The Library Police
  • Home
  • The Library Police Podcast
    • Episode 250: Endings
    • Episode 249: The Lightning Round Returns
    • Episode 248: Lightning Round!
    • Episode 246: What A Difference A Decade Makes
    • Episode 245: The Portrayal of Violence in Fiction
    • Episode 244: Books to Cheer You Up
    • Episode 243: How To Read Gooder
    • Episode 242: Romance In Fiction
    • Episode 241: The Past Looms Large
    • Episode 240: How We've Grown As Readers
    • Episode 239: Saladin Ahmed's Black Bolt
    • Episode 238: A Hannibal Playlist
    • Episode 237: The Mini-Primers
    • Episode 236: Revenge of the MiniTopics
    • Episode 235: Flawed Books That We Love
    • Episode 234: Expectations and Entitlement
    • Episode 233: The Literary Canon
    • Episode 232: Playlist - The Marvel Cinematic Universe
    • Episode 231: The Perfect Nanny
    • Episode 230: SciFi V. Fantasy
    • Episode 229: Playlist - Legion
    • Episode 228: Playlist - The Americans
    • Episode 227: Should you read YA Fiction?
    • Episode 226: The Dark Tower, Books 5-7
    • Episode 224: Media for Non-Readers
    • Episode 223: Getting Into A Reading Groove
    • Episode 222: 2017 Gift Guide
    • Episode 221: The Dark Tower, Books 1-4
    • Thanksgiving Throwback: Episode 128, Featuring Christopher Merchant
    • Episode 220: The Taboo Topics
    • Episode 219: SCBWI 2017
    • Episode 218: Classics Vs. Modern
    • Episode 217: A Primer for Thrillers
    • Episode 216: The Adventure Zone Balance Arc
    • Episode 215: Young Adult Fight
    • Episode 214: What Does An Author Owe You
    • Episode 213: Adaptations
    • Episode 212: Beach Reading
    • Episode 211: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
    • Episode 210: Interactive Storytelling
    • Episode 209: Audiobooks and Audio Storytelling
  • Features
    • A Good Story Poorly Told
    • Where Everyone Has Gone Before
    • Top Twenty Board Games of All Time
    • The Joy of Desperation
    • Prometheus: A Debate
    • Dude Writes Like A Lady
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • Film Reviews
    • Television Reviews
  • Interviews
    • Kristin O'Donnell Tubb
    • Katie McGarry
    • Gennifer Choldenko
    • Donald Bain
    • Logan L. Masterson
    • Catriona McPherson
    • Graham Brown
    • F. Paul Wilson
    • Will Lavender
    • Jeffery Deaver
    • Peter Straub
    • Dr. Bill Bass
    • Bruce DeSilva
    • D. Alan Lewis
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Forums
  • Announcement

American Born Chinese

8/11/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
A deceptively simple graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese is a triptych of stories, all of which revolve around the idea of assimilation. One is about a Chinese-American student struggling to fit in to a predominantly white school; one is about an "all-American" kind of kid who's mortified by the behavior of his Chinese cousin, who's almost literally a walking ethnic caricature; and the third is about the Monkey King and his struggle to be accepted by all of the other gods. That's an odd collection of stories, ranging from the realistic to the absurd to the supernatural, and yet, thanks to Yang's beautiful artwork, the three work perfectly together, allowing the pieces to reflect off of each other and interact in subtle ways before eventually letting them come in a fairly surprising way at the novel's climax. Taken at face value, American Born Chinese is engaging, funny stuff; it's a trio of great stories, and although they connect eventually, each story has more than its share of joys on its own terms, from a painful first date to a gloriously weird martial arts battle to a party amongst the gods in heaven. But there's a greater richness to American Born Chinese than just the sum of the parts, creating a tapestry about what it's like to feel excluded because of who you are, the pressures of conformity, and how fitting in can ultimately hold you back. Sometimes that's done through simple symbolism, as when the Monkey King finally discovers how to free himself from his prison; sometimes, it's more complex, as when we finally see Danny (our all-American) confront his cousin. It's a novel whose accessibility and simplicity belies its complexity and richness, and whose bright and colorful art belies the thoughtfulness that goes into every panel and every choice. It's perfect for adolescents, not just of Asian-American descent, but any of them who've struggled with acceptance, fitting in, and what it's like to stick out in a crowd - in other words, almost every teenager ever.


- Josh Mauthe

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.