Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

25 reviews

drraytay's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0


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cecilie_who_reads's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

A story of survival, endurance and plans thwarted by the casual arrogance of several warring parties, told without self pity and in neutral tones. This graphic chronicle follows tells and shows the stories of Thi Bui's parents. As for the emotions, it tells about Thi Bui's reactions to this, but does not beg the reader to feel the same way.
But her parents as children and young people are so well conveyed that you feel it could be you. The lack of safety, the repeated chock of having all plans overturned, sneaks in on you in your armchair. It invites the reader (and, as Thi Bui says, her own self too) to renewed respect for the survivors, even those that spend their days in a dark room, grumpy and unapproachable for apparently no reason.



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osteele98's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

3.75


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moon_dude's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

The illustration is so beautiful! Wonderfully composed, and a thoughtful exploration of what it means to be a parent, especially within the context of trauma and war.

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alixsbooktherapy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

4.5

Bo was a lazy  dad who didnt really care for his kids he smoked most of the time and let the kids cry
Bo cheated on his wife while the kids were in the house they saw the women naked and had lots of questions 
Thi used to get weird calls from creepy men saying really inappropate things to her as a kid she  used to read her dads paraphernalia memorizing all the pictures
The kids childhoods weren't your average childhoods they watched the exorcis at 5 years old (definitely  not a movie for kids)

I hate that we go into the "to understand  how my father became the way he was I had to learn what happend  to him as a little boy" that's no excuse for what he did. Or how he wasn't a good dad

We learn alot about the past and how growing  up back then is 10x different  then it is now 
Bo was raised in the jungle at the time in 1940 during the world war 2
Bos dad cheated on his mom with the neighbor at the end of the street and when  she asked about it she was screamed at
Bo watched one night as his father beat his mother badly and threw her out of the house in 1945 at the height of the famine

Her mom hit the kids and the servants 
Back in these times kids were forced to work  if you didn't work then you were seen as lazy

Bos grandfather had cheated on his grandma, the fight escalted into her falling and cutting open her head on the door which Bo had to take her to the hostipal the next Day Bos grandma  left Bos grandfather his grandfather when they arrives in sài gón tried to  ask bos grandma "let's make a new home together " after what he did to her thankfully she said "no I don't need you" so fricken proud of her but sooner then later the diêms forces ended up fighting with others and it led to Bos grandmothers doorstep making her lose her securites and more scared of violence she agreed to go back to her cheating husband

"And there in 1962 I met your mother"
Thi's mom "besides the very first year, I met Bo and that was it he just monopolized me, it was like I was married from the very first year of college'

It was wholesome that Bo and thi's  mom after they lost their first kid remembered  the movie they went to and the place they both wanted to go, it became a place they went for a time to forget but also a brief honeymoon  period 

This book was so beautiful  we got to learn about Thi's  parents and her journey as a mom
When thi had her baby they ended up with jaundice so her and her partner were only allowed to see their kid for 20 minutes enough time to feed him then go back sleep  for 90 minutes and do it again
The nurse when thi's  baby was allowed to go home helped Thi  breastfeed her baby as it didn't work the first try and it successfully worked

"To accidentally  call myself mẹ was to slip myself  into her shoes just for a moment"
"To let her be not what I want her to be but someone independent, self- determining, and free,means  letting  go of that picture of her in my head."

"What becomes of us after we die? Do we live on in what we leave our children?"

This book is a must read and I mean it this was a book that broke my heart then healed it again this was so beautiful  thank you to Thi Bui for writing this beautiful  book!

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bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

Through words and images, Thi Bui tells a story that is intensely personal and broadly impactful. This story is about the history of one country, and one family, but Bui’s artful and engaging storytelling brings everyone into the story. An exemplary example of the graphic novel memoir that any fan of the medium must read.

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careinthelibrary's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced
I'm in the minority for not loving this! It didn't work for me, something about the jumping through time and character meant I never sank into the narrative of their lives fully before we were ripped away. Maybe that's the impression the author wanted to leave the reader with, I'm not sure. I'll seek out other books on this period of history! 

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mksassi's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense slow-paced

3.0


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ka_cam's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

4.5

A moving reflection on family and the relationships between parents and children and people and time/place. Thi Bui addresses heavy topics with sensitivity and compassion for subjects. 

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hannahmaecox's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

I read this for my Graphic Novels class - I’m so glad I had the excuse to analyze it in-depth. TBWCD is just stunning. So much thought, emotion, conversation, learning, and labor went into this story and it’s incredibly layered. It will stay with me for years to come.

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