FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC ALISON BECHDEL … · Sometimes, in fact, it’s a little too...
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30 CHICAGO READER | JULY 7, 2006 | SECTION ONE Books By Matt Zakosek A lison Bechdel’s syndicated comic Dykes to Watch Out For is that rare breed: a cartoon that grows richer and more emotionally satisfying over time. Published in approximately 50 queer weeklies nationwide, it’s an illustrated L Word without the glossy theatrics. If there were any justice, Jennifer Love Hewitt would be starring in a big-screen adaptation of Dykes and not Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties. Maybe Hollywood will finally get the memo. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Bechdel’s first graphic memoir, lobs her onto the same vaunted plane as Harvey Pekar, Art Spiegelman, and Chris Ware. The tale of Bechdel’s tortured relationship with her father, Fun Home (the title is short for “funeral home”) is told in a nonlinear fashion, with Bechdel providing an initial cur- sory look at her childhood, then revisiting critical events in subse- quent chapters. She can be grandiose at times—she equates her coming-out process to the Odyssey—and she may not have the tragic backstory needed to create a Maus or a Persepolis, but apart from a few ill-conceived detours into minutiae, Fun Home is well worth the seven years it took to complete. When Fun Home begins Bechdel’s father is a high school English teacher, part-time morti- cian, and closeted homosexual. A perfectionist who treats “his fur- niture like children and his chil- dren like furniture,” he’s like a cross between Joan Crawford (the Mommie Dearest version) and Jane Wyman’s miserable homemaker in All That Heaven Allows, two queer icons he would probably fail to recognize. And for a while the work threatens to become a graphic version of Augusten Burroughs’s Running With Scissors, with Bechdel and her brothers at the mercy of an unstable adult and his whims. But Bechdel’s scrupulous fair- ness sets her a cut above many current memoirists (and her obsessive reliance on fact guar- antees she won’t be grilled on Oprah anytime soon). When her father isn’t flying into a rage over the condition of the fami- ly’s curtains, he’s witty, support- ive, and occasionally revealing about his true nature. Of course, to the modern queer eye, his cutoff shorts and velvet suits reveal a lot more than the Bechdel children have the capacity to understand. It spoils nothing to disclose that Bechdel’s father died—a possible suicide—at 44, the same age as his beloved F. Scott Fitzgerald. But while Fitzgerald succumbed to heart attacks and alcoholism, Bechdel believes her father jumped in front of a truck (an incident that was officially labeled an accident). She attrib- utes his despair chiefly to her mother’s having asked him for a divorce, though Bechdel won- ders if her own announcement that she was gay factored into his decision. Bechdel dismisses this hypoth- esis for its misguided self-impor- tance—but she occasionally veers into solipsism anyway. “If my father was a Fitzgerald char- acter, my mother stepped right out of Henry James,” she writes, and one doubts that such romantic figures could be found in the same town, let alone the same household. But Bechdel anticipates this criticism: “I employ these allusions to James and Fitzgerald not only as descriptive devices, but because my parents are most real to me in fictional terms. And perhaps my cool aesthetic distance itself does more to convey the arctic climate of our family than any particular literary comparison.” Ultimately, what borders on the ridiculous lends greater poignancy to her story. That deft hand is missing, however, in her portrayal of her brothers John and Christian, who are treated for the most part as afterthoughts. After her father’s death Bechdel comes home from college and reports that “my little brother John and I greeted each other with ghastly, uncontrollable grins.” But noth- ing before that point suggests the two were close, so the scene reads as a dramatic tease rather than a heartfelt homecoming. Another important character who earns little time in the nar- rative is Roy—the family’s “yard- work assistant/babysitter” who moonlights as boy toy to Bechdel’s father. In this instance, though, the lack of specificity works; the beautiful Roy func- tions as a stand-in for all unre- quited love. While sorting through a box of family photos, Bechdel encounters a hazy shot of him taken on a family vaca- tion. So much about the snap- shot feels exploitative—the seedy hotel setting, Roy’s tight briefs, the beefcake pose. And yet the predominant mood is one of wistful melancholy. Evoking sympathy for a pederast is no easy feat, but it’s one Bechdel accomplishes in a few expertly drawn panels. Of course, Roy holds a special significance for his lover’s daughter, too. Herself an admirer of “masculine charms,” Bechdel recalls his manly beauty when she begins to experiment with her own gender identity. The sordid nature of the narra- tive—suicide, pedophilia, the “bearded and fleshy” corpse on a mortician’s prep table—is tem- pered by Bechdel’s cheerful, spunky drawings. Her friends and family look startlingly simi- lar to earlier creations—college girlfriend Joan could be a proto- type for Dykes’s Lois, and Bechdel’s depiction of herself as a child suggests Clarice and Toni’s son, Raffi, from the same strip. But this signals a confi- dence of style, not conformity. She renders a self-contained world that feels as detailed as a photograph. Cartoonist to Watch Out For With her new graphic memoir, Dykes to Watch Out For creator Alison Bechdel puts herself in a league with Chris Ware and Harvey Pekar. FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC ALISON BECHDEL (HOUGHTON MIFFLIN) Need an expert? See Services, in Classifieds Alison Bechdel WHEN Sun 7/9, 4:30 PM WHERE Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark INFO 773-769- 9299
Transcript of FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC ALISON BECHDEL … · Sometimes, in fact, it’s a little too...
30 CHICAGO READER | JULY 7, 2006 | SECTION ONE
Books
By Matt Zakosek
A lison Bechdel’s syndicatedcomic Dykes to Watch OutFor is that rare breed: a
cartoon that grows richer andmore emotionally satisfying overtime. Published in approximately50 queer weeklies nationwide,it’s an illustrated L Word withoutthe glossy theatrics. If there wereany justice, Jennifer Love Hewittwould be starring in a big-screenadaptation of Dykes and notGarfield: A Tail of Two Kitties.
Maybe Hollywood will finallyget the memo.Fun Home: AFamilyTragicomic,Bechdel’s firstgraphic memoir,lobs her onto thesame vauntedplane as HarveyPekar, ArtSpiegelman, and
Chris Ware. The tale of Bechdel’stortured relationship with herfather, Fun Home (the title isshort for “funeral home”) is toldin a nonlinear fashion, withBechdel providing an initial cur-sory look at her childhood, thenrevisiting critical events in subse-quent chapters. She can begrandiose at times—she equatesher coming-out process to theOdyssey—and she may not havethe tragic backstory needed tocreate a Maus or a Persepolis, but
apart from a few ill-conceiveddetours into minutiae, FunHome is well worth the sevenyears it took to complete.
When Fun Home beginsBechdel’s father is a high schoolEnglish teacher, part-time morti-cian, and closeted homosexual. Aperfectionist who treats “his fur-niture like children and his chil-dren like furniture,” he’s like across between Joan Crawford(the Mommie Dearest version)and Jane Wyman’s miserablehomemaker in All That HeavenAllows, two queer icons he wouldprobably fail to recognize. Andfor a while the work threatens tobecome a graphic version ofAugusten Burroughs’s RunningWith Scissors, with Bechdel andher brothers at the mercy of anunstable adult and his whims.But Bechdel’s scrupulous fair-ness sets her a cut above manycurrent memoirists (and herobsessive reliance on fact guar-antees she won’t be grilled onOprah anytime soon). When herfather isn’t flying into a rageover the condition of the fami-ly’s curtains, he’s witty, support-ive, and occasionally revealingabout his true nature. Of course,to the modern queer eye, hiscutoff shorts and velvet suitsreveal a lot more than theBechdel children have thecapacity to understand.
It spoils nothing to disclosethat Bechdel’s father died—apossible suicide—at 44, thesame age as his beloved F. ScottFitzgerald. But while Fitzgeraldsuccumbed to heart attacks andalcoholism, Bechdel believes herfather jumped in front of a truck(an incident that was officiallylabeled an accident). She attrib-utes his despair chiefly to hermother’s having asked him for adivorce, though Bechdel won-ders if her own announcementthat she was gay factored intohis decision.
Bechdel dismisses this hypoth-esis for its misguided self-impor-tance—but she occasionallyveers into solipsism anyway. “Ifmy father was a Fitzgerald char-acter, my mother stepped rightout of Henry James,” she writes,and one doubts that suchromantic figures could be foundin the same town, let alone thesame household. But Bechdelanticipates this criticism: “Iemploy these allusions to Jamesand Fitzgerald not only asdescriptive devices, but becausemy parents are most real to mein fictional terms. And perhapsmy cool aesthetic distance itselfdoes more to convey the arcticclimate of our family than anyparticular literary comparison.”Ultimately, what borders on theridiculous lends greater
poignancy to her story.That deft hand is missing,
however, in her portrayal of herbrothers John and Christian,who are treated for the most partas afterthoughts. After herfather’s death Bechdel comeshome from college and reportsthat “my little brother John and Igreeted each other with ghastly,uncontrollable grins.” But noth-ing before that point suggests thetwo were close, so the scenereads as a dramatic tease ratherthan a heartfelt homecoming.
Another important characterwho earns little time in the nar-rative is Roy—the family’s “yard-work assistant/babysitter” whomoonlights as boy toy toBechdel’s father. In this instance,though, the lack of specificityworks; the beautiful Roy func-tions as a stand-in for all unre-
quited love. While sortingthrough a box of family photos,Bechdel encounters a hazy shotof him taken on a family vaca-tion. So much about the snap-shot feels exploitative—the seedyhotel setting, Roy’s tight briefs,the beefcake pose. And yet thepredominant mood is one ofwistful melancholy. Evokingsympathy for a pederast is noeasy feat, but it’s one Bechdelaccomplishes in a few expertlydrawn panels. Of course, Royholds a special significance forhis lover’s daughter, too. Herselfan admirer of “masculinecharms,” Bechdel recalls hismanly beauty when she begins toexperiment with her own genderidentity.
The sordid nature of the narra-tive—suicide, pedophilia, the“bearded and fleshy” corpse on amortician’s prep table—is tem-pered by Bechdel’s cheerful,spunky drawings. Her friendsand family look startlingly simi-lar to earlier creations—collegegirlfriend Joan could be a proto-type for Dykes’s Lois, andBechdel’s depiction of herself asa child suggests Clarice andToni’s son, Raffi, from the samestrip. But this signals a confi-dence of style, not conformity.She renders a self-containedworld that feels as detailed as aphotograph.
Cartoonist to Watch Out ForWith her new graphic memoir, Dykes to Watch Out For creator Alison Bechdelputs herself in a league with Chris Ware and Harvey Pekar.
FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC ALISON BECHDEL (HOUGHTON MIFFLIN)
Need an expert?
See Services, in Classifieds
AlisonBechdelWHEN Sun 7/9,4:30 PMWHERE Women & Children First,5233 N. ClarkINFO 773-769-9299
Sometimes, in fact, it’s a littletoo detailed. Fun Home stumblesnear its conclusion, whenBechdel widens her scope toinclude her first lesbian relation-ship, her mother’s failed ambi-tions, and a college course onUlysses. While it’s funny to seeher new lover read James andthe Giant Peach as an ode to cun-nilingus, scenes like this serious-ly slow the momentum. Andthough she tries to incorporatethen-current events likeWatergate, she fails to do so inany meaningful way—which isdisappointing considering howeffortlessly she weaves politicsinto Dykes.
But Bechdel’s frustrated, frac-tured relationship with herfather gives this story resonance.The parent-child dynamic is rec-ognizable to any reader, queer orstraight. Fun Home’s subtitle—“AFamily Tragicomic”—couldn’t bemore apt. In her bleakestmoments, Bechdel channels theresilience that made her father’sdouble life bearable, even beauti-ful. Standing over his coffin, stillprocessing his death, she recallsthat “the sole emotion [she]could muster was irritation.”Sounds heartless, but her workcourses with a rich humanity. v
Ink Well by Ben Tausig
A SubstitutionACROSS 1. Geoff Ogilvy’s org.4 ______-Town7. Rocky player, in tabloids
10. Proof ender13. Lobsterback15. Limey’s 65-Across16. 180, slangily17. Down at the casino18. Sushi go-with20. Ardent fan of stir-fried noodles?22. They’re at odds with odds23. Dinner and a Movie channel24. Discount theater letters in NYC27. Encl. with an RSVP28. Boxer’s doc30. Alternate title for this puzzle31. Aloha and luau, e.g.?35. Torah spot38. Nintendo console slated for fall 200639. Poetic contraction40. Casual affirmation41. Great, as Mr. Miyagi?45. Topples (over)
46. Big bang creator47. Plot element?51. ______-ball52. Where to find sweaters54. Instruments played by Yusef Lateef
and Sufjan Stevens55. Deposit spot for I.M.’s crony?59. Thingy61. Capitol feature62. Coal scuttle63. Green-lights64. On guard65. Landlubber’s 15-Across66. Susan of L.A. Law67. Cub’s club68. Sellout sign
DOWN 1. Prepares to paint2. Conventions concerned with
wartime conduct3. Saws4. Sits on a sill, say5. Circle of heaven6. Tabloid tidbit7. Hindi “master”8. City in Beaujolais country9. Nepalese terrorist
10. Penis enlargement products, e.g.11. It’s a scream12. Blacken or redden, often14. No. 5 company19. French avant-garde composer21. Singer James25. You might make it for a friend in
need26. Beauty pageant accessory28. Roman 2x4?29. Give off30. 2005 eruptor32. Fold females
LAST WEEK: THAT’S AN ORDER
49. Melt down, as fat50. Sao Paulo, for one52. Sharp rise53. Fall guy54. Ska band, perhaps56. Tennis wear brand57. Emirate resident58. Soft quaff59. Kid’s inquiry60. Weed
33. Gas at a diner34. En route35. Charges, as a retailer36. Stench37. Rollerblader’s safety precaution42. Hazardous forecast43. The U.S. tied them in the first round
of the 2006 World Cup: Abbr.44. Party in London48. Goes from 0 to 60?
CHICAGO READER | JULY 7, 2006 | SECTION ONE 31
