Fun Home: A family tragicomic by Alison Bechdel is a personal story of growing up, trying to figure out own identity, and then also trying to figure out own sexuality while trying to make sense of her father’s sexuality too.
https://www.bookdepository.com/Fun-Home-Alison-Bechdel/9780618871711
This autobiography is a very brave attempt to make sense of growing up full of solitude and lack of belonging, parental affection or any proper upbringing. What is particularly poignant is Bechdel’s description of developing OCD as a result of poor parenting and hostility faced in the family. In other words, OCD father obsessed with decorating the house, nearly agoraphobic mother who rarely leaves the house, obsesses about playing her piano and later with her thesis and theatre play, all had an impact on Alison who was growing up left to herself.
She had to come to terms with her own identity on her own. For example, she did not want to be a girl, so she was hiding breasts and her period for as long as she could. It was only until she came to college that she found herself and started to work on becoming who she is today.
While her relationship with her father, who was also gay but never truly came out of the closet, was contentious there is also love and affection as well as longing coming out of the story. The pain because of wrongdoings of her father and trouble with coming to terms with it is also very well described.
A very good story worth reading. The drawing is not as picturesque as the work of Mary M. Talbot and the story-telling style is different, however, there is lots of depth in this writing and lots of emotions poured into the story.
Thank you for reading.