The Vietnamese New Year, which usually falls in January or February (on the same day as the Chinese New Year). Tết is by far the most important holiday in Việt Nam and among overseas Vietnamese. In 1968, the Việt Cộng takes advantage of Tết festivities to launch surprise attacks on South Việt Nam (the so-called Tết Offensive). And two decades later in California, the apartment downstairs from Thi’s family’s explodes during Tết.
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Tết Term Timeline in The Best We Could Do
The timeline below shows where the term Tết appears in The Best We Could Do. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2: Rewind, Reverse
...of Mercy,” to whom they prayed. Bích is born in 1968, two weeks before the Tết Offensive, during which the family locks itself inside with the radio, to avoid the war...
(full context)
Chapter 9: Fire and Ash
One night during Tết when Thi is 14, there is a loud sound downstairs. The family instinctively hides in...
(full context)
