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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
This book is a fantastic story of corruption in pursuit of justice.
The book will leave you shaking. It does not have the pacing problems I feel that Saints suffered from. Strengths include its use of symbolism and its ability to get the reader’s investment. I’ve read it twice now, and twice I’ve found it to be one of my favorite books.
The book will leave you shaking. It does not have the pacing problems I feel that Saints suffered from. Strengths include its use of symbolism and its ability to get the reader’s investment. I’ve read it twice now, and twice I’ve found it to be one of my favorite books.
This one was a little harder for me to follow than Saints was. Still disturbing though.
MY OPINION: ***
This was a short read for me to help me get closer to meeting my Goodreads goal. My sister recommended it to me as she is a graphic novel fan and enjoyed this one. I ended up liking it quite a lot more than I initially thought I would, which is both surprising and pleasant.
IT WAS HILARIOUS. I don't think parts of it were meant to be funny but I thought 80% of it was hilarious for some reason. For example, every time the older brothers smacked the baby brother (the protagonist), I laughed. I don't know why; it shouldn't be funny but I laughed. This is a rare occasion for me because I don't laugh when I read as much as I cry/scream.
The battle scenes were gruesome and confusing but also fast-paced and interesting, which was good because I wanted to finish this book as soon as possible. There was blood everywhere and everyone kept dying and I didn't really comprehend who died or who killed whoever.
I like the historical/factual aspect of this book because I learned at least a little bit about China in that time period even if it was a fictional portrayal of what really happened. That was interesting to me because even though I am of Chinese descent, I don't have a lot of knowledge about Chinese history, which is surprising and sad, and something that I want to fix in the future.
The art was comical and simple at times, although it could be elaborate and beautiful at others, especially during the battle scenes.
It took me about half-an-hour to read the entire thing and I'm interested in reading the second book. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a historical fiction/graphic novel about Chinese history.
Main Character: Little Bao
Sidekick(s): Brother-Disciples, Sister-Disciples, etc
Villain(s): Foreign devils, etc
Graphic Novel Elements: This book was formatted to be a graphic novel.
This was a short read for me to help me get closer to meeting my Goodreads goal. My sister recommended it to me as she is a graphic novel fan and enjoyed this one. I ended up liking it quite a lot more than I initially thought I would, which is both surprising and pleasant.
IT WAS HILARIOUS. I don't think parts of it were meant to be funny but I thought 80% of it was hilarious for some reason. For example, every time the older brothers smacked the baby brother (the protagonist), I laughed. I don't know why; it shouldn't be funny but I laughed. This is a rare occasion for me because I don't laugh when I read as much as I cry/scream.
The battle scenes were gruesome and confusing but also fast-paced and interesting, which was good because I wanted to finish this book as soon as possible. There was blood everywhere and everyone kept dying and I didn't really comprehend who died or who killed whoever.
I like the historical/factual aspect of this book because I learned at least a little bit about China in that time period even if it was a fictional portrayal of what really happened. That was interesting to me because even though I am of Chinese descent, I don't have a lot of knowledge about Chinese history, which is surprising and sad, and something that I want to fix in the future.
The art was comical and simple at times, although it could be elaborate and beautiful at others, especially during the battle scenes.
It took me about half-an-hour to read the entire thing and I'm interested in reading the second book. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a historical fiction/graphic novel about Chinese history.
Main Character: Little Bao
Sidekick(s): Brother-Disciples, Sister-Disciples, etc
Villain(s): Foreign devils, etc
Graphic Novel Elements: This book was formatted to be a graphic novel.
This was definitely a very moving and interesting portrayal of war, especially for someone like me who knew little to nothing about the Boxers Rebellion before. I plan on reading "Saints" as soon as I can to see the other perspective. 5 of 5 stars.
Interesting, and very accurate. I enjoyed watching Little Bao grow in strength and determination. He developed a very pure form of commitment to China in his heart and mind, however that didn't prevent him from moments of doubt and despair. This story is deeper than one may think. It definitely inspired me to read more about the rebellion, and now off to Saints!
I know absolutely nothing about the Boxer Rebellion so Yang's "Boxers & Saints" is really the introduction to this part of history for me. I haven't read "Saints" yet though, so I'm not quite sure how fair it is to review this book alone. But I loved "Boxers". Beautifully drawn and easy to understand. I will post more once I have read "Saints".
“What is China but a people and their stories?"
–Gene Luen Yang
Book No. 07 of 2017
I don’t think I’ve given graphic novels their proper credit or attention in the past, so I sought to rectify that this year. I heard good things about Gene Luen Yang’s Boxers & Saints series, so I decided to start with that and I am so glad I did.
The complementary stories show two different sides of the Boxer Rebellion in China a century-ish ago, where peasants and countrymen in China rose up against the urban elites and the foreign missionaries and Chinese converts to Christianity who were bullying them. Except among those converts were people who Chinese traditions had oppressed.
This story itself does a great job of reminding us that in every conflict there are two sides, each with deeply personal motivations. It’s well told, visually, and the story got compelling right away. The elements of magical realism and heroic iconography were also awesome. The first of the two books focuses on the Boxers’ side of the story, and how one village boy turned his love of opera into his motivation to be his people’s defender. I ranked Boxers above it’s Saints counterpart, only because the story is longer and in the case of this series, that is a good thing.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
–Gene Luen Yang
Book No. 07 of 2017
I don’t think I’ve given graphic novels their proper credit or attention in the past, so I sought to rectify that this year. I heard good things about Gene Luen Yang’s Boxers & Saints series, so I decided to start with that and I am so glad I did.
The complementary stories show two different sides of the Boxer Rebellion in China a century-ish ago, where peasants and countrymen in China rose up against the urban elites and the foreign missionaries and Chinese converts to Christianity who were bullying them. Except among those converts were people who Chinese traditions had oppressed.
This story itself does a great job of reminding us that in every conflict there are two sides, each with deeply personal motivations. It’s well told, visually, and the story got compelling right away. The elements of magical realism and heroic iconography were also awesome. The first of the two books focuses on the Boxers’ side of the story, and how one village boy turned his love of opera into his motivation to be his people’s defender. I ranked Boxers above it’s Saints counterpart, only because the story is longer and in the case of this series, that is a good thing.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book blew my mind in ways I could never comprehend. Ever since I read American Born Chinese, I've been wanting to get a deeper understanding of Gene Luen Yang's work and the themes that he incorporates into his stories. I wish I had the companion book to read now because this book WAS SO GOOD!!
This story takes place in 1894-1900 in China. The westerners have arrive to mystical China and pretty much wants to govern the country and preach about Jesus. Then it shifts on a particular boy name Bao who at first doesn't see the rotten influence of westerners in his small village and surely within years, he sees how it has corrupted the Chinese government and that we must fight against the "devils" and restore China to its former glory.
Overall I was captivated by the storyline, the characters, the plot, and the beautiful graphics. The ending caught me a little bit off guard and I feel so heartbroken for many of the important characters. I love the theme of the price you pay for your beliefs and how easily one person can be caught in warfare.
At first I saw the innocence that Bao experience during this fight and was right alongside him over killing the westerners but towards the end I could comprehend that even though Bao is defending his country, in the end he is a terrorist. I could feel Bao mix feelings over defending his country and killing a lot of people that got caught up this sad war.
I never knew that these events did happen to China back in that time period and I don't feel bad that they wanted to persecute countless Westerners because they came into China and claim the land as if China were primitive state before Westerners came in and took control of the country.
Gene Luen Yang is a genius and I cannot wait to read more of his works! I highly recommend this book over American Born Chinese.
This story takes place in 1894-1900 in China. The westerners have arrive to mystical China and pretty much wants to govern the country and preach about Jesus. Then it shifts on a particular boy name Bao who at first doesn't see the rotten influence of westerners in his small village and surely within years, he sees how it has corrupted the Chinese government and that we must fight against the "devils" and restore China to its former glory.
Overall I was captivated by the storyline, the characters, the plot, and the beautiful graphics. The ending caught me a little bit off guard and I feel so heartbroken for many of the important characters. I love the theme of the price you pay for your beliefs and how easily one person can be caught in warfare.
At first I saw the innocence that Bao experience during this fight and was right alongside him over killing the westerners but towards the end I could comprehend that even though Bao is defending his country, in the end he is a terrorist. I could feel Bao mix feelings over defending his country and killing a lot of people that got caught up this sad war.
I never knew that these events did happen to China back in that time period and I don't feel bad that they wanted to persecute countless Westerners because they came into China and claim the land as if China were primitive state before Westerners came in and took control of the country.
Gene Luen Yang is a genius and I cannot wait to read more of his works! I highly recommend this book over American Born Chinese.