Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

37 reviews

zoracious's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and War

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Miscarriage

an_everyday_penguin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Miscarriage, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Death

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. 

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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 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. 

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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.

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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 infant

archcon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective fast-paced

4.5

A great, reflective, and beautifully illustrated story of generational experiences and their effects on the following generations. Definitely an important read for those interested in the Vietnam War.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Medical content, War, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Grief

CW: child birth

emoweaboo's review against another edition

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

saracatalyst's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This book is incredible. I learned so much about the history of Vietnam and her family. I also learned and reflected a lot about what family means and what’s meaningful in life. 

The illustrations are incredible and the mix of images and text for storytelling is masterful. I will absolutely read this again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pregnancy, War, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Miscarriage, and Child death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

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. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Murder, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Grief, Racism, Violence, and War