the magic fish by Trung Le Nguyen

65th book of 2021

Reading period: Aug 07th 2021

Summary

Real life isn’t a fairytale.

But Tiến still enjoys reading his favorite stories with his parents from the books he borrows from the local library. It’s hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tiến, he doesn’t even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he’s going through?

Is there a way to tell them he’s gay?

Rating

Review

I really love this book, and the fun thing is that you have fairy tales in it, but the whole story is a fairy tale.

The story is easy and quick to read. Everything is done to help the reader understand the characters, their feelings, situations, and their past.

It’s not only the story of Tiến; it’s also the story of all the characters in the book and how they intertwined together. Those links are essential in this story, and they make me cry, especially at the end.

The fairytales were strange for me to read as it feels like they are true stories that happen to Tiến’s mom. Also, it feels like they are all the continuation of each other, which I know they aren’t.

I like that you don’t have many colours, but they have a purpose and many details in the drawings. Also, I rarely read the author’s explanation, but I didn’t want to close the book, and I read them and let me tell you, they were so interesting.

Liz.