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sarah984's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This is the first time I've read a graphic memoir. It's an interesting format - the watercolour images give everything a kind of dreamy memory-like quality which is especially interesting in the parts that the author experienced as a small child. It's a story about Vietnam, but also about parents and children and what we pass down, both on purpose and without meaning to. It can be a heavy read, but I enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical content, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Torture
Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Miscarriage
ehmannky's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
A beautiful memoir, both in terms of the art and the story. Bui brings the effects of colonialism on the individual to the front and center, and how those who are simply trying to live their lives are the ones who suffer the most from imperial dreams. In the chapter "The Chessboard," she even mentions that in the grand scheme of the global chess for her country, her family didn't even factor in at all, even though their trauma was the result of the game. This trauma just manifests in every interaction of her family's lives, from the complicated way that her family relates (or struggles to relate) to one another, to her birth experience. Bui doesn't take a stance on the war itself, instead framing it as an all-around traumatic and tragic event, one sparked by centuries of foreign rule and colonialism. It's a lovely and intimate story and I couldn't put it down.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Child death, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, and Xenophobia
icfasntw's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Miscarriage, and Medical content
Minor: Rape, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
This is a graphic novelization of the author's family story, which includes her parents' lives in Vietnam from the 1940s and 50s through their escape to the United States after the Vietnam War. Thi Bui doesn't sensationalize their story, but she presents it honestly, and it isn't an easy one.
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