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lauravreads's review against another edition
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.
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.
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.
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
stacyrenee's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Death, Miscarriage, Violence, and War
carmentxx's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Genocide, Miscarriage, War, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Classism and Death
Minor: Domestic abuse and Infidelity
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
A gorgeous artwork reflecting on lives torn apart by war. Thi Bui examines how war and political upheaval impacted her parents throughout their whole lives, shows her family’s harrowing escape from communist forces in Vietnam, and recounts the struggles they faced as refugees in America. Content warnings for war, death, child and infant death, difficult pregnancy, PTSD, racism, and other difficult content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Death, Child death, Colonisation, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Child abuse, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
Refugee struggles, stillborn infantmegloveswords12's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, and War
kathis_wonderland's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui shows her life. Born in Vietnam, Thi and her family had to flee the war there. Reflecting on her family's decisions and taking a look at her parents’ lives, Thi is searching for her family’s history and her heritage.
This is my first graphic novel. It is quite a different reading experience than reading a book without illustrations, but I enjoyed it. I learnt a lot about Vietnam's history, which was really interesting. The mixture of personal story and history was awesome. I keep thinking about using this memoir in my history classes at some point in the future. It just gives a different point of view on the events than there is in the history books. The memoir also illustrates perfectly how your parents' trauma can affect your own life. I discovered that there is a teacher's guide, discussion questions and a pronunciation guide available on Thi Bui's website. Reading through some of the questions helped me to understand the book more and reflect on the story.
I find it difficult to write a review about a memoir that tells a personal story about someone's life. However, I really liked this book and learnt a lot while reading it. It educates the reader about historic events and at the same time, shows multi-generational struggles. To be honest, this book is quite a masterpiece that can be used in education.
This is my first graphic novel. It is quite a different reading experience than reading a book without illustrations, but I enjoyed it. I learnt a lot about Vietnam's history, which was really interesting. The mixture of personal story and history was awesome. I keep thinking about using this memoir in my history classes at some point in the future. It just gives a different point of view on the events than there is in the history books. The memoir also illustrates perfectly how your parents' trauma can affect your own life. I discovered that there is a teacher's guide, discussion questions and a pronunciation guide available on Thi Bui's website. Reading through some of the questions helped me to understand the book more and reflect on the story.
I find it difficult to write a review about a memoir that tells a personal story about someone's life. However, I really liked this book and learnt a lot while reading it. It educates the reader about historic events and at the same time, shows multi-generational struggles. To be honest, this book is quite a masterpiece that can be used in education.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Murder, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Grief, Racism, Violence, and War
brookey8888's review against another edition
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.
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
bookshopvampire's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Suicide attempt, and Violence
alesbookishcorner's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Xenophobia and Child death
Minor: Suicide, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Miscarriage