‘Appearances Could Be Deceiving’

Alison Bechdel, best known for her book Fun Home, spoke about sharing intimate details of her life in her graphic novels during an Oct. 9 talk on campus. “I’m a very shy person, but I have a huge exhibitionist streak,” Bechdel said. She recalled how, when she revealed to her parents that she was a lesbian, she discovered that her father was also having homosexual relationships. This became fodder for Fun Home, which was adapted to an award-winning Broadway musical. “I was growing up in a house where things weren’t exactly what they seemed,” she said. “I was already sensing that language could be unreliable and appearances could be deceiving.” Fun Home will be a senior-thesis production at the Lewis Center for the Arts in February.