Fried Rice

by Erica Eng

After finishing secondary school, Min spends her school holiday with her cousin Lilly in Kuala Lumpur. She daydreams of migrating to the United States to work in animation and submits an application to a prestigious art school in New York.

Fried Rice is a story about a young person wanting to leave home in order to chase a dream career and carve out her own destiny.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Young Adult

180 pages, Paperback

Published February 15, 2024

Reviews

[Spens]

Actual rating: 3.5

Cozy and touching. The perfect Sunday morning read. So relaxing yet heartfelt.

[Aila Azizul]

what a cozy treat to a lazy afternoon.

i had the pleasure of speaking and having dinner with the author a few weeks ago. she mentioned lat the kampung boy as her first comic book and it’s nice to see that fried rice is reminiscent of that. i think what really brings fried rice together is the author’s unique art style and choice of color palettes that exude a certain kind of softness to her work. i really appreciated the little sneak peek behind the author’s process at the end of the book, that was a nice touch and it made me feel closer to the story, and in effect, the author.

[Nadiah Zakaria]

Haven't read a graphic novel in a hot minute. This one was quite emotional because I felt the way Min handled rejection so deeply. I felt like it ended quite abruptly without resolve though, and so it's almost incomplete to me. I wish I enjoyed it more in the aspect of the storyline, but it did not do it for me even though I thoroughly enjoyed and adored Erica Eng's art style for this book.

The ending of the book, where the author/illustrator shares the behind the scenes of the book and even her personal story that is related to Min's, is really lovely. I love that personal touch, and it gives more depth to the story to me. Without it, I don't think it would've hit the same.

All in all a very short and good read for those who are looking to check out unapologetically Malaysian graphic novels with a simple storyline that might hit home to some of us!

[Ary アリ]

Spoiler alert: Fried rice is not a graphic novel about fried rice, but about Min in navigating her future after SPM. It is based on the author’s life, set in Batu Pahat and Bangsar.

Her drawing may seemed simple but I love the attention to details that brought me back to those years of penpals and public telephones. Her memories of high school, her time hanging out at a friend’s house are so beautifully captured, even reminiscing mine. I also love how she played with colours that gives a mellow mood to her drawings.

What a melancholic and nostalgic read! I took my time and finished this in a couple of sitting (though you can do it one).

[Ella Pang]

gorgeous gorgeous illustrations of malaysian scenes and culture <3 i can empathise with the author’s sentiment about wanting to leave home, and also lovely to see the ways she expresses gratitude and acceptance through this little story. the ending feels too abrupt though, and i cant tell if the protagonist is happy or not!!!!

[Fantaghiro23]

So, so beautiful. I’m Southeast Asian, and growing up, I too sometimes thought it might be better to be elsewhere. FRIED RICE captures that beautifully, and yet, by the end of the book, the only place I really wanted to visit is the author’s home town, which she captures with such grace and love.

[Em]

what does fried rice mean exactly in this book’s context? did i miss something because i didnt get it, like i cannot see the correlation between choosing fried rice as the title to the storyline. then again, i’m not that deep-

anyway this is a graphic novel by a malaysian’s author/illustrator about a girl named min who wants to continue tertiary study at her university of choice out of malaysia.

i think the illustration throughout the book is nice to see (coming from a reader who enjoy reading webtoon series as her side quest). it’s heartwarming, laidback and i like that the author captures essences and aesthetics that are related to malaysia. however, there are parts where i cannot really see the character’s expressions being translated properly through the drawing- i see it, then i get confused to interpret or maybe it’s just a personal preference where i want to see more.

the storyline perhaps needs a little more detailing and the ending- i’m sorry but kapchagiii?? i was taken aback! i didn’t expect the story to end abruptly before moving to the author’s personal notes about her process of illustrating fried rice.

[Zulfah]

The synopsis mentioned a girl who wants to pursue animation and as someone in the animation industry, I felt compelled to get it.
very nostalgic, very melancholic. made me miss childhood a little bit. even as a malaysian who didn't grow up in Malaysia, the illustrations in this book still made me feel at home.

The compositions and framing of each panel feels intentional and the art style feels very Malaysian. While reading, it reminded me of Studio Ghibli's Only Yesterday. And I could imagine scenes from the book as a 2D animated film. I hope it happens one day.

[Sai theengineerisreading]

Borrowed a copy of this graphic novel from Tita Diane since we met the author-artist during last year’s PICOF.

I finished it in one sitting and I love the art style - very reminiscent of the Philippines and brings the same sense of nostalgia of living with extended family in a small community.

Fried Rice talks about dreams and aspirations and the reality about how, sometimes, we don’t easily get to achieve our goals. I was looking for more though after flipping the last page.

[Cody Wilson]

This is a pleasant, light read. Eng's watercolor art is beautiful, and she has a knack for understated visual imagery. There are moments I felt Eng could have more explicitly described what she meant (for example, the unnamed book that Min borrows from her aunt). This semi-autobiographical story is great for a first-time work and suggests Eng has more ambitious comics to create in her future.

[Olena Golubiatnikova]

Beautiful story. I love the afterword! Great work!

[Shrunkula]

Ooohhhh, this book is so warmmm. Glad I picked it up when I visit KL last year. Despite my consistent desire to leave, I too, want to remember home fondly.

[Luke Shunmugam]

This book reminds me of the weekday afternoons I spent growing up reading Lat comics and eating muruku in my grandparents home. I love it

[Vida Ariff]

Nope, tiada nasi goreng dalam buku ini. Akan tetapi, buku ini buat hati rasa selesa dan hangat. Jalan cerita yang biasa, namun disampaikan dalam bentuk lukisan yang mampu membuai rasa.

[Kathryn Hemmann]

Fried Rice is a semi-autobiographical graphic novel about a Malaysian high school student named Min who dreams of studying animation at “NY Arts” in America. In the first half, the reader follows Min as she polishes her illustration skills and nurtures her ambitions. Unfortunately, Min’s application is rejected, and the second half of the story is about her preparations to study animation at a university in Malaysia.

Min’s family is supportive and nurturing, as is her community, and what might first seem like a story about rejection turns out to be a story about happiness, belonging, and hope for the future. In many ways, Fried Rice feels like an animated film. The characters are beautifully expressive, the environments are detailed and immersive, and the flow of the story is subtle yet strong.

[Kat Elle]

Fried Rice is a coming-of-age story of a Malaysian girl who dreams to become an animator. It gives us a glimpse of her family and culture through the author-illustrator's beautiful and captivating artwork—which I found to be the strongest point of the book. I hoped the storytelling was better, but given that I’m not of the same descent, there might be a lack of nuances from my perspective.

[Sara Ikmal]

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel that was excellent at drawing me in and letting me feel everything on the page. It was an immersive experience - I could almost touch and smell some of the scenes in this book, that was just how familiar it felt, something of a universal Malaysian experience perhaps. Loved the little details in ever single page.

I also enjoyed the bits at the end with the artist's notes and sketches.

My only qualm with it was how abruptly it ended, even though I understand the purpose of leaving it that way and signifying how life simply keeps moving forward. The result felt a little anticlimactic. And we never really get any indication of how the title relates to the story. I'm assuming it is meant to be symbolic, but if so it didn't hit home for me.

[Afreen Aftab]

The art and story in this graphic novel was really warm and lovely. It's the story about a young girl, Min, who wishes to join an art school in the US after graduation. The comic captured the uncertainties, the dreams and aspirations of a young girl as well as her relationship with her family. But i wish there has a bit more to the ending; not really a resolution but atleast the hint of hope for the future.

[Fugumii]

I can’t express how i love this book. The illustrations, the storyline, the extras at the end.
Love how it captures the Malaysian’s aesthetic with the school scenes, the kopitiam scenes, even the breakfast in the beginning.
Even though it doesn’t have lots of words, but i feel sad when Min received the email. Good job Erica!
Really love it.

[li 莉]

gorgeous art style filled with heart and tinged with nostalgia. more time is spent exploring min’s life in spite of the heartbreaking rejection instead of the disappointment itself, which i think is a deliberate choice by the author and artist.

[Pearline]

Review for myself: artwork is beautiful but story jumps from scene to scene so there isn’t much of a story. Ending was pretty abrupt. I may give it another go next time if i have the chance when i am in a better headspace. Coming of age/ moving away themes

[Hanan Syahmi]

A cute story with especially the emotions of finishing high school and not knowing what to do after. The drawings were pretty and much preferred the scenery art in batu pahat over KL. However, there was no mention of fried rice 🍚

[Cherlynn | cherreading]

✨ "I wish there was a way of knowing if what you're doing is what you're meant to be doing."

Very slice-of-life and quintessentially Malaysian. I liked the illustrations and art style, which fit the tone and mood of the book perfectly. Not much of a narrative here, so just an okay read for me and I didn't feel engaged nor completely satisfied.

[Emmzxiee]

Love the illustration! Something that I can use for reference. However, the story didn't resonate that much with me. Though it speaks about dreams, I felt that I was looking at some things in the story.

Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars

[Gab of Green Gables]

A very chill graphic novel read that made me miss the province life.

I liked that the key elements of the story were parallel to what happened to the author's life before.

Art style was very refreshing to see.

[GooglyEye Superman]

Yeah cozy is the perfect word to describe this comic. I feel so much love here, it’s almost impossible to imagine Min anywhere else but home.

Nice to hear Erica would go on to SF for college and win awards for her comics, and still come home.

[Mirr.F]

Relatable & beauty drawing and art 😍😍😍

[Doreen Lim]

The story sure brought me back to past. Leaving school, making career choices, upsets and disappointments, hopes and excitements etc,

[Alexandria]

also read this on plane it was so cute

[Lyana A.]

“I wish there was a way of knowing if what you’re doing is what you’re meant to be doing”

Simple story with beautiful illustrations. LOVE IT!