Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

112 reviews

sapphic_alpaca's review against another edition

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

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

Minor: Death of parent

claudiashelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

I chose this book blindly, and it’s shockingly good. This semi-autobiographical graphic novel about the Vietnamese diaspora takes up fairy tale retellings to explore immigration, communication, queerness, and love. The story in this book warmed my heart and nearly made me cry, while the graphics were exquisitely detailed and striking. The writing and artwork in this book are well-balanced. Unfortunately, though, I found it difficult to get into the story at first since there were parts of it in Vietnamese that were not translated into English. For a while, I was unable to figure out where the story was heading. Overall, this is such a good read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, Grief, and Homophobia

mbrogs2024's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective tense 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

chroniti's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

A sweet and lyrical story about storytelling, family, love, and acceptance. I like how the story didn't just focus on the son's feeling of being alienated as Vietnamese diaspora, but his mother as well. This story warmed my heart, since I am also a part of the Vietnamese LGBTQIA+ (bisexual butch Vietnamese American woman). The fairy tales are "stories told within a story" and I liked how they connected with what was happening in the lives of Tiến's family. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Death, and War

kshertz's review against another edition

inspiring reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

It’s such an interesting graphic novel where a family is connecting through fairytales. The mom dealing with grief, the son with talking to them about who he loves. It was equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking. It’s definitely gorgeous and worth a read 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Abandonment, Death, Grief, and Homophobia

indeedithappens's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Classism, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

simone_elizabeth's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Outing, Grief, Homophobia, Blood, War, and Death of parent

pointeshoebookworm's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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? N/A

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Death, Hate crime, and Colonisation

queenginger's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Death and War

belle2008's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, and Outing

Moderate: War and Violence