American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang
Yang, Gene Luen (2006). American Born Chinese. NY: First Second. 234 pages.
I'm always reluctant to read an award-winner because its very status as an acclaimed book colors its own reception. Thus, I waited a LONG time to read Yang's 2007 Printz award winner and 2006 National Book Award finalist American Born Chinese. As someone suspicious of the young people's literature prize racket, I was surprised to find that Yang's graphic novel actually deserved all the acclaim. Three interwoven and seemingly unrelated stories--about a magical Chinese monkey king, a Chinese-American boy, and a visiting and sterotypically Chinese character named "Chin-kee"--gradually come together to form one story of race and identity.
Yang's paneled images occupy about one-third of each page and rely on the number and division of panels to inform pacing. While a consistent artistic style is applied in each of the stories, many of the panels in the "Chin-kee" story are framed with the words "HAHAHAHA" and "CLAPCLAPCLAP," features that underscore this story's satyric elements. That said, the storyline featuring "Chin-kee" is probably the most disconcerting, as it depicts a number of Asian and Chinese stereotypes in high relief. While the word-frames do let us know that these images are not to be taken seriously, as we read the "laughter" and "applause," we are somewhat implicated in its generation and, as members of the story's reading "audience," held responsible for the perpetuation of these stereotypes. This tension between story and reader and real audience and created audience is the both notable for its strength and incredibly successful.
Yang's website, "Humble Comics," provides further information about American Born Chinese, Yang's other comic work, as well as links to some of the educational websites he has created.