Book Blog Mod. 4A: American Born Chinese
Yang, G. L. (2007). American Born Chinese. New York: First Second.
American Born Chinese isn’t your average American comic book. It follows three seemingly separate storylines: an old legend of the mythical Monkey King, a school drama of a young boy dealing with his cultural identity and his crush on a young white girl, and finally, a sitcom “comedy” about a white high schooler dealing with his humiliating cousin Chin-Kee. Chin-Kee, if the name doesn’t make it obvious, is a grotesque amalgamation of Chinese stereotypes on par with Sambo. Eventually, the three storylines braid together, and the book takes a turn for the surreal.
On the surface, this book doesn’t seem something that’d attract a Printz Award. Comics in general, and especially comics for a minority sect, don’t get a lot of press. Which is too bad, because this book is AWESOME. A complete rebuttal to the argument that comics are an immature medium. The overriding themes are of identity, cultural assimilation, shame, and self-loathing. Whether it’s the Monkey King trying to change his identity from ape to man to be taken more seriously, or a young boy telling another student to speak English properly, he’s not a FOB, the pressure to conform to a majority class of society suffuses the book. It calls into question what people will do to change their identities and whether they’re escapable.
This book seems to have come out to pretty strong reviews (all found via Bowker's Books in Print and searching for reviews of the title). Library Journal protests that "coalescence comes almost too quickly, but the trivision approach and treatment are unique and moving" and applauds the art as "simple, colorful, and both attractive and effective." However, Voice of Youth Advocates warns (and I agree) that "the Cousin Chin-Kee story line is extremely hyperbolic and at times difficult to read, as it embraces the most extreme negative Chinese stereotypes," but emphasizes that it's a fictional device, meant to look at the internalized fears of youths of Chinese descent. It finishes with, "This graphic novel could be especially cathartic for teens and adults of Asian descent, but people of any ethnicity would find themselves reflected in the universal themes of self-acceptance, peer pressure, and racial tensions."
This book doesn’t seem to get much circulation, which is a shame. It’s surreal story, clear art, and minority voice should make it a mainstay, I’d hope.
American Born Chinese isn’t your average American comic book. It follows three seemingly separate storylines: an old legend of the mythical Monkey King, a school drama of a young boy dealing with his cultural identity and his crush on a young white girl, and finally, a sitcom “comedy” about a white high schooler dealing with his humiliating cousin Chin-Kee. Chin-Kee, if the name doesn’t make it obvious, is a grotesque amalgamation of Chinese stereotypes on par with Sambo. Eventually, the three storylines braid together, and the book takes a turn for the surreal.
On the surface, this book doesn’t seem something that’d attract a Printz Award. Comics in general, and especially comics for a minority sect, don’t get a lot of press. Which is too bad, because this book is AWESOME. A complete rebuttal to the argument that comics are an immature medium. The overriding themes are of identity, cultural assimilation, shame, and self-loathing. Whether it’s the Monkey King trying to change his identity from ape to man to be taken more seriously, or a young boy telling another student to speak English properly, he’s not a FOB, the pressure to conform to a majority class of society suffuses the book. It calls into question what people will do to change their identities and whether they’re escapable.
This book seems to have come out to pretty strong reviews (all found via Bowker's Books in Print and searching for reviews of the title). Library Journal protests that "coalescence comes almost too quickly, but the trivision approach and treatment are unique and moving" and applauds the art as "simple, colorful, and both attractive and effective." However, Voice of Youth Advocates warns (and I agree) that "the Cousin Chin-Kee story line is extremely hyperbolic and at times difficult to read, as it embraces the most extreme negative Chinese stereotypes," but emphasizes that it's a fictional device, meant to look at the internalized fears of youths of Chinese descent. It finishes with, "This graphic novel could be especially cathartic for teens and adults of Asian descent, but people of any ethnicity would find themselves reflected in the universal themes of self-acceptance, peer pressure, and racial tensions."
This book doesn’t seem to get much circulation, which is a shame. It’s surreal story, clear art, and minority voice should make it a mainstay, I’d hope.