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liralen's review against another edition
3.0
Fascinating for the perspective. Truong's mother was French and his father a Vietnamese diplomat who was posted to Saigon near the beginning of the Vietnam War. As such, Truong's perspective is one that I haven't heard much of in terms of the war: Vietnamese, but removed from the action of the war by both privilege and age.
Age is something of a disadvantage terms of the retelling, because Truong was so young at the time that much of the context was beyond him at the time and has clearly been filled in by much later research. This isn't a problem in and of itself (The Best We Could Do also relies heavily on research, and I loved how that was done), but in this case it slowed down the story quite a bit for me—more of a disconnect between Truong's family's story and the broader political story. Still really interesting but less compelling a read than I'd hoped.
Age is something of a disadvantage terms of the retelling, because Truong was so young at the time that much of the context was beyond him at the time and has clearly been filled in by much later research. This isn't a problem in and of itself (The Best We Could Do also relies heavily on research, and I loved how that was done), but in this case it slowed down the story quite a bit for me—more of a disconnect between Truong's family's story and the broader political story. Still really interesting but less compelling a read than I'd hoped.
heidibird's review against another edition
3.0
A perfect blend of historical events and personal details. This is a snapshot of a young family moving from country to country and briefly finding a home in Saigon, Vietnam during one of the most tumultuous periods in the country’s history.
This narrative didn’t give me everything that I was looking for in terms of emotional growth or personal development but it is a joy to read because of its factual information and stunning illustrations. Seriously, those watercolor panels are gorgeous.
This narrative didn’t give me everything that I was looking for in terms of emotional growth or personal development but it is a joy to read because of its factual information and stunning illustrations. Seriously, those watercolor panels are gorgeous.
ximajs's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful drawings, I loved the style, but the story and language didn't engage me as much as I'd hoped. Having read the Arab of the Future books earlier this year, I couldn't help but compare this graphic novel to thode. I suppose there was something about the humour in Sattouf's memoir, that I missed in this.
chonkeyhong's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
3.5
albyscout's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.0
This book is a good story about the beginning of the Vietnam War as told from the perspective of a young child. It was very informative and I like how even though it was translated to English some Vietnamese and French stayed.