Bechdel 1

            I have never read anything like Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, and I enjoyed it. I was a little hesitant when I first found out what type of work it was, because I though of comic books when it was being described. When I was younger, I never really got into comic books and found them very boring. Fun Home was a pleasant surprise. The graphics really played into what you were reading and provided a nice time out from the text. At the same time, I am very imaginative when I read, and pictured scenes in my head to be one way when the picture was something else. That took a little bit away from me at points. That was definitely something that I had to adapt to as I read the novel. I think that one of the reasons that I enjoyed it was because it was a break from the type of reading I have to do at this point. I also really liked that Bechdel put herself in the novel. It gave it more of a personable feel, because it seems like she put more of herself into it. The topics and themes discussed in the book in addition to Bechdel putting herself in the novel make it more relatable. These ideas of sexual orientation and gender identity are things that many people struggle with at some point through their adolescents, whether or not they are willing to admit it. Reading it actually made me think of my cousin. She is full of questions and not scared to ask them. About two years ago when I was at the beach with her, she just came out and said “I know I like boys, but how come I like boys? Why do some boys like boys and some girls like girls?” The novel did lose my interest at some points, because I felt like it was going in a little bit of a circle with the story line. Overall, I enjoyed that this provided a nice change of pace in the type of reading I have had to do.