Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

25 reviews

questingnotcoasting's review

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

This was a fascinating, moving read. I picked it up in a charity shop having never heard of it and I'm so glad to have found it. Thi Bui tells the story of her family in Vietnam and then the US while examining the legacy of trauma that war and displacement leave. Her family's story is poignant and heart-wrenching and her haunting illustration style and muted orange tones were very effective in portraying that. It was also really interesting to learn something about a part of history I knew very little about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Medical content, Miscarriage, War, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse

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

stacyrenee's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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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. 

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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 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

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

booktot6468's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

Such a real and heartbreaking story of her struggle as a new mother, and the history of her parents fleeing Vietnam for safety during the war. Am utterly amazed at how she actually drew so much for this book, and kudos to the author for this bc that mustve taken so much work!! Really loved this <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Domestic abuse

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Xenophobia and Child death

Minor: Suicide, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Miscarriage

nonfictionfeminist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Miscarriage, and War