From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge…

The Best We Could Do

Thi Bui

Discussion: 2017 Read Harder Challenge

Why we're reading this: Bui's family escaped to the US by boat after the Vietnam War. This beautiful graphic memoir relates their…more
[close] Bui's family escaped to the US by boat after the Vietnam War. This beautiful graphic memoir relates their life before the war and their perilous journey to safety.

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What Members Thought

May 23, 2019 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, memoir-and-autobiographical-essays, graphic-novels-and-comics, non-fiction-graphic-novel

I wasn't ready to lose my mother at thirteen. But now, at forty, I know our time on earth is finite.

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

This was amazing. Wonderful art, a captivating life story, and some very deep thoughts. ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Apr 07, 2018 Kate rated it liked it

Shelves: memoir, book-riot-2018

I really can’t seem to get into graphic novels, despite my continued attempts. It frustrates me so much, especially when there are great graphic novel memoirs which makes it seem like a perfect fit for me with my art history background. I keep struggling to figure it out-the best I can do is that because the text is short captions, that I just breeze through without engaging as deeply. Even when I know the illustrations are great (as in this book) I just can’t seem to integrate the two.

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Mar 06, 2018 s_evan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novels-comics, autobiographies-memoirs, places

A beautiful memoir that also allowed me to learn more about the history of Vietnam through the author's parents' tales prior to emigrating. I appreciated the Thi Bui’s parallels between having her own kids and telling of her parents' "best we could do." This is the first graphic narrative I've read on my iPad (thanks, Hoopla/local library) and it was a better experience that I imagined. Definitely recommend, esp. if you are a fan of graphic memoirs. ...more

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Jan 20, 2019 Dana Berglund rated it it was amazing

Shelves: memoir-biography, graphic-novels

The author tells the stories of her parents’ lives in Vietnam in the mid 20th century, framing it with her own experience of becoming a mother recently. I was touched by her attempts to understand what made her parents who they became, and I felt such sadness for all that they had lost.

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