“The Magic Fish” Explores Queerness, Immigration, and all of the Anxieties of Adolescence
By Rashauna Tunson
Recommended reading age: 12 and up
“Joy is a precious thing. And precious things are few. So we learn to hold on to them.”
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen is a magnificent treasure that depicts the incredible influence that storytelling can have. The graphic novel follows 13 year old Tiến and his family through times of loss and transition, highlighting his parents’ unique challenges as refugees. Tiến is a first generation American, born to parents who left their home in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. His mother, Helen, is processing her grief over having to leave behind her own mother, whose health is declining quickly. In addition, both of Tiến’s parents are struggling with learning English, so a language barrier stands between them.
Tiến is aware that his parents have big problems, and this makes him fear that what he is going through is unimportant. To help distract him and his family from their turbulent emotions, he checks out fairy tales from the library and reads them aloud to his parents. Tiến uses these fairy tales to navigate his life, his emotions and his relationship with his parents.
At school, Tiến has developed a crush on his soccer star classmate, Julian, and he wants to tell his parents that he is gay, but without knowing the correct words for it, he is left unsure. Adolescence is already tricky enough; imagine literally not knowing the right words to tell someone what you are going through! Reading this book and putting myself in Tiến’s shoes helped me realize that just because American culture is slowly moving towards acceptance and visibility for LGBTQIA+ people, some countries and cultures may not even have a way to describe sexual orientation as easily as Americans might.
I cannot say enough rave things about this stunning graphic novel. The Magic Fish is a stellar journey that packs so much acceptance into its short length! It is a fairytale retelling and a story about immigration, communication and love. I enjoyed how the color palette changes as we move through the story: bright yellow when we follow Helen’s memories from Vietnam, purple when reading a fairy tale with the family during storytime, or red if it’s just Tiến’s daily life.
Experiencing the quiet tenderness between Tiến and his mother felt like I was experiencing something special. It gave me hope. Helen feels disconnected from her son, because they grew up in vastly different worlds, but she wants nothing more than to accept her son for exactly who he is, and she wants Tiến to have all of the amazing experiences that he can. Helen knows that although she may not know the “correct words,” she can still give her son love and encouragement.
Both the intricate artwork and the heartfelt storytelling send the reader on a journey through generational trauma of war and starting over, as well as the queer struggle of figuring out what makes you different from your peers. There are several encounters with homophobia in Tiến’s world, but even so, The Magic Fish is still tender and heartfelt. It doesn’t dwell on the negative for too long. I appreciate how Nguyen is able to say so much with only a few words, a few brushstrokes and three simple colors. I applaud The Magic Fish for putting extra love and magic into the world. I can’t wait to dive into all of the joyful creations that Trung Le Nguyen will bring into the world. This graphic novel for sure needs to be on your to-read list, if it isn’t already!
About the Author
Rashauna Tunson (she/her) is a lifelong resident of Denver, Colorado and is a proud Black Queer. She is passionate about equality, Disco music, quoting ancient memes and petting cats. You can follow Rashauna on Twitter at @sk8tergrrrl666 or — if you’re lucky — you can catch her whipping around town on her roller skates!
