be vulnerable you tend to see more than their soft white underbelly. Bechdel is blunt when displaying things of a sexual nature. Regardless of how you feel about sex and nudity, there are things that should be handled a bit more delicately such as children being exposed to sex. Throughout the story she is careless with showing this whether it’s talking about her dad’s victims or showing how her and her brothers were exposed to nude depictions by adults. Her casualty seems to be a result of her childhood. These scenes are a bit uncomfortable at the best of times and horrifying at the worst. It could be a subtle commentary on the environment she was raised in or she could be completely unaware of how it shows in the way she approaches and displays sex.
I actually found myself a bit annoyed with the scenes of her and her girlfriend which was surprised by. Some people have complained that her writing seems pretentious and I definitely see that when she talks about and shows her exploration into lesbianism. Self reflection can turn narcissistic since you’re just looking and thinking about yourself. Bechdel seems to fall into that with this entire book in general.
I still love the way she tells this story and this story in general was interesting and is something you just don’t hear about. I would recommend anyone read and contemplate the questions this book arises.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Pedophilia