The King of Fu is a memoir written in poetic verse about what it’s like to grow up in the 90’s. I’m not a huge reader of memoirs but The King of Fu caught my eye because of the way it was told. It was such a unique way to tell a story about your life and I enjoyed the easy, flowing writing. 

The illustrations complimented the writing. I loved that they had an almost child like quality but were dark too - fitting perfectly with what was being said. 

I am a 90’s kid myself so it was fun to read about some of the things I remember from my own childhood. I loved that the author included small explanations as to what things are like, for example - 

“Landlines 

(Antique things

Attached to a wall

That made noises 

Like ring ring

And tried to sell you things)”

Serious things like the death of a pet, bullying, suicide, and drugs were told with humour weaved in. It gave a light hearted touch to what was at times quite a dark tale.  

One thing I struggled with was trying to keep track of who was who. The author used names like ‘Supervisor’ for mother and ‘the insurance underwriter’ for father (I’m not even sure if I have these right). It was a nice touch but it wasn’t always clear who was who and it was confusing.

I would recommend this book to anyone who grew up in the 90’s and would like to reminisce about the time, someone who is interested to see what it was like to be a 90’s kid, or perhaps anyone who is looking for a unique, funny story about someone’s life.