The Best We Could Do: A practical guide to Thi Bui’s Graphic Memoir
The Best We Could Do is a deeply personal graphic memoir written and illustrated by Thi Bui that chronicles her family’s harrowing journey from Vietnam to the United States. Published in 2017, the work has been widely acclaimed for its raw honesty, emotional depth, and innovative visual storytelling. It serves as both a family history and a broader meditation on what it means to be a refugee, to grow up between cultures, and to grapple with the silent burdens passed down through generations. For readers seeking a concise yet comprehensive overview—similar to a SparkNotes summary—this guide breaks down the memoir’s plot, themes, artistic choices, and historical context in a way that is accessible and engaging And it works..
At its core, the narrative follows Bui’s parents, particularly her father, as they flee Saigon in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The story is nonlinear, weaving together past and present, and shifting between Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s and the family’s eventual settlement in California. This structure mirrors the way memory works: fragments, flashes, and recurring images that refuse to be neatly ordered. The memoir opens with Bui’s own pregnancy, which triggers a reflective journey into her parents’ pasts, revealing the choices, traumas, and sacrifices that shaped her existence Practical, not theoretical..
The Title’s Resonance
The phrase “The Best We Could Do” functions as both a confession and a consolation. It acknowledges the imperfect decisions forced upon refugees—choices made under duress, limited by war, poverty, and bureaucratic hurdles—while simultaneously honoring the love and care that accompany those decisions. Bui’s father’s repeated refrain, “We did the best we could,” becomes a mantra that frames the narrative’s emotional core, reminding readers that survival is rarely a matter of moral perfection but of relentless effort.
Plot Overview (Non‑Linear Journey)
The memoir is structured around two temporal strands that intersect repeatedly:
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Present (2015‑2017) – Bui, now a mother, recounts her pregnancy and the anxieties that accompany bringing a new life into a world shaped by her family’s past. This present thread serves as the narrative’s emotional anchor, providing the reader with a contemporary lens through which to interpret earlier events.
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Past (1960s‑1990s) – The bulk of the story unfolds through a mosaic of flashbacks triggered by specific memories, objects, or conversations. It begins with Bui’s mother’s childhood in a rural Vietnamese village, moves to her romantic involvement with Bui’s father (a southern city dweller), and culminates in their escape from Saigon in 1975, their years in refugee camps, and eventual resettlement in California. The chronology is deliberately fragmented, mirroring how trauma and memory surface in disjointed episodes rather than a smooth timeline Surprisingly effective..
The narrative arc follows a classic refugee trajectory—pre‑war stability, war’s disruption, flight, limbo, and integration—while also delving into the intimate dynamics of a marriage tested by loss, illness, and cultural dislocation.
Central Themes
| Theme | How It Manifests | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Trauma & Memory | Flashbacks triggered by sounds, smells, or images; the father’s recurring nightmares; the mother’s silent grief. Still, | Illustrates how war’s psychological scars persist across generations, shaping identity and relationships. Which means |
| Intergenerational Silence | The parents rarely discuss their past; Bui discovers hidden letters and diaries only after their deaths. Even so, | Highlights the “burden of silence” that prevents emotional healing and fuels misunderstandings. |
| Diaspora & Cultural Hybridity | Bui’s struggle to reconcile Vietnamese customs with American upbringing; the family’s navigation of language barriers and workplace assimilation. So | Explores the hybrid identity forged by displacement, emphasizing both loss and new possibilities. |
| Motherhood & Legacy | Bui’s pregnancy prompts a deep reflection on what she will pass on to her child; the cyclical nature of caregiving. Also, | Connects personal reproduction to the broader theme of generational transmission of memory. |
| Love Amid Adversity | The parents’ devotion persists despite poverty, illness, and the loss of homeland; small acts of kindness in refugee camps. | Demonstrates that love can be a resilient force even when circumstances are overwhelmingly harsh. |
Artistic Choices
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Medium & Palette: Bui employs a stark black‑and‑white illustration style, using grayscale to evoke the somber tone of war and loss. Occasional splashes of red (e.g., a blood‑stained shirt or a red lantern) serve as visual punctuation, drawing attention to moments of intense emotional weight.
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Panel Layout: The memoir alternates between tight, intimate close‑ups and expansive, panoramic scenes. This contrast allows Bui to zoom into the tactile details of daily life (a cracked rice bowl) while also presenting the sweeping scale of historical events (the fall of Saigon).
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Text Density: Speech bubbles are integrated without friction with the illustrations, often overlapping with the artwork to reflect the cacophony of voices in a crowded household. The use of handwritten‑style lettering reinforces the personal, diary‑like quality of the narrative No workaround needed..
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Symbolic Motifs: Repeating motifs—such as the recurring image of a broken kite, a symbol of fragmented dreams, and a persistent background of rice paddies—create a visual rhythm that ties disparate time periods together Easy to understand, harder to ignore..
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Narrative Pacing: The nonlinear structure is reinforced by visual transitions: a sudden shift from a quiet interior scene to a bustling street scene, often accompanied by a fade‑out of smoke or a sudden change in panel shape, signaling a mental leap in memory.
Historical Context
- **Vietnam War
