American Born Chinese

I’ll start off saying that I really enjoyed American Born Chinese. I had read Gene Yang’s The Eternal Smile several years ago and really loved it, so when I saw Yang’s name on the reading list I had to check this comic out. The comic unsurprisingly focuses a majority of it’s energies on depicting the struggles of a son of Chinese emigrants. The struggles of this kid, named Jin Wang, and his difficulties in fitting in at school and America and general are the main focus of the work. In this respect, the comic was a bit hard to relate to me; the story of hardship due to cultural differences and the difficulty of assimilation is one I have not yet experienced. This did not make the story impossible to get into though. The struggles of adolescence I believe is a story anyone can appreciate.

An integral theme in the comic is identity and how one should hold true to theirs. We see Jin Wang turn away from his own identity for much of the story. We, as the reader, want to see Jin embrace his identity, and yet we can see why he would shun his true self in an attempt to be better received by others. I imagine everyone can admit that at some point in their lives they sacrificed a part of their self to be seen in a better light by others. In this respect Yang chooses a theme universally appreciated, illustrating it with the story of an American born Chinese student.

Aside from the satisfying themes and morals behind the story, I really enjoyed the humor of the story; from the slapstick visuals to the awkward antics of maturing youths, I found the comic funny and entertaining throughout.

Yang grabs to reader, and holds fast to their attention throughout the comic. He does so using the genuinely touching narrative of the main protagonist, engaging visuals, effective humor, and by breaking the story into 3 simultaneous narratives. These three stories appear almost completely unrelated; the only common element at first glance is the Chinese influence, an occurrence that at first glance could be attributed to the author’s influences. Near the conclusion of the story however, we realize that the three narratives interview and connect nicely with out another. I found this a rather satisfying way of grabbing the reader’s attention.