Customer Reviews

Wingman

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When I was 11 years old, my Aunt Mary bought me Wingman, by Daniel Manus Pinkwater. I am greatful. Disguised in Mr. Pinkwater's funky, quirky, belivably flawed, beautiful human characters is a story about family, heritage, prejudice, and the power of the imagination.

The story centers around a young Chinese boy who loves comics. His father is supporting the family after his mother becomes ill. He is picked upon in school. Soon, he is playing hooky to read his comics in the "saftey" of a bridge span. It is there we meet Wingman. He swoops the boy off to ancient China. He is tall, powerful, handsome, invincible. . . and Chinese.

The book shows powerfully, without being preachy, values such as cultural pride, and the feelings of being "different." It is an incredible read, whether you are 11 or 70.

I'm sorry to see that this book is out of print - I had to get my copy from a library that was getting rid of their copy. This will be a biased review, because this was the first book I ever read by myself from beginning to end, at around age 6. At that age, I thought it was magic. I carried the book around until it fell apart.

"Wingman" is a beautiful book. Pinkwater tells a story that has a lot of pain in it - the loneliness of the main character is intense and real in the same way it might be in a book by Dostoevsky. There are a lot of stories about not fitting in, about being different, but "Wingman" tells its story with no sentimentality, and with no attempt to soften the facts for children.

There's a lot in this book to counterbalance that pain, though - this is a story about imagination. Pinkwater leaves the figure of Wingman as a mystery that lingers after the book is done. The main character manages to weather his hard times, and his gifts find a place in the world.

Pinkwater's drawings are done in a comic book style and they're a perfect match to the story.