BIBLIO is the largest independent book marketplace in the world, with over 100 million books.

Skip to content

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Stock photo: cover may vary

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Paperback - 2007

by Alison Bechdel

Add to wish list
This seller has earned a 4.07 of 5 Stars rating from internet customers.
4.07 / 5 (318 total reviews)

Through narrative that is alternately heartbreaking and funny, readers are drawn into a daughters complex yearning for her father. Apart from assigned stints dusting caskets at the family-owned "fun home," the relationship achieves its most intimate expression through the shared code of books.

Summary

A fresh and brilliantly told memoir from a cult favorite comic artist, marked by gothic twists, a family funeral home, sexual angst, and great books.This breakout book by Alison Bechdel is a darkly funny family tale, pitch-perfectly illustrated with Bechdel's sweetly gothic drawings. Like Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, it's a story exhilaratingly suited to graphic memoir form.

Reader reviews for Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Review summary

This seller has earned a 4.07 of 5 Stars rating from internet customers.
4.07 / 5 (318 total reviews)

Reviewers largely praised Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home as a literate, candid graphic memoir that blends memoir and literary analysis to probe identity and a fraught father-daughter relationship. Many found it engrossing, emotionally affecting, and structurally ambitious, with text-forward storytelling complemented by detailed art. Some, however, felt the nonlinear timeline and intellectual layering could be distancing or confusing, the tone heavy, and at times pretentious. Overall, it’s seen as a standout—if demanding—work that especially appeals to literary-minded readers.

Readers say this book is:
literaryintrospectivecandidemotionally resonantthought-provokingnonlinearheavycompellingartfulpretentious to some

Write a review for this book

There are no reviews for this book yet. Be the first to write a review!

Your review will be anonymous unless you login or create an account first.

Overall rating
Remember: You’re rating the book as a work, not the seller or the condition of the specific copy you purchased!

Important Terms and Guidelines

  • Please focus on the book’s content and context. Also, add any personal comments as to how you enjoyed the book. Substantiate your likes and dislikes. You may make comparisons to other books.
  • Reviews must be at least 140 characters in length.
  • Please do not reveal critical plot elements.
  • This is not a help line. Contact customer support if you need help.
Your review must not include:
  • Obscenities, discriminatory language, or other insulting language not suitable for public domain
  • Advertisements, “spam” content, or references to other products, offers or websites.
  • Email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, physical addresses or other contact information.
  • Overly critical comments about other reviews or reviewers
  • Time-sensitive material (i.e. promotional tours, seminars, lectures, etc.)
  • Availability, price, or alternative ordering/shipping information

From the publisher

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED, NATIONAL BESTSELLER

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Time Magazine #1 Book of the Year - National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist

Winner of the Stonewall Book Award - Double finalist for the Lambda Book Award

Alison Bechdel's groundbreaking, bestselling literary graphic memoir that charts her fraught relationship with her late father.

Distant and exacting, Bruce Bechdel was an English teacher and director of the town funeral home, which Alison and her family referred to as the "Fun Home." It was not until college that Alison, who had recently come out as a lesbian, discovered that her father was also gay. A few weeks after this revelation, he was dead, leaving a legacy of mystery for his daughter to resolve.

In her hands, personal history becomes a work of amazing subtlety and power, a unique coming-of-age story written with controlled force and enlivened with humor, rich literary allusion, and heartbreaking detail.

How does a daughter resolve the legacy of mystery left by the man she called her father?

  • Family Secrets: Growing up in the family funeral home, nicknamed the "Fun Home," was only the first layer of mystery in a household built on secrets.
  • LGBTQ+ Coming of Age: As Alison comes out as a lesbian in college, she makes a discovery about her father that forces her to re-examine her entire childhood.
  • A Complicated Father-Daughter Story: A raw and honest exploration of a fraught relationship with a distant, exacting, and enigmatic father.
  • Literary Nonfiction: A narrative woven with rich literary allusions and heartbreaking honesty that redefines what a graphic memoir can be.

First line

LIKE MANY FATHERS, MINE COULD OCCASIONALLY BE PREVAILED ON FOR A SPOT OF "AIRPLANE."

Details

  • Title Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
  • Author Alison Bechdel
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: Repri
  • Pages 240
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Mariner Books Classics, Boston, Ma, U.s.a.
  • Publication date 2007-06-01
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Illustrated, Price on Product - Canadian, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780618871711 / 0618871713
  • Weight 0.85 lbs (0.39 kg)
  • Dimensions 9 x 6 x 0.7 in (22.86 x 15.24 x 1.78 cm)
  • Age range 15 to UP years
  • Grade levels 10 - UP
  • Themes
    • Sex & Gender: Feminine
    • Topical: Lgbt
  • Category Graphic Novels
  • Library of Congress subjects Fathers and daughters, Graphic novels
  • Dewey Decimal Code B

Media reviews

"[Alison Bechdel] hits notes that resemble Jeanette Winterson at her best...She's made a story that's quiet [and] dignified." Publishers Weekly, Starred

"[With] uncommon richness [and] depth...[Fun Home] shares as much in spirit with...other contemporary memoirists of considerable literary accomplishment." Kirkus Reviews, Starred

“Alison Bechdel – she’s one of the best, one to watch out for." --Harvey Pekar

"If David Sedaris could draw, and if Bleak House had been a little funnier, you'd have Alison Bechdel's Fun Home." --Amy Bloom, author of A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You

"Brave and forthright and insightful--exactly what Alison Bechdel does best." --Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina

"Stupendous...mesmerizing...The details...are devastatingly captured by an artist in total control of her craft." --Chip Kidd, author of The Cheese Monkeys

"One of the very best graphic novels ever." Booklist, ALA, Starred Review

"Fun Home must be the most ingeniously compact, hyper-verbose example of autobiography to have been produced. . . . pioneering." --Sean Wilsey The New York Times Book Review

TIME Best Book of the Year: "A masterpiece about two people who live in the same house but different worlds, and their mysterious debts to each other." Time Magazine

"One of the best memoirs of the decade ... at once hypercontrolled and utterly intimate." --New York Magazine, 10 Best Books of 2006 New York Magazine

"Fun Home must be the most ingeniously compact, hyper-verbose example of autobiography to have been produced ... a pioneering work." --Sean Wilsey The New York Times Book Review

"A revelation ... feels like a true literary achievement, something with characters who baffle and disappoint and break hears the way people do in life and in the best of prose." Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Graphic storytelling at its most profound." --a Los Angeles Times Favorite Book of 2006 The Los Angeles Times

Citations

  • Entertainment Weekly, 12/11/2009, Page 84
  • Library Journal, 03/01/2014, Page 48

About the author

Alison Bechdel's cult following for her early comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For expanded wildly for her family memoirs, the best-selling graphic memoir Fun Home, adapted into a Tony Award-winning musical, and Are You My Mother? Bechdel has been named a MacArthur Fellow and Cartoonist Laureate of Vermont, among many other honors. Her new memoir, The Secret to Superman Strength, is forthcoming in 2021.
Back to top↑

More Copies for Sale

Show all copies
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Stock photo: cover may vary

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Bechdel, Alison

  • Used
  • Good
  • Paperback
Condition
Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780618871711 / 0618871713
Quantity available
1
Seller
Gulf Coast Books
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$7.54
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Mariner Books, 2007-06-05. Paperback. Good. 6x0x9.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$7.54
Free Delivery to USA
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic―A New York Times Best Book of the 21st Century!
Stock photo: cover may vary

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic―A New York Times Best Book of the 21st Century!

by Bechdel, Alison

  • Used
  • Very good
Condition
Very good
Edition
Reprint
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780618871711 / 0618871713
Quantity available
1
Seller
BooksRun
Item price
A$7.90
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Mariner Books Classics. Reprint. Very Good. It's a well-cared-for item that has seen limited use. The item may show minor signs of wear. All the text is legible, with all pages included. It may have slight markings and/or highlighting.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$7.90
Free Delivery to USA
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic―A New York Times Best Book of the 21st Century!
Stock photo: cover may vary

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic―A New York Times Best Book of the 21st Century!

by Bechdel, Alison

  • Used
  • Acceptable
Condition
Acceptable
Edition
Reprint
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780618871711 / 0618871713
Quantity available
1
Seller
BooksRun
Item price
A$8.84
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Mariner Books Classics. Reprint. Acceptable. The item might be beaten up but readable. May contain markings or highlighting, as well as stains, bent corners, or any other major defect, but the text is not obscured in any way.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$8.84
Free Delivery to USA
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Bechdel, Alison

  • Used
  • Acceptable
  • Paperback
Condition
Acceptable
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780618871711 / 0618871713
Quantity available
4
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$9.01
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Mariner Books, 2007. Paperback. Acceptable. Disclaimer:Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$9.01
Free Delivery to USA
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Bechdel, Alison

  • Used
  • Very good
  • Paperback
Condition
Very good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780618871711 / 0618871713
Quantity available
4
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$9.01
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Mariner Books, 2007. Paperback. Very Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in excellent condition. Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting, but may contain a neat previous owner name. The spine remains undamaged. An ex-library book and may have standard library stamps and/or stickers. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$9.01
Free Delivery to USA
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Bechdel, Alison

  • Used
  • Acceptable
  • Paperback
Condition
Acceptable
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780618871711 / 0618871713
Quantity available
4
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$9.01
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Mariner Books, 2007. Paperback. Acceptable. Disclaimer:Former library book; Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$9.01
Free Delivery to USA
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Bechdel, Alison

  • Used
  • Good
  • Paperback
Condition
Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780618871711 / 0618871713
Quantity available
5
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$9.01
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Mariner Books, 2007. Paperback. Good. Disclaimer:Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$9.01
Free Delivery to USA
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Bechdel, Alison

  • Used
  • Good
  • Paperback
Condition
Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780618871711 / 0618871713
Quantity available
1
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$9.01
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Mariner Books, 2007. Paperback. Good. Disclaimer:Missing dust jacket; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$9.01
Free Delivery to USA
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Bechdel, Alison

  • Used
  • Good
  • Paperback
Condition
Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780618871711 / 0618871713
Quantity available
38
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$9.11
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Mariner Books, 2007. Paperback. Good. Disclaimer:Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$9.11
Free Delivery to USA
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Bechdel, Alison

  • Used
  • Very good
  • Paperback
Condition
Very good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780618871711 / 0618871713
Quantity available
4
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$9.14
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Mariner Books, 2007. Paperback. Very Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in excellent condition. Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting, but may contain a neat previous owner name. The spine remains undamaged. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$9.14
Free Delivery to USA
Show all copies
Back to top↑

Please wait a moment while we load the requested page.