BiblioAddict

Disclaimer: I know I’m about two days late in posting this, but I did finish “A Happy Death” Sunday night so technically, I lived up to my short story once a week challenge… Yeah, I know I’m terrible.

Now, Alison Bechdel’s short story “A Happy Death” is really an excerpt from her graphic memoir FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC. I recall seeing FUN HOME sitting on a bookstore table once when I was in Denver, and I gave serious thought to taking it home. Unfortunately, I didn’t, and Sunday evening was the first time I regretted that decision.

“A Happy Death” introduces the death of Bechdel’s father and begins with, “There’s no proof actually that my father killed himself.” It becomes apparent that despite this lack of proof, Bechdel and her mother both think that Mr. Bechdel purposefully stepped out in front of the truck that killed him. The title “A Happy Death” comes from the similarly named book by Albert Camus, which her father had been reading and conspicuously leaving around the house before his death.

“A Happy Death” also introduces the day the Bechdel’s moved into their gothic family home which would inspire Bechdel to compare her family to the Addams Family. Bechdel writes, “Here were the familiar dark, lofty ceilings, peeling wallpaper, and menacing horsehair furnishings of my own home.” But, what really gave Bechdel’s comparison to the Addams Family credence was the family business: they operated the town funeral home, a.k.a. the “fun home.”

The language in “A Happy Death” is terse yet revealing; it says something about the author’s somewhat detached and mixed emotions when it comes to her father who is the subject of the story. The true magnificence here, however, is Bechdel’s art. In a way, it is just as sparse as the language – the lines are just as simple and clean cut as a high-definition picture – yet it manages to reveal a whole lot more detail. The character’s expressions, for instance. Besides that, Bechdel’s art is just a pleasure to look at and I loved studying it for the secrets each frame revealed.

“A Happy Death” was a pleasure to read, and now, of course, I can’t wait to get my hands on FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC.

Alison Bechdel talks to NPR here, where she talks more about her complicated relationship with her father and the inspiration for finally writing this memoir. More samples from the memoir can be found there as well.

“A Happy Death” by Alison Bechdel, from THE BEST AMERICAN NONREQUIRED READING 2007 ed. by Dave Eggars.