A review by brookeisbusyreading
Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese-American, by Laura Gao
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
4.0
A queer memoir in graphic novel format? Wasn’t expecting it but I was thoroughly intrigued!
When it comes to graphic novels (and manga), I’ve noticed some books can lose a bit of continuity. In Messy Roots, there were a few places where the story jumped, mostly at the start of a new chapter where new relationships/characters were introduced. The book does a pretty good job of backtracking and explaining the connections but it could be a personal preference that I’m not crazy about that style of storytelling within the frames. I prefer a block or arrow with words telling me the name and relationship. I do understand the purpose of that approach so I won’t trash it.
The queer elements of Book Laura left me with a few more questions than when I started. Did she explore being bisexual? Is her sexuality a case of not questioning it until she was older? She had one openly queer friend but was he gay, trans, or something else? I’m genuinely curious.
Visually, there were some GORGEOUS pages! Having the book in color was a great choice! The illustrations from the story about Chang’e, especially the rabbit, were breathtaking! I remember the story from watching Netflix’s Over the Moon and how Author Laura wove it into this book was very well done! The symbolism with it and White Rabbit candy - which is delicious - I really enjoyed too!
I’m more giving the book 4 stars because of some of the continuity and the large number of characters, some of which only appeared briefly. (I know it’s a memoir and having friends for short periods of time is a real thing, I just can’t keep up with all of them.)
And it did seem, based on the book’s summary, that COVID-19 would play a big role in the story, but I didn’t get that while reading. Still a very deep, insightful, and visually striking book on culture, identity, and expectations!
When it comes to graphic novels (and manga), I’ve noticed some books can lose a bit of continuity. In Messy Roots, there were a few places where the story jumped, mostly at the start of a new chapter where new relationships/characters were introduced. The book does a pretty good job of backtracking and explaining the connections but it could be a personal preference that I’m not crazy about that style of storytelling within the frames. I prefer a block or arrow with words telling me the name and relationship. I do understand the purpose of that approach so I won’t trash it.
The queer elements of Book Laura left me with a few more questions than when I started. Did she explore being bisexual? Is her sexuality a case of not questioning it until she was older? She had one openly queer friend but was he gay, trans, or something else? I’m genuinely curious.
Visually, there were some GORGEOUS pages! Having the book in color was a great choice! The illustrations from the story about Chang’e, especially the rabbit, were breathtaking! I remember the story from watching Netflix’s Over the Moon and how Author Laura wove it into this book was very well done! The symbolism with it and White Rabbit candy - which is delicious - I really enjoyed too!
I’m more giving the book 4 stars because of some of the continuity and the large number of characters, some of which only appeared briefly. (I know it’s a memoir and having friends for short periods of time is a real thing, I just can’t keep up with all of them.)
And it did seem, based on the book’s summary, that COVID-19 would play a big role in the story, but I didn’t get that while reading. Still a very deep, insightful, and visually striking book on culture, identity, and expectations!