Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

The second illustrated autobiography of a unusual childhood I’ve read this year, Fun Home is a humor and sorrow filled read. Bechdel, author of the popular Dykes To Watch Out For comic, is extremely adept at creating a mood and atmosphere. The downside is that it’s a melancholy mood that lingers long after you’ve put the book down, but while you’re reading it, it is terribly engrossing.

This is basically the story of Bechdel’s family as affected by the distant and troubled father. There are many parallels drawn between their lives and the classic literature her father obsessively reads. If nothing else, I am left with a feeling of inferiority in my aptitude for literary analysis.

Extremely well drawn, extremely well told.

Persopolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

This is a graphic novel about a woman born in 1969, growing up in Iran during the tumultuous times since. Full of tragedy and humor, this is a great and all-too-quick read. It really hits home given that she is approximately my age. Making comparisons between her life and mine in 1979 is very sobering.

I’m somewhat embarrassed that it takes what is essentially a comic book to get me to better understand the history of that region. But, hey, whatever works.

This book works. I look forward to the sequel. Hurry up with that, won’t you PaperBackSwap.com?