Reviews with content warning for War - The Magic Fish: A Graphic Novel

This graphic novel was so incredibly clever. The way the fairytales Tiến and Helen tell each other are tied into the narrative not only to reflect particular events but, as the author points out, more overarching themes of immigration. The way the fairytales are used to communicate ideas between the characters - this really highlighted the power of stories. And the fairytales were fantastic in and of themselves! The author also explains so many layers of meaning that I missed my first time reading, so I think this is one of those books where you’ve got to reread to pick up on all the nuances. For example, he discusses how imagery of the fairytale being told changes based on who is narrating, which blew my mind when I flicked back through the book. I could just tell that so much thought and detail went into expressing the story.

At its core this book is about a mother-son relationship which it displays impeccably. The love and the care Tiến and Helen had for one another! Their desire to understand and be understood! I especially loved that Helen was included as a character in her own right, as it is rare for a mother-figure to have this. This inclusion brought the theme of a two-sided relationship to life as both sides of the story were shown.

The art was gorgeous. There was super effective use of colour in that only three were used (in different tones) so as to demarcate parts of the book: red for the present, blue for fairytales, and yellow for the past. The detail of the clothing and hair of the characters was wonderful.

Content Warnings

ezwolf's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

I think it's important that while I excitedly read every queer book I can get my hands on now that they're a bit more commonplace, it's important to also read books that are not only from the white queer perspective.

The way that the stories Tiến and his mother read parallel the stories of his life and his mother's was done fabulously and I love the way that similar stories are told all over the world but with each culture's influence.

The ending of the last story Tiến's mother tells to him and the way it does a very good job of show not tell was great and I was tearing up at the end.

Content Warnings

liv2199's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

orchidd's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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? No

5.0

Content Warnings

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