Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme created by Renee @ It’s Book Talk. This meme is an awesome way to share old favorites that were published over a year ago or even books that you’re finally reading after much time has passed. I have plenty of those to share! If you have your own Throwback Thursday recommendation feel free to jump on board, and you’re welcome to use Renee’s pic as well. Please link back to her@It’s Book Talk.
This Week’s Pick:
The Best We Could Do
An intimate and poignant graphic novel portraying one family’s journey from war-torn Vietnam from debut author Thi Bui.
This beautifully illustrated and emotional story is an evocative memoir 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. With haunting, poetic writing and breathtaking art, she examines the strength of family, the importance of identity, and the meaning of home.
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. –Goodreads
My Thoughts:
I picked this up from Netgalley as soon as I learned about it. I love reading graphic novels and this one piqued my interest after reading the blurb. I had already read A Different Pond with my kids and loved that one, so I had a good feeling about The Best We Could Do.
This is an extremely moving graphic novel about a family’s immigration from Vietnam and how they do the best they can to make a living in a new country. Thi Bui is learning to understand her parents past as she has now become a mother herself in America.
“Má leaves me but I’m not alone, and a terrifying thought creeps into my head. Family is now something I have created and not just something I was born into.”
She wants to understand her families history and she eventually discovers her parents past along with her own childhood. I found it so powerful, eye-opening, thought-provoking, and couldn’t help getting emotional during the reading. I enjoyed it immensely and the artwork is amazing. I would recommend it to anyone.
Find this on Goodreads and Amazon
- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; Illustrated edition edition (March 7, 2017)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1419718770
- ISBN-13: 978-1419718779
About the Author: Thi Bui
Thi Bui was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States as a child. She studied art and law and thought about becoming a civil rights lawyer, but became a public school teacher instead. Bui lives in Berkeley, California, with her son, her husband, and her mother. The Best We Could Do is her debut graphic novel. – Goodreads
Find this author on Goodreads and her Website
More Throwback Thursday Picks Around the Blogosphere…
Jill at Jill’s Book Cafe
Deanna at DeesRadReads and Reviews
Amanda at Literary Weaponry
Susan at Susan Loves Books
Cathy at What Cathy Read Next
Lynne at Fictionophile
Annie at The Misstery
Cathy at Between the Lines
Amy at Novel Gossip
Diana at A Haven for Booklovers
Laurie at Cozy Nook Books
Ann Marie at LItWitWineDine
Laura at Snazzy Books
Nina at The Cozy Pages
Virginia at Rose Point Publishing
A book to break your heart and heal it… sounds like a pretty good description based on what the book is about.
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It’s a great book and it is emotional, at least it was for me. 😁 Sorry I’m late responding. I just pulled this comment out of spam! 💗
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Oh no. Don’t worry. I’m only now catching up from when I sent it tis morning 😉
By the way, sent you an email yesterday… did you get it?
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I don’t think I did? Let me go check now. I really need to get organized here. 💗😆
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Got it! 😊
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I think I might have commented on someone else’s post by accident or else I commented on this one twice.
If I commented twice I’m sorry about that.
Great choice! 😀
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Just one it looks like. 😄 That’s happened to me before. 💗 Thanks, Deanna.
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Looks like an interesting read. I normally don’t read much non-fiction or memoirs, but this looks fascinating. You always pick such great reads!
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Thanks, Vanessa. 😉 It is a good one. 💗 Hope all is well!
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This sounds like a profund book. I keep being intrigued by the fact that forms of media like cartoons/graphic novels and even Nintendo games like that one about the black cat (which features all kinds of questions about life and purpose and hometowns and all, according to one review) have expanded to be vehicles for really meaningful…oh, I don’t want to say ‘content’ since that sounds like jargon, by maybe meaningful exploration of life and feelings.
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Very true, Donna! Thanks for sharing that. 💖
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This sounds really good. I’ve read a couple of memoirs about the Vietnam war and being a POW and things like that, but this is obviously quite different. Still, I think it makes me want to read it all the more, just because I have these other perspectives on what Vietnam was for people. This would be a very interesting aspect to that, and it sounds positively beautiful.
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It truly is, Chauncey. I’m thinking there are three others in the series as well which might give more of the information you’re looking for. I still need to read them! Thanks for commenting. 💙
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Of course! 😉
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*waves hi*
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Are you guys not blogging anymore? I keep checking and the site isn’t working. 💖
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I really liked A Different Pond, but am not big on graphic novels.
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I hear you, Carla. I like a small amount of graphic novels. It really just depends on the content. 💙 Have a great weekend!
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