Why I chose to read this book:
1. even though I've heard about the Khmer Rouge regime under the dictatorship of Pol Pot, I wanted to learn more. I thought that reading the memoir of someone who actually lived through it would meet my needs; and,
2. May 2023 is my self-declared "People of the Far East" Month (featured country: Cambodia).

Praises:
1. author Chanrithy Him writes a childlike perspective of the 7+ years that she and her family experienced during one of the most horrendous periods in modern history. They endured starvation, slave labor, squalid living conditions, injuries, illnesses, extreme pain, and even witnessed horrific deaths;
2. Athy shares her eventual chance for freedom as a refugee when an uncle who managed to escape to America sponsored various family members to join him. Their experiences as refugees ranged from frightful to compassionate; and,
3. Him included English translations of various Cambodian words, 6 pages of black & white photos, a family tree, and a map detailing her family's journey.

Niggle:
Him's writing was sporadic and often repetitive. Although sad at times, her writing style lacked depth. Her story just didn't blow me away.

Overall Thoughts:
When broken glass floats = a time when evil triumphs over good.

Although eye-opening and thought-provoking, I expected more. I do own the book The Killing Fields by Christopher Hudson - perhaps that book will give me the intenseness that I am seeking.

"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 ... The cost of war is a lifelong legacy borne by children."

In preparation for our trip to Cambodia and the Killing Fields near Phnom Penh I read three books: In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner, First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung, and When Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him. Each of the three books was about a young girl who, with their families, suffered under the Khmer Rouge communist regime and their genocide campaign.

The Khmer Rouge took control of Phnom Penh, its last obstacle to ruling all of Cambodia, on April 17th, 1975. They turned the cities into ghost towns, evacuating or killing the city dwellers and forcing their populations into the countryside. They abolished schools and universities. They nullified markets and the monetary system, making them all destitute. And systematically executed all those in the former government and military, the teachers, the doctors, the religious leaders, and any they viewed as intellectuals...sometimes just because they wore glasses. All this was done to satisfy Pol Pot's dream of turning Cambodia into an agrarian state isolated from Western influence. But, this was just the beginning of the Khmer Rouge atrocities. When the country was liberated from the regime in January of 1979, an estimated 2 million Cambodians had suffered death under the regime. Almost an entire nation was orphaned.

Both First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung and When Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him are autobiographical whereas In the Shadow of the Banyan is a novel, though based on the author's experiences. If you are only going to read one of these three books, I recommend reading First They Killed My Father for its scope. However, I do still recommend reading this book as well. Thy's (short for Chanrithy) story of war starts 6 years before the other two stories - in 1969 - where we get a glimpse of how the competing agendas of the US government and the Chinese government played a role in the rise of the Khmer regime and a Cambodian nation at war before the beginning of the genocide. And, though it is a story that relates to Loung Ung's story it also adds depth of understanding that is not offered if you only read one book. In this book you also find the truth that not all the Khmer Rouge were evil, but they themselves were trying to survive.

"As I stare at these Khmer Rouge, Uncle Seng's last words replay in my mind: The Khmer Rouge are my first enemy. I won't stay to see their faces. This is the delicious power of the mind - they can't stop me from my silent thoughts. They can't interrogate my memories."

Chanrithy recounts her days growing up in Cambodia in the late 1960s up through 1981 before she was sponsored to go into the US as a refugee. She gives us a picture of her family life, her deep attachment to her father and eldest sister, her memories of the US bombing over her home during the Vietnam War, and her memories of life during the Khmer Rouge which took the lives of many of her family members, and her time moving from one refugee camp to the next.

I enjoyed the story, though not as much as a few others I have read. She definitely explained things well and I learned new things I hadn't known from reading other accounts of survivors as well. What she went through was very sad, yet she was able to try to smile and find joy through all the painful things she endured.

This was a difficult book to read. Not because the reading was challenging but because the subject matter was emotionally jarring. It is hard to imagine anyone having to go through everything that the author did. It is also easy to imagine people that are currently suffering similar situations around the world. The good news is that the author and most of her family came out of the ordeal with a much better life. It is inspiring and depressing.

A first hand account of life under the Khmer Rouge. Spares nothing raw emotion and uplifting. Recommended.

Great book to familiarise yourself a bit with the politics of Indochina of the last century.

I didn't know much about the Khmer Rouge , just that they massacred people in Cambodia.
I wasn't expecting a regime so criminal to kill, enslave and work till death and have no pity for its own youth. The savagery portrayed in this book displayed upon children of all ages was beyond what i was expecting.
Torturing children as young as 8 for not being able to work the ricefields, letting them die of starvation, malaria.
This is mostly a drama about a generationt which was almost wiped out by the Khmer Rouge.

I also appreciated the chapters of the liberation, when Vietnamese military ('PARA' troops) entered Cambodia to free the population of oppressors, the same Vietnamesse which fought tooth and nail a bloody guerilla war against the Americans just a few years earlier. For americans the vietnamesse were the boogeyman, for the cambodians they were saviors.

I also enjoyed the regufee camps chapters on the border with Thailand, the cruelty and usury of Thai soldiers upon the poor Cambodian refugees.

This book was a another picture of Indochina for me besides the Vietcong movies and the Thai hookers/drugs stereotypes.

It’s difficult to encapsulate the experience of reading this book.

I had to frequently remind myself the child that is now the author would survive to write her story.

This is not as sterile as the summary might suggest.

It’s gritty, painful and often heart breaking.

It’s important.

I chose this title because I wanted to understand how the Khmer Rouge had gained power, manipulated the media and information stream and how they convinced one part of the population to hate and oppress the other.

But what I also received was a profound gratitude for my life of freedom, safety and access to food. I still think about specific incidents that haunted the author.

Chanrithy Him is as extraordinary as any Marvel character in her tenacity, bravery and intelligence. I only wish the villains had been fiction.

The superiority complex the author demonstrates against both her siblings and others is quite irritating at the beginning of the book. The writing at certain points suggests embellishments or wish fulfillment during the story.

As such, despite how compelling, haunting and sobering the story of suffering under the Khmer Rouge is, can only allow for this story to be rated as 3 stars. This story needed heavier editing - someone who was not afraid to suggest a better way for the story to be told, despite the sensitive nature of the subject.

Definitely just cried as I read this. It tugged at my mom heart and this was absolutely tragic. But if you don't know about the Cambodian Genocide that happened after the Vietnam war, READ THIS BOOK. But have tissues and if you have kids in your life, hug them just a little bit closer.

This took me a couple months to read, because it is so brutal. Chanrithy (Thy) recounts the horrors of years of violence and war along with the devastating effects of starvation and forced labor, and the loss of most of her family and friends - all endured as a young child. Her story is one of unbelievable endurance - painful and inspiring.

This memoir was a heart wrenching account of what it was like to live under the Khmer Rouge regime.

Him's account starts when she was a child living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She goes onto describe the mass "evacuation" of her city and being placed in a labour camp. She also goes onto describe the conditions of the camps, starvation, the loss of loved ones, and the other horrors she faced.

If you read this memoir, it can help to put current refugee events into perspective. Also, make sure you have plenty of tissues near by.

This book covers a very interesting time, about which many of us in the west are sadly ignorant. However, it was a fairly plodding and relatively dull telling of a very stressful and dynamic time.

A similar time is described much better in First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers but Ung does a much better job of pulling us into the horrors of her life.

Still worth reading for the historical information, but not a real page-turner.

I bought this book during a visit to Cambodia, just a few short years after the country had opened it's borders to tourism, after years of living under the evil regime of the Khmer Rouge and the dictatorship of Pol Pot. After learning of the genocide, speaking with survivors, and visiting the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng, I was filled with grief for the Cambodians, as well as uplifted by their spirit to create a better country for future generations. This book is a heartbreaking first hand account of the horrors in which this beautiful country and it's people endured in a very short time frame. My heart broke reading Chanrity's painful memories. Not a read for the feint of heart- it's brutally honest, it's gut- wrenching sad, but it's also a story that speaks of the resilience of the author who as a young girl, lived and survived these atrocities, and that of a nation of beautiful souls. This is a book everyone should read; it is frightening just how easy a country can be decimated by a few power hungry politicians. In this current world, there are so many lessons to learn from Cambodia's history.