Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

19 reviews

alteirence's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Colonisation, Violence, Infidelity, Abortion, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Death

lauravreads's review

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

Thi Bui immigrated to the states as a young girl. In her memoir, she delves into her family history and how the international political status of Vietnam affected so many citizens including her family. This is the first time I've read an illustrated memoir and it was quite the experience. Reading a comic book-style memoir brought a different element to the book that  I loved. I learned so much about Vietnam, the french colonization of Vietnam, and the political divide between the north and south. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Violence, War, and Colonisation

Minor: Infidelity, Torture, and Rape

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

3.25

the best we could do is an informative yet interesting graphic novel, combining the personal and political, as well as the individual story against the larger backdrop of historical upheaval into a family account that reverberates w/ questions around legacy, family, and - as the title suggests - how ppl try to their best w/ their circumstances. 

i personally think the structure can be a lil confusing w/ the frequent back-and-forth and the past-present transitions; there's a lot going on here after all. nevertheless, bui's placing of her familial history against the larger unfolding historical backdrop is great, providing useful context and deeper understanding. my fav thing abt this book, however, is bui's reflections on her family legacy, as well as her familiar feelings of equal gratefulness, resentment and guilt towards her parents. idk if it's simply an immigrant thing but it hits deep..

in terms of the art, i dont find it too eye-catching, not that it's unremarkable but perhaps bc it complements and flows rly well - too well - w/ the story. there's an appropriate level of detail and bui knows when to give her pages space, and the watercolor paints and lineart are nice. sometimes, however, the characters come across as unintentionally comical bc of the overly big head compared to their body; a few of the paneling can be confusing as well.

this is a good graphic novel for those who are interested in not only vietnamese history but also the human impact of its upheaval, the smaller stories of common ppl against the backdrop of historic change. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, War, Infidelity, and Racism

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Child death, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Mental illness and Fire/Fire injury

carmentxx's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

this book had me tearing up like hell. as the daughter of vietnamese immigrants myself, the constant questions of identity and belonging really hit home. the drawings are beautiful and the art style really emulates the level of pain and confusion felt throughout war. this book has made me want to learn more about my own past. an excellent introduction into the refugee complex, the vietnam war and just an overall beautiful and heartbreaking story and family, hope and loss. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Genocide, Miscarriage, War, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Classism and Death

Minor: Domestic abuse and Infidelity

emoweaboo's review

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Child death, Colonisation, and Xenophobia

Minor: Domestic abuse

brookey8888's review

challenging dark informative inspiring sad medium-paced

3.0

I did enjoy this and learn things, but I just felt like the story telling was a little confusing at first. It also didn’t get into the history till later, which is fine because this is her family history, but it talks about motherhood and I don’t really care about that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Grief, Violence, Colonisation, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, War, Child death, Racism, Sexism, Abandonment, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, and Genocide

alesbookishcorner's review

challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

The Best We Could Do is one of the most impressing graphic novels I have read so far. It focuses not only on Thi Bui's own experiences and feelings, but also her ancestors (from her parents to even their grandparents). It also tells the story of the Indochina war, how it affected various generations in different ways. While it is an exploration of her own culture, The Best We Could Do also is a study of her own parents and how their behavior influenced Bui herself. And how this might influence her own son. It is very emotional and definitely has it's sad and challenging moments. It is a read that will stay with me for a while. The art style took me a moment to get into, but then I started to love how it features only black, white and read. It fit very well with the topics and topics mentioned.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Xenophobia and Child death

Minor: Suicide, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

f18's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Vomit

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.

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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