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samiavasa's review against another edition
5.0
the art is stunning, the narration moving and direct. I cried and cried.
geo_07's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Miscarriage
nhi_nguyen's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful memoir conveyed through visual and language arts. It's intimate, and in some ways, relatable. The stories are powerful reproductions of the author's parents' time during the Vietnam war, as well as her struggle to find her identity within it all. The illustration tied the story together, giving the needed visuals in order to appreciate the novel fully. One of the best memoirs I've read.
sctittle's review against another edition
5.0
I'm embarrassed to say I've never read a graphic novel before! I'm so glad this is my first because it's a really good story, beautifully illustrated, and with a lovely readable text. Bui's story is about her family, first the birth of her son, and then she reaches back to give her parents' origin stories in Vietnam. She shows how it felt to be Vietnamese during the French occupation, the liberation of Hanoi, America's involvement with the war, and finally the fall of Saigon. She tells of being a young girl in a Malaysian refugee camp, about resettlement in the US--Indiana then Calfornia--and about growing as a family of immigrants. Throughout Bui ponders the legacy of her parents' stories leave in her own family's story, including the harrowing birth of her son. I'm sure there are techniques that graphic novelists employ that can be found in this one, but because it's my first, I can only identify what leaps out at me: the rhythm and pacing of the story spreads. The use of first person, and how effectively text works when illustrated. It's a fast read if you are reading it like a novel--just to get to the story. Far better to savor each chapter, gaze at the illustrations. These are done in a hues of orange with various textures overlaid. The drawings are really beautiful. What a great way to learn about history (Bui is an educator and really knows how to make history come alive.)
I'm so glad I finally read a graphic novel. I'm so glad it was this one!
I'm so glad I finally read a graphic novel. I'm so glad it was this one!
alysses's review against another edition
5.0
Thi has set out to uncover and document her family's history.
This is a story of resilience, the human desire to live, survive, be understood, be seen... to be.
This was incredibly hard to read on so many levels. War is always hard to read about and more so when it is a first person recounting of it but this is equally as hard because of the family dynamics depicted in the pages. It was so sad. There is so much to dissect and take in but it feels wrong to do so because this is a real person and real experiences most likely going through it still.
I don't even know what to say... This was a lot.
This is a story of resilience, the human desire to live, survive, be understood, be seen... to be.
This was incredibly hard to read on so many levels. War is always hard to read about and more so when it is a first person recounting of it but this is equally as hard because of the family dynamics depicted in the pages. It was so sad. There is so much to dissect and take in but it feels wrong to do so because this is a real person and real experiences most likely going through it still.
I don't even know what to say... This was a lot.
sunscour's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this so much, while we are our parents children, they do not have to define who we become. Powerful stuff, read this in one sitting. Just the sacrifices the parents made.
abitliterate's review against another edition
5.0
where do i even begin with this? an absolutely amazing graphic memoir (that i didn’t even realize was a memoir until most of the way through) that discusses the family relationships and individual traumas of thi bui and her parents following and during the french occupation of vietnam and the vietnam war. it delves into conversations surrounding the impact of parental traumas on children, the vietnam war and the anti-vietnam propaganda spread by western cultures (particularly in the united states), parent-child relationships, motherhood, individuality, wealth disparity, colonization, “””peace”””, and so, so much more. i cannot recommend this enough and i imagine i will be thinking about it for a long time. there were so many panels i took pictures of because either the quotes or the art just perfectly captured the emotion being experienced. i truly appreciated the compassion with which bui explored her parents’ lives, allowing the reader to move away from easy blame, and instead growing their understanding of generational trauma. just so, so brilliant and raw and human. please read this.
EDIT: i forgot to mention that i really connected with the discussions around not having a close family even though you all live in the same house. also wanting to know your father and be close to him even though he hasn’t been very close to you. and wanting to know your parents’ life stories, for the sake of knowing them of course, but also to provide An Answer (that is not achievable, really) for Why everything has been so wrong.
EDIT #2: i think it's been under an hour since i finished this but i've already done so much thinking. i got in the shower and cried about my dad and my family for the first time in,,, really as long as i can remember. this story is so universal and yet so specific at the same time and it has truly impacted me so much already.
EDIT: i forgot to mention that i really connected with the discussions around not having a close family even though you all live in the same house. also wanting to know your father and be close to him even though he hasn’t been very close to you. and wanting to know your parents’ life stories, for the sake of knowing them of course, but also to provide An Answer (that is not achievable, really) for Why everything has been so wrong.
EDIT #2: i think it's been under an hour since i finished this but i've already done so much thinking. i got in the shower and cried about my dad and my family for the first time in,,, really as long as i can remember. this story is so universal and yet so specific at the same time and it has truly impacted me so much already.
snoopysnoopy's review against another edition
5.0
- Central question: "How well do we really know out parents?"
- an immigrant story
- a history/lineage rediscovering family story
- title makes me tear up for many reasons
- a graphic novel (beautifully illustrated with brush pen) so a relatively quick read
- an immigrant story
- a history/lineage rediscovering family story
- title makes me tear up for many reasons
- a graphic novel (beautifully illustrated with brush pen) so a relatively quick read