by Gene Yang
Publisher: First Second
American Born Chinese is a heart-warming and very humorous book which at its core is about acceptance, both of oneself and of others, and neatly leaves the reader at the end wondering whether there is actually a difference between the two. But the morale to this tale, or more precisely tales, is weaved through three very different, apparently unconnected but grippingly entertaining stories.
The book opens with the story of the Monkey King which is a loving, tongue-in-cheek take on the classic book Monkey by the Buddhist master Wu-Chen. Our hero takes on the full pantheon of lesser gods, devils and even the great creator Tze-Yo-Tzuh himself in his quest to become human, and be accepted as an equal by the other gods who look down on him for his simian ways. Fortunately for him, the Monkey King has all the myriad mystical powers of a true Kung-Fu master to help him through his many trials and tribulations in a manner more reminiscent of the kitsch 70s' TV version of the story than the original book, flying cloud and all! Along the way to help teach him some humility, the Monkey King is press-ganged into the “unremarkable legendary monk” Lai-Tsao’s epic quest.
Then we have the story of Jin, who is the American Born Chinese of the book’s title. Jin’s burning desire to feel like his inner ideal of a ‘real’ American boy (despite actually being born in San Francisco) plagues his everyday life, making him feel awkward and inadequate at every turn in front of his peers. And when his soon-to-be best friend Wei-Chen-Sun arrives ‘fresh off the boat’ from China the story gains a real emotional depth as he watches his friend start to assimilate into the American way of life far more easily than himself.
And finally we have the wonderfully politically incorrect story of all-American boy Danny and his excruciatingly embarrassing Chinese Cousin Chin-kee who comes to visit him every year, ruining his social life at every turn without fail. The genius touch of installing the equivalent of a canned laughter track as though we are watching a truly terrible sitcom only adds to the comedy moments. All too frequently Cousin Chin-kee’s exploits leave Danny wishing he could find somewhere to hide. Acceptance of the cousin (who no one seems quite sure how he’s related to their family) is not uppermost on Danny’s mind! The book is worth buying just for the sequence where Cousin Chin-kee has to use some very unusual kung-fu techniques indeed to protect himself from Danny after finally pushing his American cousin over the edge!
And just when I’d come to the conclusion that this book was actually three completely separate stories, some (very!) unexpected twists occur ultimately helping to bring about the emotional resolution that our characters are looking for. It’s a measure of the writing talent of the author drawing me in emotionally that I was really pleased for the characters he’d created.
So you want some more reasons why you should buy this book? Well, American Born Chinese is one of those rare books where the artwork is so damn good you frequently find yourself stopping actually reading the story to take in every last detail of each panel, because you don’t want to miss any of the exquisite details.
And this approach is definitely justified because there are some very rich details indeed adding further depths to the story. I’ll say no more than look closely for the panel where the “unremarkable legendary monk” Lai-Tsao’s epic quest comes to a close in an unexpectedly biblical manner.
The artwork itself is very traditionally Chinese in style from the ‘clear line’ school of illustration. But what is unusual and definitely not traditional are the incredibly vibrant colours more in keeping with a super hero comic. However this approach works brilliantly to create something that is so rich in expression and warmth. An appropriate fusion of American and Chinese styles that make this book a must-see as well as a must-read.
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