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Book Review: Exploring animal magic in 'The Paper Menagerie'
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories is no paper tiger; it’s the first work of fiction, of any length, to win the Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy awards in the same year.
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Ken Liu once said "All fiction is about prizing the logic of metaphors—which is the logic of narratives in general—over reality, which is irreducibly random and senseless." And this piece of work is a masterclass in doing just that. (Saga Press/File)
K
en Liu may have only recently become a household name in the world of science fiction, but his work is nothing short of spectacular. His short story collection The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories is no paper tiger; it’s the first work of fiction, of any length, to win the Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy awards in the same year.
More often than not, the genre of science fiction and fantasy conjures up dystopias, fantastical futures, alien invasions and robotic takeovers. But here the fantasy is rooted in everyday reality, and the magic lies in something as simple as origami.
The titular story follows the narrator, a Chinese-American child, whose imagination gives life to the elaborate pieces of paper origami that his mother creates. Or could it be because his Chinese mother breathes life into the animal creations? Either way, it’s a treasured collection—the magical animals growl, play with the narrator, and even attack a friend who insults his mother. But it is that insult that causes him to see the animals for what they truly are: pieces of trash.
As the narrator grows up, the magical powers of the animals fade. But let’s make this clear: The Paper Menagerie is just as much about the power of love and the forms it can take as it is the power of imagination and Chinese folklore. Ken Liu eloquently weaves in the difficult concepts of alienation, immigration, assimilation and cultural identity into one tight compact short story, and evokes the universal themes of acceptance and growing up through the loss of magic in the paper menagerie. And those remain the central themes across this collection of short stories.
Ken Liu once said "All fiction is about prizing the logic of metaphors—which is the logic of narratives in general—over reality, which is irreducibly random and senseless." And this piece of work is a masterclass in doing just that. This collection is written with a subtle twist of reality, and its quiet devastation will hit you before you know it. (kes)
Click here to read the book.
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Title: The Paper Menagerie
Author: Ken Lie
Published: 2016
Publisher: Saga Press
ISBN: 978-1-48-144254-1
Pages: 450
Reviewed by: Natalie Pang
