The Magic Fish

I wish someone had written this book for me when I was growing up. When I was dealing with my sexuality and didn’t know any better. I wish I knew how to tell my parents and family I was gay using words that would break their hard exterior and touch their heart and soul, which of course didn’t happen. I just came out and that was that. The Magic Fish however is a book that seems to know what to say and how and is more beautiful for it.Tiến loves his family and friends. His parents hail from Vietnam and he is keeping a secret from them – about himself, about who he is, about how he cannot tell them that he is gay because there is no equivalent for it in Vietnamese. It is also about his love for a friend, and him struggling with his identity.At the same time, Nguyen takes us on a whirlwind of providing comfort to yourself through fairy tales. Tiến and his mother read fairy tales to each other, every night, and in those tales, each of them is trying to find and know more about their lives – the past, present, and perhaps the future.I love how Nguyen takes the concept of a fairy tale and throws it on its head and gives his readers something so refreshing to introspect about. The Magic Fish is a book that refreshingly looks at fairy tales keeping modern lives in mind. It doesn’t shy away from breaking norms and stereotypes, which is the need of the hour and the times we live in. Trung’s art is stunning and you need to spend some time on every page to soak it all in. In short, The Magic Fish is a read meant for all, to make people understand that people lead different lives and it is all about perspective and empathy.

I read this graphic novel in breaks. It's such a beautiful story about family, love, being yourself with beautiful and enriching art. Tugged at my heartstrings and left me at peace when I finished it. BEAUTIFUL!

This book is so beautifully illustrated. It will take your breath away. I am so in love with every single panel in this graphic novel.I loved this book so much. It made me laugh, it made me cry. It was so innocent and sweet, and yet at the same time tackled the aggression experienced by immigrants and queer people. It has a beautiful mother-son relationship, and the sweetest ending. You won't regret picking this up.

This is the kind of stories that we need more of. Loved the art and the writing both, they complimented each other, and the fairytale interweaved with the main narrative was done so beautifully.

We had the fairy tales in this with an Asian twist in them. They were really good. The second story onwards it gets a little dark so it's not just for kids. The art is lovely and very intricate. And most importantly, it's a coming out story with acceptance and love at it's core. Highly recommend.

A very beautiful book.

immaculate art style, colour palette, and story telling skill; I loved just about everything in this book!!it cherishes the existence of stories, the ways stories connect people near, across countries and different generations. stories that help us connect and give words to our feelings; i strongly recommend this!!

I recommend this book to all of you. We reader should try new concepts as well and this story has something unique and also relatable to our modern world.