Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Alison Bechdel
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic cover
Good Books rating 3.0
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  • ID: 1866
  • Added: 2025-10-10
  • Updated: 2025-11-11
  • Formats: 3
  • Reviews: 3
Reviews
amanjareads.com · Unknown · 2023-08-22
harmful 0.00

The reviewer strongly criticizes 'Fun Home' for its pretentious writing style and harmful portrayal of LGBTQ+ individuals. They argue that Bechdel's comparisons and references are damaging and self-serving, making the book exploitative and dangerous.

The reviewer discusses their disappointment with 'Fun Home,' highlighting Bechdel's use of complex vocabulary and references that feel more like showing off than enhancing the story. They express concern over Bechdel's harmful comparisons between her sexuality and her father's actions, which they believe perpetuate negative stereotypes about LGBTQ+ individuals. The reviewer also criticizes the portrayal of mental disabilities as careless and damaging, arguing that the book is exploitative and self-serving. They strongly advise against reading it, suggesting alternative memoirs instead.

Quick quotes

    She compares her sexuality to his as though they are the same. She holds an odd respect for him as a gay person when he’s actually a pedophile. She is so narcissistic that she never stops to think that her words could do more harm than good.

brettmilam.com · Unknown · 2022-10-04
brilliant 4.50

This memoir is a tragicomic masterpiece that explores the complexities of family dynamics, identity, and grief with both humor and poignancy. Bechdel's journey through her father's secrets and her own self-discovery is both deeply personal and universally relatable.

Alison Bechdel's *Fun Home* is a gripping and emotionally charged memoir that delves into the intricate relationships within her family, particularly her complex bond with her father. The book masterfully blends humor with heavy themes, creating a narrative that is both poignant and engaging. Bechdel's father, a funeral home director with a dark past, is portrayed as a multifaceted character whose secrets and struggles profoundly impact the family. The memoir also explores Bechdel's own journey of self-discovery, particularly her sexual awakening and the challenges of coming out. The interplay between the absurdity of life and the depth of human emotion is a recurring theme, making this book a compelling read.

Quick quotes

    Despite the title, which alludes to the Bechdel Funeral Home business she grew up in, i.e., *fun*eral, the fact that, "Dad showed us the bodies," is perhaps the *sixth* most interesting thing about Bechdel’s life growing up in 1970s rural Pennsylvania is a testament to how dynamic Bechdel’s book is.

    The Sunbeam Bread truck is a brilliant, if macabre, motif throughout the book, not just in comic representation (little Sunbeam logos throughout), but in reflecting what the book is about: The absurdity of life.

    Grief is weird, though. Grief is absurd.

katemacdonald.net · Unknown · 2017-02-09
powerful 4.50

This memoir is a powerful exploration of family dynamics, identity, and the complexities of human relationships, presented through a non-linear narrative that weaves together past and present. The reviewer praises the book's emotional depth and the way it balances pain with beauty.

Fun Home is a graphic memoir that delves into Alison Bechdel's childhood, exploring her relationship with her father and her journey of self-discovery. The book is praised for its non-linear storytelling, which adds layers of complexity to the narrative. The reviewer highlights the emotional depth and the way the artwork complements the text, creating a powerful and moving experience.

Quick quotes

    It’s painful, beautiful, poetic and symmetrically chilling.

    The artwork tells more than half of this complex, shifting story, with frames repeated to silently show that yes, there was more going in here, in this particular exchange or event, than the younger Alison had noticed.

    When moments of comprehension surface in the small or adult Alison’s mind, the effect is stunning: word and image working together simply and beautifully to hit the reader for six.

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