catandherbooks's review against another edition
Stopped reading it for a bit and when I try to get back to it (and I have, multiple times) it's not the same and I just can't read more than a handful of pages
lauren_mccune's review against another edition
4.0
Self-proclaimed family tragicomic from "Dykes to Watch Out For" comic strip artist. Fascinating & heart-breaking look at the author's father & his lifelong attempt to stay in the closet. Bechdel creates interesting and sometimes stretched parallels between her own family history and that of famous literature by Homer, James Joyce & J.D. Salinger.
My favorite line
Father: "This barrette will keep the hair out of your face!"
Alison: "So would a crew cut!"
My favorite line
Father: "This barrette will keep the hair out of your face!"
Alison: "So would a crew cut!"
halsavannah's review against another edition
3.0
ughhh my feelings on this book are complicated. i really wanted to love it. it’s hard to judge something so honest and vulnerable — i have so many thoughts on alison bechdel as a person and the complex relationship she had with her dad — but the writing was so, painfully pretentious. it’s not surprising, considering her background, but still. maybe (definitely) i’m just dumb, but the constant literary references and lofty wording felt entirely too over the top and kept taking me out of the story.
vakardien's review against another edition
5.0
jā, šis man prasīja vairāk laika nekā būtu nepieciešams, dzīve notiek un tur neko nevar darīt.
taču, kaut kādā ziņā esmu bezgala priecīga, ka šo lasīju tieši tik nesteidzīgi. šī ir ļoti personiska, pat intīma lasāmviela, kuru lasot ir vairāk kā skaidrs, ka tā nav parasta autobiogrāfija, tas drīzāk ir uz papīra piefiksēts psihoterapijas kurss ..
dziļi intīma un pamatīga ģimenes noslēpumu pārlūkošana zem ļoti spēcīga mikroskopa.
taču, kaut kādā ziņā esmu bezgala priecīga, ka šo lasīju tieši tik nesteidzīgi. šī ir ļoti personiska, pat intīma lasāmviela, kuru lasot ir vairāk kā skaidrs, ka tā nav parasta autobiogrāfija, tas drīzāk ir uz papīra piefiksēts psihoterapijas kurss ..
dziļi intīma un pamatīga ģimenes noslēpumu pārlūkošana zem ļoti spēcīga mikroskopa.
kurtwombat's review against another edition
5.0
I can see where this might not be to everyone’s taste. There is a weaving of intimacy, tragedy and humor that is at once very personal but completely open. Homosexuality, suicide and child abuse might all be triggering topics but they were real components of the author’s life growing up. The “Fun” of the title is short for Funeral at once hinting at a sense of humor and an underlying seriousness. There is also a balance between straight-forward narration and a literary history infused narration to reflect the love of books the author shared with her father. In many graphic novels, artwork excuses the minimal use of words. In this case the pictures add flavor to this meal of words. I loved that there is so much narration included that it was often added in the margins of the picture sometimes ringing the whole action. What might have been pretentious and numbing, was for me amusing and enlightening. While the literary references are the author showing off they are also self-mocking. The art is not flashy but very nicely conveys the attitudes of the characters during a given scene. The author’s side glances are always a delight. If you expect to rush through this like a lot of graphic novels, then don’t bother starting it. The accent here is on the novel, versus the graphic. There were a couple revelations during the author’s childhood—so there is a narrative, then a re-examination of that narrative rolling out simultaneously. A marvelous work that rewards patience and an open mind.