Bố’s Mother Character Analysis in The Best We Could Do

A girl from Bố’s grandmother’s village, who marries Bố’s father and then runs away to Hải Phòng with him and his father (Bố’s grandfather). However, Bố’s father turns out to be violent and abusive: he cheats on her, then beats her badly and kicks her out of the house. This is the last Bố ever sees of his mother. He later learns that she ran away to China with an occupying soldier after World War II, but he decides never to write to her. Her effective absence from his life underlines the difference between biological blood ties and actual family relationships, as well as helping to explain Bố’s insistence that he “has no parents” and relative inability to emotionally connect with his family.

Bố’s Mother Character Timeline in The Best We Could Do

The timeline below shows where the character Bố’s Mother appears in The Best We Could Do. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Japanese occupation of Việt Nam in the 1940s, Bố’s grandfather (“the dapper gentleman”) convinces both Bố’s mother and Bố’s father to steal opium from his wife, Bố’s grandmother, and run off into... (full context)

Bố’s father starts an affair with a neighbor and physically abuses Bố’s mother . One day, after beating her, Bố’s father throws Bố’s mother out of the house,... (full context)

...declares Việt Nam independent. When the Chinese come to “disarm the Japanese” in Việt Nam, Bố’s mother meets a soldier and follows him home to China, where she lived out the rest... (full context)