Permalink

Alison Bechdel: Fun Home

bechdel

“If David Sedaris could draw, and if Bleak House had been a little funnier, you’d have Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home.”

— Amy Bloom, author of A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You

Do yourself a huge favour: Read Alison Bechdel‘s superb comic book biography “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (link goes to Amazon.com).

I just finished it, and it is entirely deserving of the accolades it has been receiving. I kept wanting to read the whole book in one uninterrupted sitting, but every page is so wonderfully rich in both story and artwork, that I found myself putting it down after only a few pages and nearly feeling like I needed to catch my breath. And no, not because I’m gay and she’s gay, but because with just a few deceptively simple panels and an economy of line and art, Bechdel achieves an intensity in her storytelling where most novelists would need half a chapter.

There is a lot more on the book here, including excerpts and an audio interview, as well as far more well-written praise than I’m capable of.

Alison even has a short video of herself explaining her drawing process on her MySpace page which I can’t directly paste here because, you know… uh… MySpace.

By the way, if Alison’s name sounds familiar, you may know her from her popular and long-running weekly strip “Dykes To Watch Out For” which appears in gay weeklies across North America.

  • gaggle

    I heard the author’s interview a few months ago, and immediately thought to buy it it is definitely worth a weird. strange, sad and funny.

  • gaggle

    I heard the author’s interview a few months ago, and immediately thought to buy it it is definitely worth a weird. strange, sad and funny.

  • Christine

    It is a lovely book. I bought it shortly after it came out and I couldn’t put it down. It is one of the most compelling and insightful books I have read in a long time.

  • Christine

    It is a lovely book. I bought it shortly after it came out and I couldn’t put it down. It is one of the most compelling and insightful books I have read in a long time.

  • alicia

    it’s true. this is one of the best graphic novels ever written. the scene where the young alison is writing a cheque in one window while her father is reading in the other is devastating. ditto the last panel, where she jumps off the diving board — is she icarus headed towards the sun, or alison descending to her father’s waiting arms?

    one of the things that sets it apart from other books is its deep literary bent. in every scene there are piles of books which speak more to the characters’ intentions than their words do. the constant literary references and allusions teem. ah! alison bechdel for queen!

  • alicia

    it’s true. this is one of the best graphic novels ever written. the scene where the young alison is writing a cheque in one window while her father is reading in the other is devastating. ditto the last panel, where she jumps off the diving board — is she icarus headed towards the sun, or alison descending to her father’s waiting arms?

    one of the things that sets it apart from other books is its deep literary bent. in every scene there are piles of books which speak more to the characters’ intentions than their words do. the constant literary references and allusions teem. ah! alison bechdel for queen!

  • deathtogutenberg

    At her readings she goes a little more in depth describing her multi-stepped process:

    http://www.austinkleon.com/?p=647

  • deathtogutenberg

    At her readings she goes a little more in depth describing her multi-stepped process:

    http://www.austinkleon.com/?p=647

  • http://joteivv.deviantart.com/ veryvery

    she’s an alum of my college and gave a talk here recently and signed her book. she is an amazing speaker and her book is both beautiful and amazingly well written! it’s one of my favorite graphic novels!

  • http://joteivv.deviantart.com veryvery

    she’s an alum of my college and gave a talk here recently and signed her book. she is an amazing speaker and her book is both beautiful and amazingly well written! it’s one of my favorite graphic novels!