The Magic Fish - Trung Le Nguyen

The Magic Fish - Trung Le Nguyen - (256 pages, English, softcover, published by Random House Graphic)

The Magic Fish

Tiến's parents came to America as boat refugees, so he grows up between two worlds. His mother loves telling him the fairy tales she heard as a child in Vietnam; in turn, Tiến reads Western fairy tales to his mother, including works by Hans Christian Andersen. The two tell each other fairy tales intertwined with memories and secrets they find difficult to express. When news arrives that Tiến's Vietnamese grandmother is dying, it becomes even harder for him to share a secret that has been weighing on his shoulders for ages…

Trung Le Nguyen

In 'The Magic Fish', comic artist Trung Le Nguyen incorporates various Vietnamese and Western fairy tales in a beautiful and moving way, including 'Tấm en Cám', 'Tattercoats', and 'The Little Mermaid'. The fairy tales and the lives of Tiến and his mother flow into one another effortlessly. In doing so, the writer honors the foundation of fairy tales; Stories that interpret life. In terms of art style, Trung Le Nguyen seems to harken back to fantasy manga from the 90s. However, thanks to minimalist color usage and a clear page layout, the book feels modern. In 'The Magic Fish', Nguyen manages to maintain a beautiful arc of suspense, where the characters' paths ultimately converge in a moving way. A beautiful graphic novel debut from this promising comic artist.