Boxers and Saints / Gene Luen Yang

   It is important to have a good base of knowledge when it comes to history, and while I'm doing pretty well on the Western history front, I know next to nothing about non-Russian Asian history, and my knowledge of Russian history pretty much revolves around the Romanov assassination. Anastasia: dead? Not dead? You decide.

   When I heard about this pair of books by Gene Luen Yang I knew that I ought to read them. I'm sorry to say that my knowledge of the Boxer Rebellion was limited to:

1. It happened in China
2. It didn't go well for anyone involved

    Boxers is written from the perspective of Little Bao, a boy living in rural China at the beginning of the Boxer Rebellion. He and his brothers learn kung-fu and form the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists. Saints tells the story of Vibiana, an unwanted fourth daughter who becomes a Christian, sees visions of Joan of Arc, and moves to Peking. The two stories are intertwined, with several events being directly experienced by both Vibiana and Little Bao, but with opposing viewpoints.

   Both books are well written and engaging stories, and the art is beautiful. They're a good primer on a brutal uprising. Essentially, they were exactly what I wanted them to be and I recommend them to anyone.