In what Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen calls 'a book to break your heart and heal it,' The Best We Could Do brings to life Thi Bui's journey of understanding, and provides inspiration to all of those who search for a better future while longing for a simpler past. With haunting, poetic writing and breathtaking art, she examines the strength of family, the importance of identity, and the meaning of home.

Despite how impossible it seems to take on the simultaneous roles of both parent and child, Bui pushes through. 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.Īt 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. This beautifully illustrated and emotional story is an evocative memoir about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. The links below are affiliate links, which means I earn some commission from each purchase, but at no extra cost to you.Ī | Amazon.ca | .uk | | | | Amazon.es | | .jp | Amazon.cn | Bookdepository.2017 National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) FinalistĪBA Indies Introduce Winter / Spring 2017 Selectionīarnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Spring 2017 SelectionĪn intimate and poignant graphic novel portraying one family's journey from war-torn Vietnam, from debut author Thi Bui.

If you like books like this, also check out The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Habibi by Craig Thompson. The best we could do in the worst of times. I felt a sense of relief they were able to leave Vietnam, and stayed under one roof with their relatives. That's the mentality of people who are always on the look out for danger. In the story, there was an explosion near the place they stayed in America, and the family instantly took a folder containing their identification and rushed out. It's stories like this that shed light as to how life was like in the past, and during the war, and how that has affected the psychology of people. I'm pretty sure a lot of research was done to string the

Life was tough and her mum had to made many sacrifices. Thi Bui tells the story in first person, recounting how life was like in old Vietnam with his grandfather, his father, how they escaped on boat and made their way to America, settled in and got jobs and a better life. The story spans across multi-generations and shows how her family came to America after the Vietnam War. The Best We Could Do is a graphic novel illustrated by Thi Bui, a Vietnam-born American graphic novelist and illustrator.

Graphic novel the best we could do