The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui (review)

The Best We Could Do is a graphic novel illustrated by Thi Bui, a Vietnam-born American graphic novelist and illustrator. The story spans across multi-generations and shows how her family came to America after the Vietnam War. The story is serious, tragic and moving.

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. Life was tough and her mum had to made many sacrifices. I'm pretty sure a lot of research was done to string the

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. 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. That's the mentality of people who are always on the look out for danger.

I felt a sense of relief they were able to leave Vietnam, and stayed under one roof with their relatives.

The title of the book is apt. The best we could do in the worst of times.

If you like books like this, also check out The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Habibi by Craig Thompson.