A family tragicomic is a remarkable darkly funny illustrated memoir by alison bechdel that focuses on her family life and mostly about her complicated odd relationship with her father, bruce. Young alison bechdel lives in pennsylvania with helen, bruce, and her little brothers christian and john. The story jumps back and forth in time with a main focus on bechdels relationship. A family tragicomic is a graphic memoir that led alison bechdel to commercial and critical success. The book addresses themes of sexual orientation, gender roles, suicide, emotional. Beneath his icy reserve and fussy perfectionism, he is a barely closeted homosexual and a suspected pedophile, an imposing but distant presence to his young daughter, who finds that their main bond is a shared literary sensibility. The story jumps back and forth in time with a main focus on bechdels relationship with her father, his. A family tragicomic is an autobiographical graphic novel by american comic writer and artist alison bechdel. A family tragicomic is a graphic memoir a work of nonfiction told in pictures by alison bechdel which recounts her coming out as a lesbian, her fathers repressed bisexuality, and the relationship between bechdel and her father. A family tragicomic is a graphic memoir by alison bechdel tracing her journey from young girl to young adult as she comes to grips with her own lesbian sexuality, her father bruce s most likely suicide, and his secret homosexuality or bisexuality that he kept hidden throughout his life while having affairs with underage boys the memoir starts with alison as a young girl. As alison grows older and realizes that she is a lesbian, she and bruce are both forced to confront how his repression may have affected her own selfimage and the way that she dealt with her sexuality. It doesnt flow completely continuously like a story but told in organized fragments as she controls what. A family tragicomic, playing through october 22 at the armory, benefitted from an extra helping of both.
Reminiscent of art spiegelmans maus, fun home explores the relationship between alison and her closeted father, bruce bechdel, to shed light on themes such as gender, the comingout process, and the complicated dynamics of family life. The theme of death and the tragicomic in fun home from litcharts. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Lisa kron and jeanine tesoris awardwinning 20 adaptation of alison bechdels alsoawardwinning 2006 graphic memoir fun home. I was impressed by the intellect, humor, storytelling, and artwork of author alison bechdel. It has won several award and was nominated for 2007 eisner awards.
The book addresses themes of sexual orientation, gender roles, suicide, emotional abuse, dysfunctional family life, and the role of literature in. The creators of sparknotes fun home themes from litcharts. Like marjane satrapis persepolis, its a story exhilaratingly suited to graphic memoir form. Aug 30, 2014 as a connoisseur of graphic novels i stumbled upon, fun home. Bechdels rich language and precise images combine to create a lush piece of work a memoir where concision and detail are melded for maximum, obsessive density. A family tragicomic put me in the same irritated and impatient mood experienced when reading toni morrisons the song of solomon in high school. One of the longestrunning queer comic strips, dykes to watch out for is over 20 years old, has been syndicated in hundreds of papers, released in over. Analysis of alison bechdels fun home 50 words bartleby. A family tragicomic, documents the authors discovery of her own and her fathers homosexuality. Bruce and helen had been living in europe, but the. First, it captures the fact that the story of bruce in the memoir is a. A family tragicomic by readbook 19 september 2017 a fresh and brilliantly told memoir from a cult favorite comic artist, marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. A family tragicomic is alison bechdels first graphic memoir. A family tragicomic, she uses literary allusions as a way to assist her in illustrating the strained relationship between herself and her father, as well as every other relationship in her life. This breakout book by alison bechdel is a darkly funny family tale, pitchperfectly illustrated with bechdels sweetly gothic drawings. Jul 15, 2015 the book addresses themes of sexual orientation, gender roles, suicide, emotional abuse, dysfunctional family life, and the role of literature in understanding oneself and ones family. A family tragicomic is a 2006 graphic memoir by the american cartoonist alison. Jun 05, 2007 in her hands, personal history becomes a work of amazing subtlety and power, written with controlled force and enlivened with humor, rich literary allusion, and heartbreaking detail. And yet, apart from assigned stints dusting caskets at the familyowned fun home. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 232 pages and is available in paperback format. Distant and exacting, bruce bechdel was an english teacher and director of the town funeral home, which alison and her family referred to as the fun home. It chronicles the authors childhood and youth in rural pennsylvania, united states, focusing on her complex relationship with her father. Distant and exacting, bruce bechdel was an english teacher. A family tragicomic begins and ends with strong textual and visual images of her father.
Fun home a family tragicomic is the latest work from the highly skilled, insightful, neurotic and wryhumored pen of alison bechdel, best known for her dykes to watch out for comic strip. Fun home study guide contains a biography of alison bechdel, literature essays. The art has greater depth and sophistication that dykes. A family tragicomic, frames the development of a lesbian identity through the strategic use of visual and verbal representation of memories, interpretive acts, and the use of specific literary texts as transitional objects bookish and nostalgic, alison the. Sep 29, 2017 lisa kron and jeanine tesoris awardwinning 20 adaptation of alison bechdels alsoawardwinning 2006 graphic memoir fun home. Fun home, graphic novel, has watchung hills parents at odds.
The role of gender and literature in alison bechdels fun home. The theme of death and the tragicomic in fun home from. It is also embodied by the bechdel family s gothic revival mansion, which gives the. The subtitle of fun home a family tragicomic captures a number of aspects of the book. A family tragicomic is an exciting autobiography with comics that bring her story to life. Bulging with literary allusions from proust to scott fitzgerald, fun home is a book that demands to be read again and again. Bechdel builds the narrative around the tragic event of her fathers death. A family tragicomic by alison bechdel 9780618871711. A masterpiece about two people who live in the same house but different worlds, and their mysterious debts to each other. I have not heard or seen the musical and my knowledge of bechdel was limited to her creation of the bechdel test. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of fun home. It is also embodied by the bechdel familys gothic revival mansion, which gives the. The book addresses themes of sexual orientation, gender roles, suicide, emotional abuse, dysfunctional family. Fun home summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes.
A family tragicomic is a memoir about bechdels family that deals with, among other subjects, her sexual orientation as well as that of her father, a closeted funeral home director. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read fun home. My current comfortblanket of choice is alison bechdels tragicomic, fun home. I will argue that bechdel illuminates that complexity in fun home by. It is evident in the character of bruce bechdel, within whom the theme of artifice is closely linked with the theme of secret sexuality. As a connoisseur of graphic novels i stumbled upon, fun home. Fun home refers both to the funeral parlor, where he put makeup on the corpses and arranged the flowers, and the familys meticulously restored gothic revival house, filled with gilt and lace, where he liked to imagine himself a 19thcentury aristocrat. A family tragicomic is a graphic novel memoir by american. A family tragicomic is a graphic novel memoir of the authors childhood, particularly focused on her relationship with her closeted gay father bruce. To put it in less crude terms, both books overflow with selfconscious references to classic literature both use the.
Putting the fun back in funeral and spicing it with tenderness, grit and regret, alison bechdels memoir fun home. Described by the times of london as a profound and important book fun home. A family tragicomic is a graphic memoir by alison bechdel. Meet alisons father, a historic preservation expert and obsessive restorer of the family s victorian house, a thirdgeneration funeral home director, a high school english teacher, an icily distant parent, and a closeted homosexual who, as it turns out, is involved with male students and a family babysitter. Prior to its publication, bechdel was best known for her longrunning cult comic strip, dykes to watch out for, which followed a series of diverse characters between 1983 and 2008. In her hands, personal history becomes a work of amazing subtlety and power, written with controlled force and enlivened with humor, rich literary allusion, and heartbreaking detail. Jun 08, 2006 alison bechdels comicform autobiography fun home.
First, it captures the fact that the story of bruce in. The books first full drawing on the title page of chapter one is, in fact, a recreation of an old photograph of the enigmatic man. A family tragicomic grabs you from the first page and never lets go. My realization at nineteen that i was a lesbian came about in a manner consistent with my bookish upbringing. Its like reading someones diary, because essentially it is someones diary, but this has to be the most painstakingly artful diary ever created. A family tragicomic ebook written by alison bechdel. Jun 08, 2006 it is also the familys residence and the fun home of the title. First, it captures the fact that the story of bruce in the memoir is a tragedy told in the format of a graphic novel a comic.
Bechdel, who has been working as a cartoonist since the 1980s, took seven years to complete fun home. The book touches upon many themes, including, but not limited to, the following. The book tells the story of alison bechdels childhood and youth in rural pennsylvania, united states. The book addresses themes of sexual orientation, gender roles, suicide, dysfunctional family life, and the role of literature in understanding oneself and ones family. First published in 2006, this graphic novel has received highly positive acclaim from critics. Incidents of her life were told in a unique manner. As alison grows older and realizes that she is a lesbian, she and bruce are both forced to confront how his repression may have affected her own selfimage and the. As a child, bechdel always sensed something was off about her father. The book addresses themes of sexual orientation, gender. On a deeper level, it evokes the way that the memoir treats death as both tragically lifealternating and as comedic, in. Bruce and helen had been living in europe, but the death of.
There are three major reoccurring themes throughout the graphic memoir fun home by alison bechdel. Like bechdels comic strip, fun home explores themes of sexuality and family dysfunction in an effective pairing of memoir and graphic artistry. Fun home themes from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. More life reflections from the bestselling author on themes of societal captivity and the catharsis of personal freedom. Jul 21, 20 the title fun home is a play on words, commenting on the family business and funeral home in which the bechdel kids spent a great deal of their childhood in and around.
The role of gender and literature in alison bechdels fun. The first edition of the novel was published in june 8th 2006, and was written by alison bechdel. The name of the book fun home is the nickname for the bechdels family business which happens to be a funeral home. Throughout the memoir both alison and her father struggle in the face. Its publication in 2006 brought her wide literary renown. Fun home refers both to the funeral parlor, where he put makeup on the corpses and arranged the flowers, and the family s meticulously restored gothic revival house, filled with gilt and lace, where he liked to imagine himself a 19thcentury aristocrat. I wrote more about my experience with the book here. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. In this first chapter, bechdel introduces her father and recollects her relationship with him in her childhood. Four years ago, she writes, married to the father of my three children, i fell in love with a woman. Writing and illustrating fun home took seven years, in part because of bechdels laborious artistic process, which includes photographing herself in poses for each human figure.
Old father, old artificer page 1 from alison bechdels fun home. The source material is as personal and intimate as it gets. She later reads a book focused on offering biographies of queer. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. A family tragicomic is a 2006 graphic memoir by the american cartoonist alison bechdel, author of the comic strip dykes to watch out for. She also shares her college years where she explores her sexual orientation, studies gender roles and other. A family tragicomic is a graphic memoir by alison bechdel tracing her journey from young girl to young adult as she comes to grips with her own lesbian sexuality, her father bruce s most likely suicide, and his secret homosexuality or bisexuality that he kept hidden throughout his life while having affairs with underage boys. Jun 12, 2018 fun home, graphic novel, has watchung hills parents at odds i still found literary criticism to be a suspect activity ironically are words from the alison bechdel novel fun home. A family tragicomic is a graphic novel memoir by american cartoonist alison bechdel. Fun home must be the most ingeniously compact, hyperverbose example of autobiography to have been produced. This great graphic novel, first published in 2006, has received many praises by critics and won some awards. The title could possibly also take after the fact alisons father was a tyrant in the household and is simply a sarcastic title to show how it was the exact opposite from being fun. In alison bechdels autobiographical graphic novel fun home.
Mar 18, 2014 in alison bechdels autobiographical graphic novel fun home. To put it in less crude terms, both books overflow with selfconscious references to classic literature both use the odyssey in a major way. Equal parts kunstlerroman, psychoanalytic case study, and literary criticism, alison bechdels graphic memoir, fun home. Crumb with a seriousness, emotional complexity and. Themes familiar in the memoir genrethe authors intellectual and sexual. In this groundbreaking, bestselling graphic memoir, alison bechdel charts her fraught relationship with her late father. A family tragicomic houghton mifflin, 2006 im somewhat impressed that i somehow managed to read one of the new york times notable books of 2006 while its still 2006, and before they named it as a notable book. The importance of literature in fun home otherwomenswords. Fun home, graphic novel, has watchung hills parents at odds i still found literary criticism to be a suspect activity ironically are words from the alison bechdel novel fun home. The pattern of presenting a face to the world that is, in fact, masking a darker reality permeates bechdels memoir. A family tragicomic illustrates the plight of a lesbian growing up in a household filled with secrets in every nook and cranny. Several publications named fun home as one of the best books of 2006. Sep 16, 2016 described by the times of london as a profound and important book fun home.
Bechdels graphic novel, focused on family relationships, sexual. The family home is a repository of literary, historical and aesthetic books. I found this to be an interesting read with the perspective on a father as a tragichero. Fun home was a searing memoir about discovering yourself, discovering the truth, and trying to reconcile grief. Fun home was first published in hardcover on june 8, 2006 by houghton mifflin. The main characters of this sequential art, graphic novels story are. A fresh and brilliantly told memoir from a cult favorite comic artist, marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books. The subtitle, a family tragicomic, reveals the tone of the story for the audience by insinuating. Alison bechdel wrote this book about her childhood, the relationship she had with her father and one of the many things they shared in common, their sexuality.
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