Liu also adds other details to make this magical truth persuasive, like ‘the capillary action’ which ‘pulled the dark liquid high up into’ the legs of the water buffalo which ‘jumped into a dish of soy sauce on the table at dinner.’ The magical paper animal is juxtaposed with the ordinariness of dinner, while the soy sauce gives the cultural background of the story. An important feature of the genre is that the story never acknowledges the elements of fantasy – they are narrated in exactly the same way as the rest of the story so that they appear as true. On the one hand there is the reality of life in Connecticut, with neighbours, school and ‘Star Wars action figures’ on the other hand we have origami animal figures which ‘pounced’, ‘growled’ and ‘vibrated’. Liu blends the vocabulary and style of realism with fantasy, a genre known as magical realism.
Though it is in itself worded clearly and dispassionately, the letter creates a very moving final stage as Jack is made to revaluate his life and his relationship with his mother. In Ken Liu’s story this takes the form of the mother’s lengthy letter. Many short stories end with a twist, or a change in perspective which invites reconsideration of the story that has just been read.
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