It’s been a while since I read a whole book, but I’m glad I followed through and completed “Fun Home” by Alison Bechdel. Although it’s more of a comic book than it is a regular novel, I believe this was a great stepping stone for me to start appreciating reading more. The visuals were all drawn well which helped readers flow through the book faster without needing to picture anything themselves. The author has laid out the entire book so that you could visualize the story the way she wants you to, but also in the order that she experienced it herself.
Besides the writing and visuals, I really admired how Alison laid out her chapters perfectly to progress the story in a smooth fashion. She goes from talking about an obsessed father, who renovates the house too much, to an annoying father figure that passed away from a truck accident. After Alison came out of the closet herself, we find out that her father was also homosexual. From then on, we piece the story together chapter by chapter and many questions start to sprout throughout our minds. Questions such as, how much did Alison really enjoy growing up with her family? Or the ultimate question, did her father really die from an accident or was it suicide?
In my opinion, I believe Alison’s father really committed suicide. Maybe I missed something while reading or maybe it was Alison that really wanted us to believe that it was suicide. Her depressing tone throughout the whole book made me wonder how annoyed she was at her father as if she tried to find reason to believe that the “accident” wasn’t really an accident. She even gave light to all the clues and hints that could lead to the suicide. Like the books and newspaper revolving around death that was left around the house. Or the snake that she remembered from her past that linked with her father’s phobia of them; which was supposed to be the reason why the truck driver thought Alison’s father may have leaped back into the streets to his death. And the trigger of it all could have been the divorce that was supposed to be filed. With a broken and complicated family like hers, it makes you believe that anything could happen.
After finishing the last chapter of “Fun Home,” it really made me appreciate my family even more than I already do. The complications of growing up working in a funeral home, being gender confused, finding out your father was gay, and then finding out he’s passed away makes a great story full of surprises. The only depressing thing is that this book was based on someone’s actual life. In conclusion, “Fun Home” has motivated me pick up another book, but it also made me appreciate Alison Bechdel as an author.
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