Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Alison Bechdel’s graphic-novel memoir describes her childhood growing up in a small-town funeral home. When she comes out as a lesbian in college, Bechdel belatedly learns that her father is also gay, and he had a series of carefully concealed affairs with teenage boys while married to her mother. Just as the relationship between father and daughter starts to become intimate and honest, he dies under suspicious circumstances. Years later, his death remains a focal point of her life and the lens through which she views her youth. Bechdel’s simple, elegant illustrations and witty captions underscore this funny, poignant tribute to a father she knew better after his death than while he was alive.