Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

114 reviews

sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Wow, what a wonderful, complex, layered and emotional story. I loved the way three different timelines/POVs were woven into the story and interconnected to tell a story of immigration, coming out and familial love. I also really enjoyed the insight into the author's decisions regarding the stylistic and story choices he made whilst writing the story.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: War

tinysierra's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Beautiful storytelling.

I loved the use of color!
Past = yellow
Present = red
Fairytale = blue

If you like The Magic Fish, you might also like Lunar New Year Love Story which features Vietnamese characters and also uses color in an interesting way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Religious bigotry

dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

In a semi-autobiographical take on his coming out experience to his family and friends, Trung Le Nguyen transports readers to the heart of connection through the love of stories in spite of hate and fear. 

Not only is this just a graphic novel with pretty illustrations, Trung Le Nguyen has readers sucked into the heart of the story: whether that would be Tiến in the present trying to figure out how he can come out to his family or Tien’s mom reflecting on the sacrifices she’s made to become a U.S. citizen or the various fairytales Tiến reads to his mother. 

Full of heart despite the darker topics addressed in the book, readers will absolutely love the underlying message that happy endings are for everyone. If you’re looking for a graphic novel with coming out themes amidst examinations of fairytales throughout the world, you will definitely want to read The Magic Fish.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Grief

Moderate: Gore, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Outing

Minor: Cannibalism and War

tinkeringcheck's review

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Beautiful and surprisingly layered intergenerational story woven between fairy tales and a real family, but I personally should've minded the content warnings. All of the fairy tales have a more Grimm than Disney edge (and the author's note in the end about their influences was fascinating), but one in particular went pretty dark with animal death, cannibalism, abuse, and murder. Still, the art and story are gorgeously done even if it didn't end up being for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Homophobia, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Violence, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Outing

Minor: War

frantic_vampire's review

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was a lovely, heartwarming read. The mix of fairytales and immigrant family life and coming out in a time when it wasn’t always excepted, were so brilliantly swirled together. The visuals were stunning and the story flowed so beautifully from one fairytale to another. It was so cool to see all of these stories that are so familiar to me through a different lens and different cultural interpretations. I loved this so much and it’s getting five stars from me!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

sunflowerwork's review

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Outing

sapphic_alpaca's review

adventurous emotional hopeful

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, and Outing

Minor: Death of parent

brom's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Murder

jac_panic_attac's review

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Minor: Cannibalism

readbykatherine's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Homophobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Outing, and War