Boxers

Gene Luen Yang’s Boxers & Saints is a pair of volumes about rebellion in 19th century China. In Boxers, we follow a young man whose father is humiliated at the hands of the foreign devils and the people who’ve gravitated to their power so he turns to mystical powers to try to rid China of their influence.

The stories are good, but somewhat slight. I don’t know. I liked the representation of the Brotherhood of the Righteous Fist becoming gods in their fights. Whenever I read histories of the Boxer Rebellion it seems stupid that so many people would believe a little ritual would protect them from bullets. This represented things in a way much easier to empathize with.

Really though, these books are a decent enough fictionalization of history, but it felt like the characters were there as a means of showing us history rather than having real depth of their own. Which is disappointing, because Yang’s made me care about characters and their individual struggles before.

A touching, intriguing graphic novel, a companion to Saints. About a boy in rural China who leads the rebellion against the Christians. Truthful, interesting, a wonderful plot, history intertwined with fiction. Highly recommended!

The Boxers and Saints books were recommended to me by a friend of mine who is really into history and graphic novels.

This book shows the horrors and truths of war and invasions without being biased for one side, which I loved.

The companion book, Saints, tells nearly the same story, but from the perspective of the opposite side.

So seldom have I seen a book about the Boxer Rebellion that paints the Boxers as human beings who were simply fighting for what they believed was right.

Nothing is white-washed, the characters are very lively and the setting is (so far as I can tell) extremely accurate and well-researched.

This book offers no Pollyanna ending, although to figure out what truly happened and answer some of the questions that may have been haunting you, you should read 'Saints' as well.

Instead, Boxers shows that we seldom get our perfect, fairytale endings and we seldom stay pure in our motives and virtues, but occasionally, we make it through. We survive, against the odds. It's beautiful.

I'd recommend reading this for a fresh perspective on the standard historical fiction work.

(Reviewed as part of Boxers and Saints, they're companion novels.)

The Boxer Rebellion in China between 1899 and 1901, through the eyes of two Chinese teenagers: a young man in the forefront of the anti-foreign, anti-Christian movement, and a young woman who converted to Christianity and whose home comes under attack.

Yang does an amazing job humanizing the real people caught up in the conflict, and showing how tragic the whole conflict was for everyone no matter what “side” they were on. This book is a meticulously researched masterwork.

A compelling read. Like many conflicts, neither side is blameless and you have to read it's companion title "Saints" for the full picture and the end of Little Bao's story.
~Alexa

This intriguing time period (1894-1900) provides ample scope for the story, and it is mythology and the costuming of Chinese opera that give Yang room for artistic flair rather than pure visual realism.

Read my full review: http://shayshortt.com/2015/11/10/boxers-saints/

Boxers & Saints are a masterful pair of graphic novels that offer perspective on both sides of China's Boxer Rebellion. The struggle hinged upon the arrival of Europeans who brought Christianity to the Chinese along with an unfortunate dose of subjugation.

Read more at: http://www.librarypoint.org/boxers_saints_yang

Longer than Saints, this book feels fuller and richer than it's companion novel. Bao's character is well rounded, as we watch him grow from a helpless boy into a man teetering on the edge of self-doubt. The drawing style is simple and compelling, with a careful use of color (especially for the Chinese gods) to draw the reader's eye. An interesting look at a conflict often overlooked by American schools.

Wow! This is one beautiful story. I loved the place of myth here and was really interested in the perspective given on the impact of imperial presence. Very neat. An absolute must read!

I liked that this book and its companion volume "Saints" showed the human side of people on both sides of the Boxer Rebellion- a boy who fights to protect China from foreign influences and a girl who becomes a Christian to find a belonging she lacks in her family. The story never resorted to false equivalency, however - Bao's actions are definitely wrong, despite his understandable motives. Read if you're a history buff, or if you just like a good story.