ISBN 9780618477944; hardback; $19.95.
Awards:
- 2007 GLADD media award for Outstanding Comic
Book
- finalist 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award
Fun Home is an autobiographical graphic novel set in Central Pennsylvania. Covering the span of the authors early childhood through young adult years, the reader is introduced to the dysfunctional Bechdel family who live in a restored Gothic Revival home complete with gilt ornamentation and leather-bound library. Although Bechdel narrates, arguably the main character is her father (whose full story comes out slowly, leaving the reader as in the dark as Bechdel was) who was an English teacher and mortician. Father and daughter bond over books and eventually through their individual experiences with sexuality and gender identity. Choosing the format of a graphic novel (the illustrations were all done by herself) was a perfect fit for this story and brought a little lightheartedness to the serious topic.
I didn't exactly 'enjoy' Fun Home, but I'm glad I read it. It's an intense, rough story that came off less hopeful and more just as a documentation of the struggles people can face who do not fit into the right social mold. Bechdel's father is a totally tragic character (as is her mother although she does not receive as much attention in the book) and the reader is only able to feel good that Bechdel was able to live her life in a more open and accepting society. Dealing with themes of sexuality and identity, the graphic novel portrays the experience many young people have while growing up and questioning themselves. Because of this, Fun Home would be a valuable addition for high school libraries (although the content may be seen as too racy by some) as well as public library YA collections.
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