Guojing's Oasis, her second graphic novel after The Flamingo, is another spectacular stunner that perfectly balances evocative art with minimal text. In a harsh, barren landscape, JieJie and her younger brother, DiDi, somehow manage to survive alone, buoyed by the promise of reuniting with their mother. Mom is 25 hours away, overworked in a grueling underground factory that builds the AI robots that ensure exclusive Oasis City remains a prosperous, pure paradise.
On DiDi's birthday, the children chase a water-thieving fox into a trash heap, where they discover a discarded robot. JieJie, dragging the main components home, manages to awaken the machine: "Please state your wish," the robot invites. Since DiDi is the birthday boy, he hesitantly reveals, "I... I want... a mom." The children are quickly, utterly enthralled: AI Mom is wondrous--protective, nurturing, unconditionally loving. But what happens when real Mom returns?
Chinese Canadian Guojing dedicates Oasis to "the left-behind children," a disturbing global phenomenon in which children "are left in rural areas while their parents leave to find work in the city." Her close-ups of their young faces are both wrenching and hopeful--they are abandoned, yet they tenaciously trust in their faraway mother. AI Mom is another marvel, her undeniable humanity an emotional oasis for all. The sepia tones dominating Guojing's pages reflect the loneliness of separation, but hints of rose and pink--particularly on faces, hands, and hearts--confirm unbreakable familial bonds. By book's end, the colors gently glow. Admirers (of any age) of Shaun Tan's iconic The Arrival will recognize similar genius here. --Terry Hong