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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of the books offered for kids book club — really interesting/funny about Boxers Rebellion in China
I haven't read many (okay, any) graphic novels, but I liked this. You think of graphic novels as being superhero stories, but this was historical, and I liked it.
“Take whatever is useful from their homes. Destroy every foreign idol you see.” {pg. 215}
#hypocrite
#hypocrite
Very interesting story told in this graphic novel. It makes me want to read up on the Boxer Rebellion. I think I will be reading Saints next because I want to see the other side of the story.
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Gene Luen Yang, author of the award-winning graphic novel American Born Chinese, returns with the Boxers/Saints stories.
In Boxers, Little Bao is living in a small village in China in 1898 as white missionaries have started to appear and bully the 'black-headed people' of his community. Little Bao joins the Big Sword Society with a group of brother-disciples who are able to transform into mythical warriors, divinely charged with the task of keeping China united against the Christian devils. He is forced to decide along the way what 'keeping China together' really means, and at what cost.
In Boxers, Little Bao is living in a small village in China in 1898 as white missionaries have started to appear and bully the 'black-headed people' of his community. Little Bao joins the Big Sword Society with a group of brother-disciples who are able to transform into mythical warriors, divinely charged with the task of keeping China united against the Christian devils. He is forced to decide along the way what 'keeping China together' really means, and at what cost.
For me, this was a great (albeit violent and upsetting) introduction to the Boxer Rebellion. The art is so evocative of the way people used to live, dress, fight, etc., that it makes me want WAY more graphic novel historical fiction. Do you hear that, everyone?
I actually ended up wishing that [b:Saints|17210471|Saints (Boxers & Saints, #2)|Gene Luen Yang|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1359199657s/17210471.jpg|23691810] was included in this volume, though from a book-as-object perspective and religious comment, I see what Gene Luen Yang was going for.
I actually ended up wishing that [b:Saints|17210471|Saints (Boxers & Saints, #2)|Gene Luen Yang|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1359199657s/17210471.jpg|23691810] was included in this volume, though from a book-as-object perspective and religious comment, I see what Gene Luen Yang was going for.
Made me want to learn more about The Boxer Rebellion! Also was a painful reminder of how senseless war can be.
Real talk, this is the best portrayal of the consequences of white supremacist imperialism I've ever seen. Y'all know how I feel about history and historical fiction, and this is the one of the most impressive blends I have ever seen. The visuals are stunning. Yang cuts no corners and spares no one.
I've seen a tagline for these two books that reads "every war has two faces", but that tagline is totally superfluous. There is no black and white in war, and this book is nothing but shades of gray.
Gene Luen Yang is a fucking wizard and I hope he lives forever.
I've seen a tagline for these two books that reads "every war has two faces", but that tagline is totally superfluous. There is no black and white in war, and this book is nothing but shades of gray.
Gene Luen Yang is a fucking wizard and I hope he lives forever.