I relistened to this for the Hugos, and dang, the tears came aflowing, even after reading it again.
This story and "the Homecoming" deal with similar themes: a son turning his back on family. I found Paper Menagerie to be more heartbreaking though. Which is interesting, because both boys have similar motives: the one in Homecoming sees an opportunity to visit other worlds, and become something other than human. The one here in Paper Menagerie wants to fit in his world, so he changes himself to fit better.
At the heart of both stories is acceptance and blessing, which I think this story deals with it better than Homecoming. The son in Homecoming is estranged from his parents, but he still deeply loves them and yearns to be reunited with them. Even though he wears an alien body, he still considers himself human; just enhanced. The father is unable to see that; he thinks that in dumping his human body, the son is denying them, whereas the son argues it's not outside appearance, but what's on the inside. He never gave up that part of himself. Whether if this is true or not is debatable, but the son is secure in who he is, and ultimately receives the blessing he is looking for.
In Paper Menagerie, however, it is the mother who yearns to be understood. In a way, this story is more about her than the son, who has deliberately turned his back on her culture and denies that part of her exists in him. Thus, she is left alone with her pain, which ultimately kills her. But she leaves behind a trail anyway, always hopeful that he would come around. The heartbreaking part is that he does...too late for her to receive that blessing of finally being understood.
Hmm...after I listened to it again, I decided not to vote for it because I felt it ended too quickly. Now that I written the above, I understand why Liu ended it the way he did. I still would like to see more repentence on the son's part, but still, a very strong story.