The Magic Fish: (A Graphic Novel) by Rung Le Nguyen

The Magic Fish is a graphic novel on the life of a gay teenager named Tien and his mother Hien. Tien is of Vietnamese descent and his mother and father are immigrants that escaped from government oppression. They now live in the United States where they have gained citizenship. Tien sits with his mother, and occasionally, his father reading stories that interest him. As he reads the stories, they remind him and his mother of the good times and tough times. Soon, Tien’s grandmother passes away and his mother must go to Vietnam for the funeral. In his mother’s absence, he is outed by a teacher for his sexuality and must confront his mother about being gay on her return from abroad. Her acceptance is just part of this book's endearing and creative storytelling. Kirkus Reviews says it “Beautifully illustrates how sharing old stories can be the best way to learn how to share new ones.” (While, 2020)

Along with being the author, Trung Le Nguyen is also the illustrator of this book. He drew the first 168 pages “traditionally on card-stock printer paper with a combination of Micron fine liners and Staedtler pigment liners. The remaining pages were drawn using a Cintia tablet in Adobe Photoshop, and subsequent colors were also applied in Photoshop.” (Nguyen, 2020, p. III) As the story unfolds, the colors between Tien’s reality and his stories change. Nguyen illustrates with pink colors for the real characters and blue for the imaginary. This helps the reader differentiate the random changes between stories. Likewise, Nguyen uses yellow and brown for Tien’s mother’s life when she and her husband lived in Vietnam. The colors used in the book are soothing and mellow, which is calming. This helps the reader move through the story without feeling too stressed for Tien and his mother in their difficult circumstances. The backgrounds of the drawings are usually white or a single-color leaving focus on the events happening. The bonus artwork and explanation at the end of the book will delight readers that liked the illustrations. Also, it gives perspective into Nguyen’s style and thinking.

Critical Analysis

The sequence of the story changes between Tien’s story and the stories he is reading. The switch can be difficult to recognize if the reader does not notice the colors that transition between stories. Nguyen writes in the first person with characters most that are kind and thoughtful although some imaginary characters are violent. The themes of the book are include acceptance, immigration, political oppression, friends, and family. The strength of this book is in its ability to explore a delicate subject that is either ignored or not acknowledged in mainstream literature. A slight weakness of this book is that it is derivative of other types of books that combine the main story with what the main character is reading. Overall, a strong story that will keep the reader seated till they finish.

References

“While Tien is fluent in English.” (2020, October 13). The Magic Fish. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved February 25, 2022, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/trung-le-nguyen/the-magic-fish/

Nguyen, T. L. (2020). The Magic Fish. Random House Graphic.