Book Review: My Brother's Husband, Vol. 1 by Gengoroh Tagame

My Brother’s Husband, Vol. 1.
by Gengoroh Tagame [741.5 Tag]

My Brother’s Husband, Vol. 1. is a Japanese graphic novel about a single father and his daughter — Yaichi and Kana — who take in a special guest. Mike is the Canadian whom Yaichi’s twin brother Ryoji married. Mike is visiting Japan after Ryoji’s death to see the places and meet the people Ryoji told him stories about.

As readers, we see things from Yaichi’s perspective as he struggles with his own prejudices against gay people and guilt over not fully accepting his brother. Kana is the voice of youth, excited to learn about her foreign uncle’s strange taste in food and show off her own country. Kana’s questions about homophobia stir her father into rethinking his own views farther.

This is a funny and touching manga volume about loss, more than one kind of “non-traditional” family arrangement, cultural exchange, and positive fatherhood. It’s billed as an “all ages” comic, but the use of a “WTF!” early on as well as the focus on internal consideration over action in some sections makes it most appropriate for either middle & high school readers OR for parents of kids around that age. It’s great for young people worried about coming out. I would even suggest it to people with a lot of anti-gay prejudice. I don’t see how anyone could get through this story without both laughing and crying along the way. I put Volume 2 on hold immediately!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Tea Dragon Society, by Katie O’Neill, or The Prince and the Dressmaker, by Jen Wang.]

[ publisher’s official My Brother’s Husband Vol 1 web site ] | [ Wikipedia page for Gengoroh Tagame ]

Recommended by Garren H.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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