First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.)

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Description

From a childhood survivor of the Camdodian genocide under the regime of Pol Pot, this can be a riveting narrative of war crimes and desperate actions, the unnerving strength of a small girl and her family, and their triumph of spirit.

One of seven children of a high-ranking government official, Loung Ung lived a privileged life in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh until the age of five. Then, in April 1975, Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge army stormed into the city, forcing Ung’s family to flee and, eventually, to disperse. Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, her siblings were sent to labor camps, and those who survived the horrors would not be reunited until the Khmer Rouge was destroyed.

Harrowing yet hopeful, Loung’s powerful story is an unforgettable account of a family shaken and shattered, yet miraculously sustained by courage and love in the face of unspeakable brutality.

 

Written in the present tense, First They Killed My Father will put you right in the middle of the action–action you’ll be able to wish had never happened. It’s a tough read, but definitely a worthwhile one, and the writer’s personality and strength shine through on every page. Covering the years from 1975 to 1979, the story moves from the deaths of more than one members of the family to the forced separation of the survivors, leading in the long run to the reuniting of much of the family, followed by marriages and immigrations. The brutality seems unending–beatings, starvation, attempted rape, mental cruelty–and yet the narrator (a young girl) never stops fighting for escape and survival. Sad and courageous, her life and the lives of her young siblings provide rather a powerful example of how war can so deeply impact children–especially a war in which they are trained to be an integral a part of the armed forces. For anyone interested in Cambodia’s recent history, this book shares a valuable personal view of events. –Jill Lightner

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