Sketch Charlotte

Gene Yang, in his first full length graphic novel which is the first GN to ever win a National Book Award, pulls off a story that works on a miraculous number of levels being part folk tale, part coming of age teen drama, part over-the-top race comedy. Each part of this story would stand perfectly on it's own but Yang still finds a way to tell one complete story with each, even going so far as to bringing the seemingly separate stories together in the end.

The folk tale part is a retelling of the Chinese tale of the Monkey King. Yang's Monkey King is cute but also stubborn and belligerent. When he is rejected by the other gods because he's a monkey he goes on a warpath and lapses into self-loathing. A theme continued throughout the book.

The teen drama is the compelling story of Jin, a Chinese-American teen trying to assimilate in his school and smitten with a girl that he can barely find the courage to talk to. Jin tries very hard to fit in, to the point of turning his back on his own heritage and his own sense of self.

And the comedy comes from the bizarre story of Chin-kee, the most offensive stereotype a Chinese person could imagine, complete with yellow skin and mixed up R's and L's. Chin-kee is in America visiting his inexplicably non-Chinese cousin Danny and everything he does embarrasses Danny to no end. Like eating cat stew in the school cafeteria and jumping on the table to sing "She Bangs" William-Hung style. This story is equipped with a laugh track that adds to the surreally offensive tone.

All three of these stories are nothing short of brilliant. Then, Yang throws in a shocker by bringing the stories together into one. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in this turn of events. It felt a little unnecessary since each part was already building on the same themes and bringing them together doesn't really add anything. Nonetheless, this is one of the best stories of cultural assimilation I have read and Yang's clean artwork, sense of humor and imagination make this a fantastic graphic novel.Boo