The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu

I don't usually blog short fiction which is a shame because in terms of science fiction and fantasy, some of the best writing is in short fiction. Today I had cause to remember that. I have for years taught a science fiction literature class. I usually have a solid but small group of kids in that class. Last fall, a couple of the members of the sci-fi class suggested that I offer a fantasy class in the Spring.

I offered the class half expecting it wouldn't make. Well, it did. Not only did it have enough interest to run, I filled all the seats and there is a list of students interested in it the next time I offer it. So, I put together the semester plan. We always start with short fiction to introduce topics and themes. On Monday, the topic my group had the hardest time with was "Magical Realism"  so I chose a good example of genre for today's lesson. I choose Ken Liu's "The Paper Menagerie." 

This decision led me into one of the most intense lessons I've lead as a teacher. Magical Realism really isn't about whatever fantasy element appears in the text. Instead, the magical element is used to accentuate and highlight a more real world and realistic theme. "The Paper Menagerie" is about a half Chinese American who rejects his mother's culture and becomes estranged from her. The magical element is in the origami figures that she can animate with her breath. The story is about the son coming to terms with his mother after her death. It's an absolute gut punch of a story.

I knew it was a good story, and I knew that my kids would be able to approach the themes presented in it. I did not predict, however, that a third of my class would be in tears by the end of the story, and the rest of them would be visibly affected by it. It makes me tear up every time I read it too. I just didn't expect the students to react so strongly.

This all led to an excellent discussion on how the story worked and the role of the fantastical elements within it worked. One of my students hit it precisely when he said that you could write a story about an estranged half chinese boy without using any fantasy elements at all, but that the fantastical elements served to heighten the message and deepen the themes because it make the mother obviously special to the reader even though we empathize with the son's need to fit into the Anglo American culture. In a way the animating force came to represent the mother which makes the ending all the more poignant. 

Goodness, I'm tearing up while I'm writing this. It's a great story which is why it won a Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award. If you've never read it, It really is worth a read.

This is going to be a great semester