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A review by kailey_luminouslibro
Boxers by Gene Luen Yang
5.0
I was enthralled by this graphic novel! It's incredible how, despite the violent and serious nature of the story, there is still humor and friendship and family. All the good things of life are entwined with the horrifying circumstances of the Boxer Rebellion.
Little Bao is an ordinary youngest son being picked on by his older brothers, but when his father is beaten by "foreign devils" and his village is cheated by the Christian Chinese, little Bao learns to fight and begins a journey seeking for justice and revenge.
With the help of the magical Chinese gods and heroes of the past, Little Bao and his brothers raise an army to protect the country villages, but circumstances push them to larger fights until Bao loses control of the movement he helped to start. He must choose to cling to the ideals of his teachers, or follow the gods in their merciless ambitions for China.
It's definitely an operatic tragedy, since Little Bao loses everything and everyone he ever cared about.
Sometimes I liked Little Bao, whenever he was having a normal moment; conversing with a friend, enjoying a cup of tea, flirting with a girl, learning from his teacher, or admiring his father.
But most of the time, I did not like Bao at all. He always seems to be making bad decisions; violent and destructive decisions.
I definitely appreciated how Bao started out trying to do good, and the circumstances pushed him into doing evil. Other people put pressure on him, and the gods and heroes haunt him to make the same decisions they made in Chinese history, and poor Bao is caught in the middle.
Eventually he becomes convinced that he IS doing good when he acts destructively. He believes that he is doing what is best for his nation, and that spurs him to murder children, set fire to cities, and destroy priceless books. All his actions fall back on him though, and his own losses are directly connected to his decisions to destroy others. That was truly brilliant writing!
Plot is fast-paced and intricate. Artwork is gorgeous! Characters are everything they should be- interesting, varied, deep, relatable, and of course beautifully complex.
I love it!
Little Bao is an ordinary youngest son being picked on by his older brothers, but when his father is beaten by "foreign devils" and his village is cheated by the Christian Chinese, little Bao learns to fight and begins a journey seeking for justice and revenge.
With the help of the magical Chinese gods and heroes of the past, Little Bao and his brothers raise an army to protect the country villages, but circumstances push them to larger fights until Bao loses control of the movement he helped to start. He must choose to cling to the ideals of his teachers, or follow the gods in their merciless ambitions for China.
It's definitely an operatic tragedy, since Little Bao loses everything and everyone he ever cared about.
Sometimes I liked Little Bao, whenever he was having a normal moment; conversing with a friend, enjoying a cup of tea, flirting with a girl, learning from his teacher, or admiring his father.
But most of the time, I did not like Bao at all. He always seems to be making bad decisions; violent and destructive decisions.
I definitely appreciated how Bao started out trying to do good, and the circumstances pushed him into doing evil. Other people put pressure on him, and the gods and heroes haunt him to make the same decisions they made in Chinese history, and poor Bao is caught in the middle.
Eventually he becomes convinced that he IS doing good when he acts destructively. He believes that he is doing what is best for his nation, and that spurs him to murder children, set fire to cities, and destroy priceless books. All his actions fall back on him though, and his own losses are directly connected to his decisions to destroy others. That was truly brilliant writing!
Plot is fast-paced and intricate. Artwork is gorgeous! Characters are everything they should be- interesting, varied, deep, relatable, and of course beautifully complex.
I love it!