by Thi Bui
Graphic memoir has become one of my favorite genres, and this book is a standout example of why. Bui, a teacher in California, learned to draw comics to produce this book, which took ten years. Beginning with the birth of her son, Bui traces her family history back to its origins in Vietnam. The family escaped by boat when Bui was a small child, coming to live in America with the help of family members who had already immigrated. An unsparing look at the ravages of the decades of war through the lens of one small family, this book captures both the general history of the mid-20th century in Vietnam and the very specific story of these individual people. This is a fast read but an intense story that will stay with you.
Likes: The drawings mesh perfectly with the writing. The sepia-toned color palette keeps the illustrations from overwhelming the words. Bui renders her traumatic and difficult family history, from her parents’ childhoods through the birth of her own child, with an unsparing but sympathetic eye. It’s a sad but beautiful story that ends on a note of hope.
Dislikes: really nothing.
FYI: this book engages with the topic of decades of war in Vietnam with all the atrocities therein: bombing, executions, assault, imprisonment, and death. There are also scenes of child abuse, domestic abuse, parental abandonment, difficult birth, the death of children, and stillbirth.
Liz Helfrich 