Frankly, it would be ridiculous not to consider Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home literature. It propounds a diverse array of character dynamics—from daughter-father to husband-wife to man/woman-society to person-self—many of which deal with human conflict and speak to subjects like artistic creation, gender, sexual orientation, illusion, identity, and interpersonal connection both familial and beyond. It presents an authentic account of the residential landscape in America, sculpting a household setting that evolves into its own character and autonomous presence. It embraces readers, welcoming them in with intimacy, honesty, and open arms like a close-friend or lover. It is witty and cultured, contemplative and hilarious, tragic and inspirational. It is a poetic, pictorial meditation on self and family enriched with more literary aptitude than it can rightfully handle. It is literature. I’m sure of it.  Continue reading →

As a fan (but only occasional reader) of graphic novels myself, you’d be hard pressed to find a time when I’d renounce the medium as lacking in literary merit. Allison Bechdel’s Fun Home is no exception. I would never say that the contents of that book are any less valuable than any traditionally written coming of age story. The beauty of a graphic novel is that at its best it can be a beautiful fusion of visual art and literary genius; though Fun Home is presented in a style reminiscent of Sunday Funnies, it is this adherence to her own style that is endearing to Bechdel’s narrative. Continue reading →

The more I think about it, the more I do not comprehend how some people can believe that there is no absolute truth.

There are subjective truths–beliefs that hold true to any individual.

There are objective truths–things or events we can observe (excluding our interpretation of these things or events).

Subjective truths can be lies. Or maybe to some people, there are only subjective lies.

But then, if you believe that there are only subjective truths and no absolute truth, isn’t that belief in itself an attempt to state an absolute truth?

Someone must be wrong, someone must be right. Continue reading →

It is no secret that a lot of the facts presented in D’Agata’s About A Mountain are inaccurate.  Contrary to Lauren Slater, John D’Agata is not lying in order to manipulate the truth.  He isn’t lying about things he “believes to be true”, nor is he lying in an attempt to provide us with an accurate account of his feelings.  In fact, he rarely even addresses his own feelings.  So why?

Rejected by a magazine for his factual inaccuracies, D’Agata defends himself with artistic license.  He changes important facts in order to paint a picture.  If it sounds more poetic to say four people die of a heart attack on a particular day rather than eight, D’Agata doesn’t really give a damn.  It is important to note though, that he does this not only with small facts, but with major characters and personas as well, which is why we hesitate to accept it as nonfiction.  At the same time, calling it a work of fiction would definitely be a hard case to make.  About A Mountain is such a contemporary piece of literature, that I think it would be wrong to call it anything but a work of literary art.

Continue reading →