Fun Home
Boy howdy, but I've read some good books lately. First there was The Story of Forgetting, which I've already mentioned. And I just finished Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel. Which I have to sincerely thank Leenie for recommending in a comments thread. It was -- wow. I don't even know where to start. It might be the best memoir I've ever read.
The way that Bechdel writes (and draws) the story of her childhood and the story of her family knocked my socks off. I felt my heart tightening the entire time with a sense of identification, not because my family or my life are anything like hers in any specific sense, but because she's that great kind of a writer that makes you feel that connection -- that intangible something that makes human beings feel connected to each other no matter how different they are. It gave me that feeling of I Am Nothing Like You, But I Am Just Like You, and How Did You Know How I Feel? And in addition to that nagging, longing feeling of identification and yes, yes, I understand this, the drawing and the words and how it all tied together between past and present and James Joyce and Colette and and Oscar Wilde -- it was just so damn masterful, heartbreaking, funny, and beautiful. See? Kind of hard to explain. But I loved it, and when I tried to start telling B. over sundried tomato pizza and pints of Blue Moon tonight how much I loved it, my eyes got teary and I couldn't find the words. Thank you again, Leenie.
The only other thing I have to say is that my Riggins shirt came in and I was a little excited about it.
The way that Bechdel writes (and draws) the story of her childhood and the story of her family knocked my socks off. I felt my heart tightening the entire time with a sense of identification, not because my family or my life are anything like hers in any specific sense, but because she's that great kind of a writer that makes you feel that connection -- that intangible something that makes human beings feel connected to each other no matter how different they are. It gave me that feeling of I Am Nothing Like You, But I Am Just Like You, and How Did You Know How I Feel? And in addition to that nagging, longing feeling of identification and yes, yes, I understand this, the drawing and the words and how it all tied together between past and present and James Joyce and Colette and and Oscar Wilde -- it was just so damn masterful, heartbreaking, funny, and beautiful. See? Kind of hard to explain. But I loved it, and when I tried to start telling B. over sundried tomato pizza and pints of Blue Moon tonight how much I loved it, my eyes got teary and I couldn't find the words. Thank you again, Leenie.
The only other thing I have to say is that my Riggins shirt came in and I was a little excited about it.
posted by eliza @ 7:48 PM
4 Comments:
You look so pretty! You look a little bit like Jennifer Garner here.
OMG. There's a Riggins shirt?!?! Where did you get it?
I might be a little old for it ... I'm a 37-year-old mother of three for God's sake. Maybe the Dillon Panthers one would be a little more subtle. Hmmmm.
Not to mention that my husband mocked me ceaselessly when he discovered that I had bought and kept the Men's Health that featured Taylor Kitsch. He might leave me if I got TK on a T-shirt.
I want to recommend a fantastic singer to you - Melody Gardot. Her single Worrisome Heart is free on iTunes this week and it's amazing, I got her entire CD and adore it. Sultry, romantic music that rips your heart in two!
anonymous #1 -- thank you!
eileen: Here! My theory is that someone designed it as a joke and then they ended up deciding to sell it. I mean, it has to be a joke, right?
anonymous #2 -- going to check her out now!
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