We are welcoming some new additions to the Rumpus, courtesy of Susie--welcome Beth and mundane4life! Please introduce yourselves! (I have met them both multiple times and can vouch for them, too. They are quirky enough to fit in, methinks.)
Regarding American Born Chinese, the discussion is open. I know Susie has a copy because I was with her when she bought it, so I'll post my very short initial blurb here and await further commentary!
One word review: wonderful.
The story was painful, amusing and thought-provoking, but you can NOT talk about this book without referring to the art, which I really liked—clean lines, excellent drafting.
V. nice how the storylines come together.
More when I don't have flying headache.
***Be sure to reserve a copy of March's book at your library: The Book of Lost Things.
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13 comments:
Hurray, welcome! I noticed some new names and was intrigued. Am still intrigued. Say more!
I'm still waiting for my library copy of ABC, but might just go read it in a bookstore soon. I'm glad you think it's terrific! I can't wait to get hold of it.
You can definitely read it in one sitting--bookstore might be the way to go!
I like the 3 different story lines, although it was really embarrassing to read the Chin-Kee stories...it reminded me of Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was weird to be embarrassed by a book, but I was so relieved when Chin-Kee turned out to be the Monkey King.
My favorite were the Monkey King stories...his Giant Form made me hear Super Mario mushroom noises in my head. The expressions on his face were great...he seemed to be more emotive than the humans.
I know almost nothing about Chinese fables, and I tried to look up the Monkey King on Wikipedia...but on pg 215 the end of the Journey to the West is Jesus. Maybe I've forgotten all my theology, but I wasn't aware that Jesus was acknowledged in Buddhism.
And lastly, I liked the accurate portrayal of a chemistry teacher with a beard on pg 119. He is a true chemist.
I really enjoyed reading this book. My favorite parts were of the Great Sage. I know a lot of people who would love to piss on Tze-Yo-Tzuh's or God's hand. The picture of the Monkey King and the monk walking away together with the shoes in the forefront is my favorite picture. My second favorite picture is of the girl whose mother loaned the animals to the class.
I really could not read the "Everyone Ruvs Chin-kee" story line. It was too painful so I skipped many of these pages. The stereotypes didn't sit well with me, and the humor was not my style. But I'm glad at how the three story lines came together in the end. The lesson was something that everyone can learn from, not just teen-agers.
Hello! I'm Beth, and as you may have gathered from my lack of picture, profile, or postings on my own site, I am not an experienced blogger, so forgive me if I start speaking in code to protect my true identity (not that I am that exciting--Lady Digby and mundane4life visited me once and we went to Safeway three times before we found something else to do). But I love children's lit, so I'm happy to be here.
My favorite parts were also the ones with the Monkey King. Believe it or not, my brother played the Monkey King once, so my family watched some of the videos of the Monkey King, where he really does pee on Tze-Yo-Tzuh's hand. It made me wonder what other parts of the tale were true and what he had invented for his book. I wonder if the rule that monkeys must wear shoes was made up? My favorite scenes were pp. 59-61 where this self-important Sage had to deal with the little monkeys with shoes on their ears.
I didn't like the stereotypes in the Chin-Kee stories either, but I think that was the point. I think Yang was overexagerrating them to show how studpid and hateful they are, but he had to do it because those stereotypes were what caused Jin to not want to be Chinese any more. I liked how many creative references there were to outside form not revealing what's inside: the transformers, the peasants who were the emisarries, even the animales from the cosmetics lab.
As for Jesus and Buddhism, yesterday I was reading _Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife_ by Mary Roach (the same lady who wrote _Stiff_) and apparently some people believe that Jesus is the reincarnated Buddha. Maybe that is why that picture of Jesus is there? But I'm glad Lady Digby said something because I was wondering, too.
Thanks again for inviting me, and I can't wait to read the next book! arahsae, I don't know what the critiria are for books, but I've been wanting to read The Book Thief if for awhile if you're looking for more recommendations.
Wow -- you guys are wonderful participants!
Beth, I am putting together an "orientation" blurb so you and Ms. mundane can add books to the wish list and complete other Hedgehog tasks. I'll get that up this weekend.
So glad you both are here!
You are wonderful participants! You put us to shame. Well, me, anyway.
I ended up reading ABC in the Brookline Booksmith last week, but I didn’t feel too bad about it because after that I bought one of their staff-recommended books and the cashier totally failed to give me the 15% discount! Egad!
Anyway, I too was a fan of the clean, bright art, which reminded me not only of Transformer cartoons but also, aptly, of the common Asian habit of publishing comic book versions of epic tales so children can absorb their didactic traditions in a more digestible form. I actually know the Monkey King stories from a long and involved television serialization of it that I watched when I was a kid in Singapore, and I think the book does a terrific job of capturing both his mischief and his vulnerability. I really love that the first time we encounter the motif of wanting to be transformed into something other than what you are, or wanting to be judged on your merits rather than your appearance, it’s in the guise of a crazy mythological half-deity. For me it emphasized both the absurdity (He’s a little monkey! How can he be a great immortal warrior?) and the validity (but he really is as smart and talented as he says!) of that desire.
Question: What was the deal with the “clap clap clap clap clap” appearing at the bottom of the Chin Kee frames? When that storyline first started I actually thought (because of the clapping) that it was supposed to be a really awful sitcom on TV, not an actual part of the real world of the book. Imagining it in that context made it (in a perverse way) easier for me to deal with, and I was almost disappointed when Chin Kee turned out to be connected to the plot in a more concrete way.
M, I don't think the clapping added much to the story--it confused me a little.
Thanks for all the talk, and I apologize for being so tardy in my posting. I'm not usually like this (she said, while casting a sideways glance at her copy of Lost Things on her bedside table that has yet to be opened and may never will be). I really enjoyed this, although I am a sucker for any book that draws me in and goes quickly. I loved the
"clean, bright art" (perfect description, M) and enjoyed how the storylines came together at the end with a little bit of imagination. I was a little surprised to see Wei-Chen all hip-hopped out, but I enjoyed their bakery conversation.
I agree with Beth that the point of the horrible Chin-Kee stereotypes were that they were so horrible and exaggerated. Uncomfortable, yes, but an important part of the story, as that is how Danny/Jin saw Chin-Kee and the Chinese culture in general.
I liked Jin's story best, but that's because I love contemporary realism. I'm so used to graphic novels being autobiographical (Blankets, Maus) that I wonder how much of Jin's story is based on Yang's, at least in the beginning.
As far as the clapping goes (and the "hahahaha"ing, too), I also kind of thought of a TV sitcom. I thought it was a little odd but just interpreted it as how over the top Chin-Kee was and how people (or Danny, his classmates) would interpret him, laughing or clapping at his little antics. I thought it was a little weird that he peed in that big kid's Coke -- I mean, he clearly loved America and loved participating in Danny's classes (and was smart, too), and yes, he was inappropriate when it came to making comments about women, but I didn't figure he'd actually pee in a Coke can. That seemed like it was totally in Danny's mind, not really something Chin-Kee would do.
Glad I read this. Glad it won the Printz. I think it's really terrific that that award recognized a graphic novel, as this medium seems to be making itself more and more known in the mainstream. Not that I think it needs to be in the mainstream, but if that's what it takes for more people (kids) to be exposed to graphic novels, then so be it. As long as they're reading.
Side note: Did anyone notice the last picture in the book, the one that has Jin and Wei-Chen as the two boys in that video of two Asian boys singing "I Want It That Way" that went around the Internet a year or two ago? I laughed out loud.
I saw the video format box in the book, but I never saw that clip! Thanks for putting it in context.
You don't have a link, do you?
The pee-Coke was gross.
Ask and ye shall receive.
Here are the "tow Chinese boys" doing Backstreet Boys' "I Want It that Way." Hilarious and actually pretty well choreographed. The funniest part of the video is the guy in the background, sitting at his computer and not even distracted by the others, and Yang put him in his drawing!
And it's hilarious picturing Jin and Wei-Chen doing it...
Oh, YouTube is the best.
Um, just kidding. Faulty link. Here it is again:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=x1LZVmn3p3o
Or is this better?
Video
I never saw that!
How cool to put it in the book--
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