The Best We Could Do

by

Thi Bui

The Best We Could Do Symbols

The Ocean

The ocean represents Bui and her family’s contradictory relationship to Việt Nam and their past. First, it symbolizes the sense of isolation and danger that defines their lives for so long: Bui’s characters find themselves…

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The “Saigon Execution” Photo

When he tells Thi Bui about living under the repressive South Vietnamese government, Bố recalls one particularly shocking episode: a general ordered soldiers to cut off Bố’s long hair. This general is famous for appearing…

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