Book 56 of my 2020 Reading Challenge
read from August 21 - 27
The Best We Could Do
by Thi Bui
Summary (via Goodreads)
published 2017
This illustrated memoir is about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.
At the heart of Bui’s story is a universal struggle: While adjusting to life as a first-time mother, she ultimately discovers what it means to be a parent—the endless sacrifices, the unnoticed gestures, and the depths of unspoken love. Despite how impossible it seems to take on the simultaneous roles of both parent and child, Bui pushes through.
At the heart of Bui’s story is a universal struggle: While adjusting to life as a first-time mother, she ultimately discovers what it means to be a parent—the endless sacrifices, the unnoticed gestures, and the depths of unspoken love. Despite how impossible it seems to take on the simultaneous roles of both parent and child, Bui pushes through.
My Opinion
4 stars
Adding the illustrations/graphic novel aspects to her memoir really enhanced the story. Breaking it up into panels and not having a lot of words made it jarring and not entirely explained or wrapped up, which is how the author said she received the information she was able to get from her parents.
The ending brought me to tears. It also reminded me this is a history I'm entirely unfamiliar with; I know very little about Vietnam and what I do know is through the American lens of the Vietnam War.
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