IN THE LAND OF THE SMALL DRAGON

This Vietnamese Cinderella story is told in the stylized, metric form we are told is traditional and interspersed with little proverbs or other italicized comments. ""A man's worth is what he does,/not what he says he can do,"" is one such passage; ""In truth, beauty seeks goodness;/ What is beautiful is good"" better represents the theme. This version of the rivalry between the virtuous heroine and her treacherous half-sister plays some effective changes on a theme that can always draw response. However, for those accustomed to Western Storytelling the distancing manner of this telling requires some adjustments, and the compensating rewards of this particular sample are limited. The authors do well enough with concrete description and straight narration, but the italicized statements often verge on the platitudinous and the pretty phrases aren't as sharp as they should be--a weakness that is compounded in Tony Chen's pretty but insipid pictures.