A review by hoiyan
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

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

5.0

okay i'm very emotional right now so get ready for a very emotional 2 am word barf.

just wow. absolutely beautiful and moving and i'm definitely not crying (i am). let me explain:

Tien, a young Vietnamese boy struggling to come out to his Vietnamese immigrant mother, but that isn't the entire premise of this story. Trung Le Nguyen explores how different languages and cultures intertwine within different generations in a single family. Tien's mother, Helen, struggles with English, while her son easily reads and writes in English, even conversing and reading out loud to help her practice. 

"To me, language is a map to help you figure out where you are. If you can't read the map, you're lost. 
"I wonder if I'll ever find my way home."

seeing something i can relate a little too much illustrated and beautifully portrayed made me an emotional mess. as the child of a sino-viet immigrant mother, i saw myself in Tien. i saw how my complicated and unique take on languages were reflected in Tien and Helen's situation. i teared up one too many times.
not only does Nguyen explore the complexity of languages in the relationship of an immigrant parent and their English-speaking child, he also weaves in parallels of Helen's memories with the stories being read out loud by Tien. it was just so beautiful and heartbreaking to see the scene of Helen's future (Tien) reading out a story that directly reflects Helen's past traumas. i really appreciated Nguyen touching on bits of pre-war and post-colonial Vietnam, however vague it was portrayed.

"Don't forget me.
"Do not—
"forget."

i also loved the details in traditional clothing of Vietnam, China, and historical European clothes worn by the fictional characters in Tien's stories.
so much culture and history is embedded in the fictional stories and represented through clothing which i really loved to see. Nguyen's notes at the end really added so many more layers to reveal and dig deeper into.

"Joy is a precious thing. And precious things are few.
"So we learn to hold on to them.
"We keep them close."

can we talk about this being a non-tragic gay story? wow. i went into this expecting to feel completely crushed and be in a pit of despair but i am so glad this graphic novel went in the direction it did. i loved the hopeful ending, especially considering Tien's very asian background. this hurt me a little too much when i looked back on my own family and culture's views on the lgbtq+ community. seeing Tien and his mother's relationship (especially towards the end) tugged my heart and made me wish i could experience that sort of unconditional love and support.

i appreciated how there was an emphasis on Tien's friends and their support. i loved how it showed how important this support system is during times of self-doubt and grief. 
i LOVE how Julian was NOT a total ass after Tien came out to him. that was super refreshing.


though this is for a younger audience, i found so much comfort and relief in this? it was a nice, short read, but sosososo worth it. it's so important and healing to see writers and artists that are just like you, especially at a young age. it's so important that these voices are heard and seen and amplified so all the kids struggling out there can be heard and seen.

the art and flow of the stories were just stunning and absolutely beautiful. i cannot stress that enough. please give this a read. it hurt and healed me so deeply and i will be grabbing my own physical copy of this asap.

if you've read The Prince and the Dressmaker, i guarantee you will love this as well. and vice versa, if you loved this just as much as i did, go check out The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang.

my heart is so full right now.

 "So they lived on, together. And they were happy."
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