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For fans of Persepolis; An incredible true story in graphic novel form, that lays bare the tortured and triumphant history of Taiwan, an island claimed and fought over by many countries, through the life story of a man who lived through its most turbulent times. Tsai Kun-lin, an ordinary boy was born in Qingshui, Taichung in 1930s Taiwan. In part 1 Tsai, in concert with the beautiful illustrations of Chou Jian-xin, depicts a carefree childhood despite the Japanese occupation: growing up happily with the company of nursery rhymes and picture books on Qingshui Street. As war emerges Tsai's memories shift to military parades, air raids, and watching others face conscription into the army. It seems no one can escape. After the war, the book-loving teenager tries hard to learn Mandarin and believes he is finally stepping towards a comfortable future, but little does he know, a dark cloud awaits him ahead. Part 2 opens with Illustrations reminiscent of woodcuts showing the soul-crushing experience of Tsai's detention and imprisonment. In his second year at Taichung First Senior High School, Tsai attends a book club hosted by his teacher and is consequently arrested on a false charge of taking part in an "illegal" assembly. After being tortured, he is sentenced to ten years in prison, deprived of civil rights for seven years, and sent to Green Island for "reformation". Lasting until his release in September 1960, Tsai, a victim of the White Terror era spent ten years of his youth in prison on an unjust charge. But he is ready to embrace freedom.… (more)
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Whew. What a story! Honestly, it’s hard to imagine people having to go through what was described here—especially when I consider that the main character was/is about the age of my grandparents. To think that other people were suffering to this extent, when my grandparents were growing up in relative comfort, is incredible to me.
Culturally speaking, this book is a rich representation of Taiwanese culture in the 1930s and 1940s. Several facets I found especially interesting were the fact that the main character came from a family of eight—but only the oldest girl and the four or five boys in the family lived at home; the other sisters lived with other friends or family members. I also enjoyed the brief glimpses of family dynamics, and the few mentions of how the family worshipped were also interesting. Then there was the description of what World War II looked like from the Japanese perspective—a “holy war”. And then there was the whole thing about the unjust imprisonment…like I said, it’s hard to imagine, but I finished the book marveling at how resilient people can be, and how important it is to support others in their struggles.
This book was well-done, engaging, and informative. I did struggle to keep the names separate in my mind (I ended up doing quite a bit of flipping back-and-forth to remind myself of who was who!), but that was really a minor issue. Of all the graphic novels I’ve read so far, I think this one had my favorite illustration style—it was clear, but not too distorted comicy, like I’ve seen some places. Overall, this was a fascinating read, and I hope I’ll get the chance to read book two in the series someday!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.