It's to highlight the fact that they are going through similar journeys, but they just come from it from different angles. One wants validation in terms of like, 'I want to be a part of this culture that I'm living in, but I don't feel like I have full access to it because my parents don't understand it.' The other one wants to work through her guilt in not being absolutely everything that she could be to her kid.
They have different visual priorities and they have different desires and wants. Tiến and Hiền have very different visual imaginations and they grew up in very different places. The first two were chosen so that I could highlight the differences in the imaginations between the mother character and the son character. Since fairy tales exist in a lot of different cultures with the same archetypes over and over, I thought that it would be really easy to play around with all of those details to suit the needs of the framing story. The first two are Cinderella stories, and then the last one is The Little Mermaid.
This novel should serve as a reminder that we are the authors of our own stories.TRUNG LE NGUYEN: There are three fairy tales in the story. It is done tactfully and with great care, with a powerful storyline and characters, making for a lovely combination. However, towards the second half, certain storyline aspects appeared to have happened out of nowhere, in one or two instances.ĭespite that small issue, every page of The Magic Fish was a welcomed surprise. The author connects the fairy-tales and Tiến’s story well, creating an enjoyable flow to the novel. The fairy tales explored in the narrative are oldtime classics we all know and love with an added new spin, highlighting different but important lessons. His life is a mixture of struggle and joy and the entire novel is a blend of the past, future, and fantasy, cleverly differentiated with the use of colour. Tiến is an adorable character, motivated to find his own identity, even in the face of hardship. This graphic novel is a powerful story in itself, exploring a variety of complex life issues that many people will be able to relate to. As they navigate their new lives, will fairy tales be enough to bring them together? Due to the language barrier, he cannot find the right words to share his secret with them. Tiến is a son of Vietnamese immigrants who are struggling to learn English. The Magic Fish is, among other things, a great tribute to storytelling and its ability to bring people together. I do not remember exactly when I read The Magic Fish but I have reviewed it for the Paper Lanterns literary journal in March, 2021.
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