The Magic Fish

The Magic Fish is a semiautobiographical graphic novel by Trung Le Nguyen published in 2020. It takes place in 1998 and tells the story of the Phong family, with a focus on the mother, Hiền, and son, Tiền. The Magic Fish explores what happens after a family of refugees arrives in the United States and how they grapple with the decision to leave their homeland as well as the nuances of coming to a foreign country. In the author’s note, Nguyen writes that stories of immigration “start and end with the arc of an exodus, and we forget that things continue to happen ever after and that ever after does not happen for everyone all at once” (230). Trung himself was born in a refugee camp in the Philippines, his parents having fled Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Nguyen’s young protagonist Tiền is coming to terms with his sexuality and trying to determine how to tell his parents.

The Magic Fish won the Harvey Award for Book of the Year, which recognizes achievement and success in comic books. It was also nominated for an Eisner Award and shortlisted for the GLAAD Media Ward for Outstanding Comic Books and the 33rd Lambda Literary Awards for Young Adult Literature, both of which are given by organizations dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights and initiatives.