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zephyrsilver 's review for:
Boxers
by Gene Luen Yang
I'm reading this for a class, and I'm glad it was one of the books. I really enjoyed this.
First off, for some reason, I really enjoyed the art. It's simple, but it's well done. Every character is unique. The three brothers look like brothers, but they are all distinct. Also, I love the crispness of the lines and colors. It's a very aesthetically pleasing book.
As for the story; I know the basics of the Boxer Revolution, but really, not that much. So this was an interesting take on it. It's always nice seeing a historical event from the point of view of one of the members. It makes it more real, instead of just something you read a summary about in a history book.
The best part to me was the question of right and wrong. In the beginning, you completely agree with Bao, and believe he is right in his actions. But the further you get in the story, the more he doubts himself and wonders if he's doing the right thing. Bao is a hero, but he's not a flawless hero. He makes a lot of mistakes. He's real, and he's human. He's not the perfect Superman. So I really enjoyed that. And I love that my opinion on his actions changed from the beginning of the book to the end. I still liked Bao, he's a great character, but I stopped agreeing with him, and that's the point.
I think the only thing that threw me off was the hint of magical that was thrown in, what with them all becoming Opera Gods/Characters. I get that it was mostly metaphorical, but it did throw me off a tiny bit in the beginning. It's slightly cheesy.
This story is just so raw and so real, it's very well done. Horrible things happen and Yang does not try and make them seem less horrific. He makes you dislike Bao towards the end, because you're supposed to. He makes you realize that the Boxer Rebellion sucked for China; it's hard to say anybody won, really.
Definitely looking forward to reading the second part of this story.
First off, for some reason, I really enjoyed the art. It's simple, but it's well done. Every character is unique. The three brothers look like brothers, but they are all distinct. Also, I love the crispness of the lines and colors. It's a very aesthetically pleasing book.
As for the story; I know the basics of the Boxer Revolution, but really, not that much. So this was an interesting take on it. It's always nice seeing a historical event from the point of view of one of the members. It makes it more real, instead of just something you read a summary about in a history book.
The best part to me was the question of right and wrong. In the beginning, you completely agree with Bao, and believe he is right in his actions. But the further you get in the story, the more he doubts himself and wonders if he's doing the right thing. Bao is a hero, but he's not a flawless hero. He makes a lot of mistakes. He's real, and he's human. He's not the perfect Superman. So I really enjoyed that. And I love that my opinion on his actions changed from the beginning of the book to the end. I still liked Bao, he's a great character, but I stopped agreeing with him, and that's the point.
I think the only thing that threw me off was the hint of magical that was thrown in, what with them all becoming Opera Gods/Characters. I get that it was mostly metaphorical, but it did throw me off a tiny bit in the beginning. It's slightly cheesy.
This story is just so raw and so real, it's very well done. Horrible things happen and Yang does not try and make them seem less horrific. He makes you dislike Bao towards the end, because you're supposed to. He makes you realize that the Boxer Rebellion sucked for China; it's hard to say anybody won, really.
Definitely looking forward to reading the second part of this story.