Fun Home discussion

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Book Review
Summary
Before the summary starts, I just want to let the audience know there will be spoilers, so if you don’t want them, this would be the time to read something else. The book Fun Home: Family Tragicomic is a memoir about the author Alison Bechdel's life. They grew up in a conservative household where she struggled with her sexuality. The book is a comic, giving visuals of her life growing up. In the book, she lives in a house with her mom Helen and dad Bruce who are married. The family lived in rural Pennsylvania in the book; she often discussed the building of the highway around her and how it expanded over her childhood. Alison also lived with her two younger siblings, Christopher and John. They had daily chores as kids because they liked keeping the house nice and neat, which she and her brothers hated. The brothers were background characters, we only heard of them when it was related to the main character, and we only knew their names. She didn’t say any of their hobbies, what school they attended, or what they were doing when their dad died. The family business was a Funeral home, where they spent lots of time in the book. Alison and her brother called it the Fun Home, assuming that’s where the title comes from. In the book, she jumps around different parts of her life; first was her father's death; he died when she was in college; it was believed that her dad jumped in front of a truck and was hit and killed. After that, it was sad and tragic; she talked about her life and why her father killed himself.
Throughout the book, she has suspicions of her dad’s sexuality, and later when he dies, stuff comes out, and she finds out her father was in the closet and was having affairs with men while married to her mother. Also, the dad got in trouble for giving a kid a drink while underage. Her mother was an actor and was in college. She was studying her lines and practicing for multiple plays, and during this time, Alison got her period and didn’t tell her mother when she did. Alison felt like she already had everything under control. The author talks about their family dynamic and says they all lived in the same house, but they all lived in their own worlds with their hobbies and whatnot. Her mom and dad didn’t seem loving or caring, but they provided for their children. They seem to lack the emotions and affection they need to give their children. At the end of the book, Alison starts to stay in the same place and time, and she starts to show how she and her father grew into a relationship; they weren’t very close, but it was a relationship where they talked about different books. Her father even came out to her while they went to the movies. There was a part at the end of the book where they had a heart-to-heart, and it was the one place in the book I felt the dad had let his guard down. The author ends the book with why she thinks her dad killed himself and compares her life to a book she read in one of her college courses. The book was a quick read, and I enjoyed it.
Getting to the Good Stuff
The book overall was a good memoir; I could see what her life was like growing up in a two-parent home with little affection from her parents. The book's layout wasn’t the best; there were more words outside the comic bubbles than in the comic bubbles. All the characters should have had more to say for it to be a comic book. Also, I felt that the characters always lacked emotion in their faces; I am unfamiliar with the author Alison’s work, so maybe she did it on purpose. I do think the audience should see more than just grumpy faces. Her dad's facial expression is stern and straight, lacking emotion throughout the book. His looks were giving off bad connotations, such as mean vibes, don’t look at me just do what I say and stay out my way type of attitude. Her mother always seemed distracted by her work and didn’t have time for her kids. While writing her thesis, it seems like she would push the kids away as if they were on an escalator going the wrong way to get their parent's attention, but they could never make it because of how closed off their parents were to them.
The Illustrator only used three colors white, black, and greyish blue. I wasn’t too fond of that; yes, it keeps it simple and gets straight to the point, but for a memoir. She should use more color; It would have been easier for the readers to paint a picture and visualize the biography. The book's outer cover is elementary; it's creepy and gives off haunted house vibes. After examining the book from cover to cover, I understand why she only used those colors. It reflects how the author tells the story and how death surrounds it. Now it makes lots of sense to me.
The book's length was perfect because it is a comic, the reading is quick and easy, and the size helped. I didn’t feel like the story was dragged out; she made sure timing was everything; she made sure that she always kept us reading by her dropping little surprising secrets about her father; it was like her father was the main character instead of her. Her father seems always to be hiding stuff from them, but it had a way of coming full circle and how she found out. In my opinion, the author's language was a little complicated sometimes; you had to read a little and take a minute to think and sit on what you said. She was thoughtful of every word used, but her vocabulary isn’t for the average person, so you must read carefully. The language she used wasn’t for kids in middle school. I don’t think they will understand it or even be at the reading level. When narrating the book, she talks as if she is talking to someone having a regular conversation. It's comfortable for her, but it can be challenging to understand that she uses words I have not seen or heard before. You can find the book Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic in lots of libraries, and you can buy it on Amazon for $11.85, and if you want it on a kindle, it is $13.99, which I think is very affordable, speaking I am a “broke college student.” I would rate this book a 3.5 out of 5 coffins. I used coffins as the rating scale because a good portion of the book was about the funeral home and her dad's death. I rate this because the book has good parts that keep you wanting to read more, but what I am reading about doesn’t interest me. Alison's story was interesting; how her parents cared and showed love was very different for mines, so it was new to see another side of parenting. I can somewhat connect to the book because I also have a “coming out” story, but nothing close to this. I think many kids can relate to Alison and her memoir; that’s why she wrote it.