The Magic Fish

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The Magic Fish is a 2020 graphic novel by Trung Le Nguyen. It is semi-autobiographical.

Tien is in the closet, and his parents are immigrants from Vietnam, refugees that recently got their passports. His mother Hien is saving money for a trip to visit her mother and introduce her to her son. She worries that she has changed so much, as Tien develops a crush on a classmate.

In the stories that they share, women face circumstances that demand them to change or take action; they are derived from "Princess Tattercoats," "The Story of Tấm and Cám", and "The Little Mermaid". While Alera has to go into hiding before finding her prince, Tấm needs to survive death and disappointment from her wicked stepfamily, while the nameless little mermaid yearns for a soul, and true love.

Tropes used in The Magic Fish include:

Adaptational Badass: Alera is more badass than her counterpart in Princess Tattercoats. She refuses to give into the Old Man of the Sea's demands.
Adaptational Heroism: One mercy is that Alera's father is not the one demanding to marry her. Instead, the Old Man of the Sea is demanding her as payment in exchange for bringing her father a wife.
Adaptational Sexuality: Unlike in the original Little Mermaid story, the princess counterpart Bertie is either bisexual, pansexual or lesbian. She admits that she doesn't like Brandon the way that he likes her, seeing him as a brother, and admits that she loves Ondine instead.
Adult Fear:
- Hien/Helen's situation. She thinks of how she and her husband came as refugees to this country, to give their son a better life. Her mother is dying back home, and all Hien can do is save up for a trip to return after getting her passport, and is heartbroken when her mother dies pass on before she can meet her grandson. She knows that Tien is hiding something from her, and is saddened at the thought that he feels the need to hide.
- Tấm goes missing on a trip home to her stepfamily. Her husband is suspicious of his mother-in-law but leaves.
Bittersweet Ending: Tien's teachers force him out of the closet before he's ready to tell his mother, and he's sad that he never got to meet his grandmother. Hien, however, makes it clear what she thinks of her son's sexuality: she picks up "The Little Mermaid" and retells the story with a different ending: Ondine wins the heart of Bertie the prima, and gets her voice back. She says that even if she doesn't have the words or the understanding, she wants to be in Tien's life..
Earn Your Happy Ending: All the fairy tale girls end up reaching this:
- Alera stands up to the Old Man of the Sea when he finds her, saying she never agreed to marry him. Her aunt ends up defending her, revealed to be a mermaid, and turns the Old Man into a harmless cephalopod. The prince finds his friend "Al" by the sea and is delighted to realize that she is the same princess he was seeking for the past few nights.
- Despite Tấm being betrayed and murdered by her family, she returns to life and to her loving husband. What's more, a bird gets Cám killed before putting her remains in a jar, that her mother eats. When the mother realizes she was eating her own daughter, she drops dead on the spot. As Hien's aunt narrates, that meant Tấm was free to live her life without any fear of her stepfamily again.
- Hien insists on this for "The Little Mermaid" when she takes over for reading after Tien's teachers out him. Ondine, as Bertie names her, doesn't win the heart of Brandon, the prince figure, but she does win the heart of Bertie, the ballerina, who asks if Ondine will give her a chance. Ondine finds herself able to speak and gives a big yes.
Exact Words:
- Alera never agreed to marry the Old Man of the Sea, as she tells him firmly at the end of her story. She says that she would only "consider" his proposal if he made the three impossible dresses for which she wished. Aunt Velvet considers it a suitable loophole and turns the Old Man into a cephalopod.
- The sea witch tells the mermaid that if she wins the heart of a human, she will earn a place in the stars, and a soul. Ondine ends up winning Bertie's heart, who asks if Ondine will give her a chance at the end of the story.
I Ate What?: Played for horrifying effect in "The Story of Tấm and Cám" as Hien's aunt tells her:
- Tấm befriends a talking koi that knew her mother, and lightens her day. Her stepmother says that Tấm has no right to be happy and sends her daughter to spy on her Tấm. The next night, she serves Tấm fish soup, and reveals after Tấm has taken a few bites that she is eating her friend, ordering her to finish the meal.
- After Tấm comes back to life, she returns to her home to light incense for herself and her late father. While her stepmother is alarmed, Cám wonders with envy how her stepsister has remained beautiful. A bird tells her that Tám boils herself in sesame oil each night. Cám attempts the same process, but dies instead. The bird collects her remains in a meat jar, and Cám's mother starts eating it. She only realizes what she has done when the bird asks if her daughter was delicious, and Cám's pearl necklace falls out of the smashed jar along with her jawbone.
Mama Bear:
- Aunt Velvet is very protective of Alera, ensuring that the Old Man of the Sea doesn't get his hands on her. She also helps Alera make a bargain with a loophole, sends her into hiding with a protective coat and ring, and checks up on her regularly.
- Hien is not pleased with Tien's teachers after learning that they forced him out of the closet, believing that being gay is a sin. Rather than go after them, since it would do no good, she retells "The Little Mermaid" with a happy ending and reassures Tien that no matter how he changes or who he loves, she always wants to be a part of his life.
Sacred Hospitality:
- When Gracia's sons find Alera sleeping in the woods, they take her to their mother. Gracia sets up Alera in her own bed and secures her a job at the palace, tending to the peach groves.
- That Cám and her stepmother violate this is serious. Tám returns home to pay respects to her dead father as a married woman. Rather than accept that they lost a wealthy match, her stepmother stabs her in the back and buries her in the yard. They are too scared to try anything the next year when Tám returns with an uncharacteristically cold expression.
- Brandon takes the transformed mermaid to the opera house. While Bertie is annoyed that he foisted a responsibility on her after Brandon asks her to take care of the mute girl, she quickly gets some spare clothes and asks if the girl is feeling okay.
Sweet Polly Oliver:
- Alera while dressed in the servant's clothes looks like a boy. She goes with it when the prince mistakes her for a boy named Al.
- Bertie dresses in boy's clothes for ballet performances with Ondine. They even kiss onstage. Bertie reveals after their latest performance that it was not just acting; she's fallen in love with Ondine for real.
Tongue Trauma: As in the original Little Mermaid tale, Ondine allows the Sea Witch to cut off her tongue and render her mute. When Hien finishes the story, Ondine is able to speak to say yes to Bertie's proposal.
What You Are in the Dark: Ondine as in the original tale is given a knife by her sisters. If she spills the prince's blood over her legs, she will become a mermaid again and save her own life. They beg her to take this chance since Brandon does not love her. As soon as they leave, Ondine stabs the knife into her own ballet skirt, tearing it rather than using it on an innocent person. Just as well, since while she doesn't win Brandon's heart, she does win Bertie's.