American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese was my first graphic novel that I have read. And I must say, I fully enjoyed it! I found that the affordances of the genre were awesome, as the pictures added a great deal to the plot. The themes the book explores were also quite interesting to me. The multiple plot lines that occur simultaneously in the book, while being actually a singular tale, deepen the understanding of the notion of multiple identities or rather complex identities that occur within many of us.

Although I am starting to feel that maybe taking a universalistic stance is not correct, I still prefer to add some personal relevance to everything I read and feel that is quite natural (and therefore necessary) to do so. The tale is one of teenage dilemmas. Girls, friends, and parental (cultural) embarrassment are commonplace in the lives of many. This theme allows for some empathy and relating to the main character, yet the encompassing of the Monkey King’s plot and other cultural aspects allows for an engaging exploration of where do our cultural identity, our national identity and our personal identities meet and combine.

Critically, as I mentioned before, this is a graphic novel. Its format allows for plot and narrative additions that text alone cannot relate to the reader. The images are great, vivid descriptions of what is occurring and allow for a multimodal interpretation. There was one image that plays on those conceptions of multiliteracies, as one must be able to have background knowledge to be able to interpret the last panel on page 215, as a combination of West with Christianity.

It is those types of cultural exploration that the book does so well. The story lines are multiple but merge into one, just as the many narratives we live combine into one life narrative. The form of a graphic novel gives that affordance.