Wednesday, 12 December 2018

The Best We Could Do



Upon becoming a first time mother, Thi Bui reflects on the lives of her Vietnamese parents.  In an effort to understand her tense relationship with her parents, the author explores her family’s story and recreates it in this beautiful graphic memoire.  During the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, her parents made a daring escape to Malaysia to seek refuge from a country in turmoil.  How they came to be on that boat, and how they eventually came to the United States is a much longer and more complicated story that really shines a light on the enduring strength of people in the face of adversity.    

Alternating between periods in each of her parents lives, Bui weaves a story of two separate people who come together to create a family that endures through hardship and works hard to bring better times. The stories of Bui’s parents, Bo and Ma, as children, as a young couple, as new parents, and as refugees, shows amazing growth of character and really humanizes Bo and Ma beyond the label of just being Bui’s parents.  

Beyond the amazing story of two people carting their three children (while Ma is eight months pregnant!) across the seas on a rickety boat, dodging pirates and detection to save their family from the chaos of Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War, this story exemplifies the hardships parents will endure for their children.  This love is illustrated so beautifully in word and image throughout the book.   While Bui did not grow up in a household where love was expressed verbally or openly on a daily basis, you can see that Ma and Bo did the best they could. 

The Best We Could Do reminded me of Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Louis Riel by Chester Brown.  All three books use a different medium to convey true stories of people facing resistance from external forces.  The illustrations bring a new dimension to the telling of these stories.

20 comments:

  1. I am so glad this internet thing works and your article really helped me. Might take you up on that home advice you gave. Perhaps a guest appearance would be good.
    Tips to Disable or Uninstall Microsoft Teams

    ReplyDelete

  2. I needed several examples to write an article on this subject, and your article was of great help to me

    Review my webpage - 출장안마
    (jk)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi there, I simply hopped over in your website by way of StumbleUpon. Now not one thing I’d typically learn, but I favored your emotions none the less. Thank you for making something worth reading. 메이저사이트순위


    ReplyDelete
  4. The Massage centres near me Bangalore offers a lot of advantages. It's also a fantastic experience to have a Nuru massage. To schedule a Massage parlour near me session in Bangalore.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The body to body massage has many different benefits, from both physically to mentalli and psychologically. Female to male spa near me

    ReplyDelete
  6. The name of the spa shifts relying upon where you reside. Wellbeing Spa is most normally utilized in bangalore, the United States and the spa close to me.
    Body massage in Bangalore

    ReplyDelete
  7. You can have both at Rati Spa as they have some hot and well-trained female staff who takes complete care of their customers. for more info visit here:- Body massage in Bangalore

    ReplyDelete
  8. I should recommend all spa service providers to make their environment like this. For more info visit here:- Body massage in Bangalore

    ReplyDelete
  9. Visit once to Spa69 you become addict to our therapies we have wonderful female therapist who are working to make a plessureful ending sessions. You get all information regarding contact and paakages in our website.
    Happy ending massage in Bangalore

    ReplyDelete
  10. Relaxation: If your feeling exhausted, book an appointment with a massage therapist. It'll help in relaxing certainly! Massage is always a great therapy for the body and can help improve sexy massage the suppoxygen as well as other nutrients to muscles. Massage also helps alleviate pain by repairing injured tissues.

    ReplyDelete
  11. With us, you will not only receive a complete body massage, but also other options like Foot Massage as well as Body Scrubs and Face Pack. Our prices are reasonable so that anyone can enjoy our nuru massage in bangalore services with no trouble.

    ReplyDelete
  12. . A spa or massage is always relaxing but if males are able to find attractive female models to pamper their bodies, it is a treat for them. It is possible to say that the hyderabad spas are body massage in hyderabad increasingly becoming hubs of romantic pleasure, rather than mere spas.

    ReplyDelete
  13. All the massages are done behind closed doors with some of the hottest girls in town. Imagine them rubbing their body spa near me female to male against yours and finish it with a penetration that leaves you completely satisfied. The sensual tantra massage will take men into orgasm without ejaculation.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Notice the muscle tone beneath your massage center in pune hands and pay attention to the textures you feel in the tissue.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Be sure to tell your therapist if there are spa in chennai areas you'd like them to focus on or to avoid. In addition, give your therapist feedback on their pressure so that you remain relaxed and comfortable at all times.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The short review of the book makes more curiosity to read the book. Thanks for introducing new book to us. Your writing more interesting to read more blogs. Thanks for sharing this good post. Keep sharing more good blogs. Reckless Driving Virginia

    ReplyDelete
  17. Self-Confidence and Body Positivity: Discussing b2b massage near me the potential impact of body to body massage on self-perception and body image.

    ReplyDelete
  18. "RPL Staff Picks" compiles a diverse range of curated recommendations, catering to varied reading preferences and interests. With insightful blurbs and enthusiastic endorsements, this collection is a valuable resource for discovering new and engaging books. An excellent guide for book enthusiasts seeking captivating reads handpicked by knowledgeable staff.

    Abogado Accidente de Camionaje

    ReplyDelete
  19. Our Oracle 1z0-1096-23 practice test is the most reliable solution to quickly prepare for your Oracle Designing Oracle Azure Infrastructure Solutions. We are certain that our Oracle 1z0-1096-23 practice exam will guide you to get certified on the first try. Here is how we serve you to prepare successfully.
    1z0-1096-23 Exam questions

    ReplyDelete
  20. Massage therapy is sometimes covered lingam massage in hyderabad by health insurance. This may depend on the state you live in.

    ReplyDelete