This is the heartbreaking and gut-wrenching account of a young girl living in a Cambodian city in the late 60's when the Khmer Rouge took power under the leadership of Pol Pot. He and his regime orchastrated the Cambodian genocide. They ruled from 1975-1979 and allied with North Vietnam and the The Viet Cong. The US also had a hand in the deaths of nearly 2 million Cambodians, during the "Killing Fields" era.

The author, Him recounts her life as a 9 year old, being moved from one awful refugee camp to another and being expected to work hard helping to build canals, having too little to eat. Many refugees around her died of sheer starvation and other treatable diseases and illnesses. She lost several siblings, as well as her mother to illness. No medical attention was awarded these large camps of people. Her father was executed.

It is nothing short of a miracle that Him actually survived these atrocities and was able to immigrate to North America where she currently works for the Khmer Adolescent Project, studying post traumatic stress disorder among Cambodians.

This is a difficult read, but important to know this history. Next month, I plan to travel to Cambodia where my daughter and her husband live, for a visit. I want to see the Killing Fields and at the same time am afraid of the emotions they could evoke. But, I know that is not a bad thing.

A book detailing a child’s survival in 1970 Cambodia is not a novel. Highs and lows orchestrated by the author are absent here. This is not a feel-good story. It is a stark revelation of what it meant to be a child under one of the most ruthless regimes in Asia.

This is the early 70s, when Cambodia became an experiment in radical socialism, and the Khmer Rouge took power and attempted to return the country to its 'pure', peasant history. Intellectuals were persecuted, farmers lauded and the entire population coerced into forced labour, resulting in mass malnutrition, disease, death and genocide. Figures vary but the commonly accepted fact is that two million people died, which equated to 25% of the country’s population.

Him’s experience tells her story from the inside. The explosion of the Vietnam war onto their own soil, the break-up of her family, the loyal bonds of blood and country, the grinding misery of starvation and physical deprivation all take us with her, step by uncertain step. Her description of the ‘hospital’ in which her mother lay is almost unbearable.

All this seen through a child’s eyes, conditioned to good manners and respect, to be thrown into a feral environment. Survival, food and reducing empathy to its narrowest circles is at the heart of this moving and powerful narrative.

It’s a tough read, taking the reader along a bleak journey, with small spots of sunshine lit by human kindness. Yet all is overshadowed by a power-hungry ideology and its crushing hold on the population.

This is an important book, the human face of a political tragedy, and a sobering read for enthusiasts of dystopian YA.

You’ll enjoy this is you liked: Nothing to Envy by Barbara Dymick, Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Minaret by Leila Aboulela

Avoid if you dislike: Harsh truths about survival, extreme regimes and a child's eye view

Ideal Accompaniments: Fish-heads in rice, cold water and the theme to The Killing Fields

Genre: Non-fiction, memoir

This book provided a very real, raw insight into the travails of this nation and the terrible suffering of its people. What occurred was horrendous yet the endurance and tenacity of the people who were 'enslaved' to survive incredible. I want to read more books on this subject now after reading When Broken Glass Floats. It is just by chance that I was born and have lived a life in country's at peace. To create a more empathic world, we need to understand war and violence. Hopefully we will realize the terrible trauma that it brings to those involved and we will find other ways to 'advance' and knowledge to subdue individuals who wish suffering upon others.

Thy and her family lives in Phnom Penh when the removed prince came back from China and instituted the martial Khmer Rouge (Red Cambodia). The city of 2 million was evacuated. The soldiers cruelly taunted the evacuees struggling on the road out of town, and looked for those who were educated, looking for those with eyeglasses and soft hands, as these were especially hated, for some reason. Becoming slaves in workcamps, digging irrigation ditches, sowing rice and vegetables in Fields, they were denied sufficient food and spied on by teenage informers. From 1975 to 1979, one quarter of the country's population died from torture and execution and starvation. Despite the horrific circumstances, almost half of Thy's family manages to survive. This book makes you reevaluate your life.

When Broken Glass Floats is a touching story about a young Cambodian girl's journey from darkness to the liberty's of America. It has some disturbing scenes that you thought would never happen to a human being. It opens your eyes to the broader and harsher side of humanity and also the story has touching moments that really get to your heart. I gave this book 4 out of 5 mainly because of the writing style and some of it was kind of simple and hard to understand at some points. Overall the plot was really good and was appealing to the eye. What I found sad in the book though was the irony presented in a dark way. The Khmer Rouge killed anyone who was somewhat educated and valued "workers" more. A functioning society should have education as key to unlocking a more advanced society. A significant quote I personally liked was the title: "When Broken Glass Floats." It means evil will corrupt you and also end your dreams. This I found to be very dark, but also an eye opener. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend though because of the amazing journey the author takes to gain freedom. It would keep them on the edge of their seat!

Humans can triumph out of the most horrific conditions. Reading this made me think that if people who survived the horror of the Khmer Rouge occupation in Cambodia could continue moving forward in their lives, then so can I.

An excellently written memoir of life and survival in Cambodia during the years of Khmer Rouge rule (1975-1979). Even if you saw the movie "The Killing Fields" this is definitely worth reading, as it presents a supporting account of one extended family and those in their lives at various locations during that time. This book reminds us, as have many others, of the dangers of extreme politics and one-sided power, and the reasons why there are refugees. It will hold your attention and you won't want to set it aside.

I read this book on our trip to the Caucusus. It's an amazing, true story of a young girl who grew up in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge leadership and the Vietnam War. The details in her story really bring to life the challenges, hardship, loss, and sorrow faced by her and her family during this devastating time period. While I remember reading a book on this topic before, I do not remember it having the impact that this book did. It really helped me to understand (on a surface level, because I will never fully understand what these people went through) the challenges faced by so many individuals, and how this conflict began. I can't begin to imagine the physical and emotional strength that it would take someone to survive this war. The starvation, work camps, lack of sleep, food, and water, constantly being moved, the physical labor, working from before sun up to after sun down, the smell and sight of dead bodies, of loved ones being tortured and killed, the torture endured at the refugee camps (in Cambodia and Thailand) and losing so many people so close to you. Not to mention the challenges that I'm sure this woman faced when she arrived in the United States. While I was taught about the Holocaust and Nazi concentration camps in school, I do not remember learning about Cambodia. It's so sad and hard to understand how countries get to this point. Thank you for sharing your story. I wish that everyone could read this book to understand and be more compassionate.

Cambodia --SE Asia-- (1968-1981)

"In the end, I know only that war is inevitable in the world as long as leaders such as Pol Pot are empowered by their kind -- and as long as those who can make a difference by doing good deeds choose to look the other way. (20)"

It took me a little while to get into the novel. It moves from the "present" (her reflections as the book is being written) back to the past. The translation is a little choppy. After reading to the end, I actually flipped back to the beginning and re-read the preface for a better sense of closure and understanding of her position.

Like the other child-of-war memoirs I've recently read, there are the common themes: choosing to be with family over being separated; being forced to constantly move from one "home" to the next; forming strong bonds with other children when they eventually are separated from family; loss of loved ones; finding people (on both sides) willing to risk their lives to secretly help; and the recognition that events like this are preventable only if people who can do something to stop it stand up and act.

I was amazed at this particular story because the author endured this type of existence for six years, eight if you count the first two years when her family had to escape to other family members' home for protection. It's hard to read this sometimes and understand that this actually happened to millions of Cambodians in the recent past. The scenes where the mother is helpless to feed or protect her children were particularly torturous for me. I did enjoy reading about the cultural differences (such as the way they refer to each other verbally, show respect with their eyes and posture, and withhold physical displays of affection).

I think its important to read these type of books to understand what is happening outside the safety of our own laws and government, and to put a face on an otherwise distant and out-of-sight problem that is still happening in the world today.


-------------------From the Book -------------------

The lack of respect shocks me. Authority is reversed. Guns now mean more than age and wisdom. (67)

In this era, the rules are twisted: having education is a crime and honesty doesn't pay. (92)

Our village is a social laboratory, a brutal experiment to test if anyone will survive the Khmer Rouge's utopian theory. (108)

To weep is to acknowledge what we can't accept. Our minds are already saturated with sorrow. Our silence is our last defense. (120)

There is no rewards in our life. To be alive and walking every day, to live through another day, is its own reward in this horrible world. (120)

Time has become hard to measure. We mark its passage in terms of who has died and who is still alive. (120)

The odds are grim. I face the chance of dying here in camp of an illness I can't control, or risk the punishment of death if I'm caught trying to escaping. (148)

I trade food and cruelty for some sense of family. (154)

Not everyone has a heart of stone...Not all thrive on the power and cruelty. Some retain a seed of human goodness. (169)

I survived starvation, disease, forced labor, and refugee camps. I survived a world of violence and despair. I survived. (15)

This is a great story illustrating the strength of the human spirit and the will to live and thrive against all odds. Chanrithy Him effectively loses her childhood when her home is bombed as a small child by the Khumer Rouge and her family is thrown into the middle of war-torn Cambodia, struggling to stay together and to survive. Hers is an amazing firsthand account of the horrors of slavery, execution, starvation and disease her family went through in a relatively modern era of the 70s. The clippings from the US newspapers of the time detailing the events overseas bring to mind the huge differences between a country of freedom and prosperity vs. a country being torn apart by bombs and ruthless individuals.

I bought this book after visiting Cambodia, including the killing field outside of Phnom Penh and S21 prison, because I wanted to get a non-governmental perspective on what life was like during the Khmer Rouge. Unsurprisingly, this is a tough read, both from the perspective of what Athy's family goes through, but also as a westerner realizing how much these people suffered before we were willing to intervene. Highly recommend if you're looking for an insightful read.

The author recounts her life under the Khmer Rouge and the loss of her family with great dignity and rawness in her writing. She writes so vividly and honestly, many times it feels like you're there with her; oftentimes there's a tightness in my chest from the pain she experiences that I can't stop turning the pages. I particularly appreciated the level of detail Him was able to recount throughout.

My family went through the same atrocities, so any book I can get my hands on about the Cambodian genocide makes me feel closer, and understand a little bit more about their experiences. This book did just that, and Him's writing in present tense throughout her memoir establishes immediacy and a sense of intimacy through her storytelling. She captures many shared emotions among other victims who've lost everything and were suppressed under the regime.

"At thirteen, the nascent adult in me realizes that Cambodia is a nation that houses the living dead. Around me there are starving, overworked, and malnourished people. Death is rampant, as if an epidemic has descended on the villages. Yet Angka is nonchalant, doing nothing to stop this plague. For the last three years of my life, since the Khmer Rouge's takeover, I've lost half of my family. Pa, Vin, Mak, and Chea. Death is like leaves in the autumn, readily falling from a soft touch of the wind. I wonder who in my family will be the next victim."