When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge by Chanrithy Him

Jun 03, 2008 Books Ring Mah Bell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memo-auto-bio

This book is so depressing it would make Pollyanna eat a gun.

However, it was incredibly powerful and moving. I put the book down a few times, refusing to pick it up again. I skimmed some of the more awful parts (3 year old brother dying, pregnant woman being slaughtered) and was rewarded with one simple thing: this woman survives and comes out tough and compassionate. She manages to rise above where others crumble...

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Aug 16, 2011 Christina Stind rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: peders-books, biography, 2011, non-fiction

Normally, I can't wait to get to bed. I can't wait to lie in bed and read. The house is quiet, the kids are asleep, the tv is off - just quality time with a book. But when reading this book, reading wasn't always pleasant. This is really not a book you read to to enjoy it or to be pulled into another world and explore it. I read this in part because my boyfriend recommended it, in part because we sponsor a child in Cambodia and in part because I didn't know much about the Khmer Rouge and wanted...more Normally, I can't wait to get to bed. I can't wait to lie in bed and read. The house is quiet, the kids are asleep, the tv is off - just quality time with a book. But when reading this book, reading wasn't always pleasant. This is really not a book you read to to enjoy it or to be pulled into another world and explore it. I read this in part because my boyfriend recommended it, in part because we sponsor a child in Cambodia and in part because I didn't know much about the Khmer Rouge and wanted to learn.
This is the story of Chanrithy Him and her family, her parents and seven siblings. This is her story of how it was growing up in a Cambodia, torn apart by the Khmer Rouge. What this family is put through is truly dreadful. There are passages where you just question how any human being is cable of inflicting such suffering on others - or how anyone manage to survive it all.
Chanrithy tells engagingly about how she and her family is forced to leave their home and find their way out of the city, ending up in various villages in the country as they move along. Very quickly her father is executed - being a man of learning, he was not wanted by the Khmer Rouge who sought to create a society where all was equal and where anybody with any education was a threat to be eliminated. After being forced to dig his own grave, her father is killed with a hoe ...
Her mother is then the sole caretaker of the family but most of the children are forced to work, sometimes being sent to work camps far away on their own and never given enough to eat. The lack of food and the very hard work naturally have an impact on their health, inflicting various diseases on them or causing rather minor diseases to become much more critical.
One of the hardest things for me to read was the story of how her three-year old brother lies in hospital, dying, and how all he wants - of course - is his mother. But she is too sick to be able to walk to the hospital to see him so he ends up dying without his mother visiting him - and when he has died, his sister takes his shirt off him because the family needs that for another child...
Also, the story of Chanrithy's other little brother who does survive the Khmer Rouge is heartbreaking since he is too young to really understand what's happening - but not too young to feel the suffering and the hunger - and is left too fend for himself all day when his older family member are working in the fields.
An execution of a pregnant woman is also a scene that stays with me.
Although we are all more or less desensitized to stories of human suffering, war crimes, and killings, the Khmer Rouge were so cruel that parts of this story really shocked me. And as if the physical suffering they inflicted on the people of Cambodia wasn't enough, they also tried to eliminate the culture by minimizing the importance of family, the polite ways of addressing others - and of course killing off anybody who in any way caught their displeasure.
One thing I was really impressed with in Chanrithy's memoirs is the fact that she does tell stories about some members of the Khmer Rouge who was kind and helpful, caring and friendly. She does share how some of them helped her in various ways - some of them just by being kind and showing some humanity.
This is a dreadful history of a truly tragic period of human history. I would like to conclude by saying something along the lines that if you don't know history, you are doomed to repeat it, but sometimes I fear that these various tyrannic regimes actually take notes from each other so that they constantly evolve and each new regime becomes even more horrible than the one before, capable of inflicting even more suffering.
Still, knowledge is a good thing - unless of course you are living in a country ruled by Mao, the Khmer Rouge or other regimes hating education and knowledge. For us, fortunate enough to live in countries where we have the freedom to do pretty much whatever we wish for, in some ways we have a duty to honor the people suffering in other countries by at the very least reading about their plights. (less)

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Jan 05, 2008 Navy Phim rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone.

When Broken Glass Floats is the author’s journey to find the magic of a world lost as a result of the Khmer Rouge. This book, as a personal account of the Khmer Rouge regime, is also my personal journey as a reader and a Khmer person. Through this magical journey, my own forgotten memories are awakened and many traditional beliefs that I have pushed to the back of my mind resurface.

I was too young to have memories of the Killing Fields, but I have heard enough stories to feel connected to it. Th...more

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Jan 29, 2008 Stephpin rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was pretty clueless about the Cambodian genocide under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. We were headed to Cambodia a few years ago and a friend suggested this book. Don't read this book in public. I wept like a baby when I read of the torture and loss of this sweet little girl. She is actually close to my age and has lived many lives. I came away from this book not only educated, but grateful, sad, disgusted and amazed at the will to live. God does hear our prayers. Chanrithy writes with such powe...more

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May 13, 2013 Leon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Chanrithy Him felt compelled to tell of surviving life under the Khmer Rouge in a way "worthy of the suffering which I endured as a child."

In the Cambodian proverb, "when broken glass floats" is the time when evil triumphs over good. That time began in 1975, when the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia and the Him family began their trek through the hell of the "killing fields." In a mesmerizing story, Him vividly recounts a Cambodia where rudimentary labor camps are the norm and technology,

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Chanrithy Him felt compelled to tell of surviving life under the Khmer Rouge in a way "worthy of the suffering which I endured as a child."

In the Cambodian proverb, "when broken glass floats" is the time when evil triumphs over good. That time began in 1975, when the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia and the Him family began their trek through the hell of the "killing fields." In a mesmerizing story, Him vividly recounts a Cambodia where rudimentary labor camps are the norm and technology, such as cars and electricity, no longer exists. Death becomes a companion at the camps, along with illness. Yet through the terror, Chanrithy's family remains loyal to one another despite the Khmer Rouge's demand of loyalty only to itself. Moments of inexpressible sacrifice and love lead them to bring what little food they have to the others, even at the risk of their own lives. In 1979, "broken glass" finally sinks. From a family of twelve, only five of the Him children survive. Sponsored by an uncle in Oregon, they begin their new lives in a land that promises welcome to those starved for freedom. 15 black and whtie illustrations

Amazon.com Review

"Chea, how come good doesn't win over evil?" young Chanrithy Him asks her sister, after the brutal Khmer Rouge have seized power in Cambodia, but before hunger makes them too weak for philosophy. Chea answers only with a proverb: When good and evil are thrown together into the river of life, first the klok or squash (representing good) will sink, and the armbaeg or broken glass (representing evil) will float. But the broken glass, Chea assures her, never floats for long: "When good appears to lose, it is an opportunity for one to be patient, and become like God."

Before this proverb could come true, Chanrithy had to watch her mother, father, and five of her brothers and sisters die, murdered by the Khmer Rouge or fatally weakened by malnutrition, disease, and overwork. Now living in Oregon, where she studies posttraumatic stress disorder among Cambodian survivors, Chanrithy has written a first-person account of the killing fields that's remarkable for both its unflinching honesty and its refusal to despair. In wrenchingly immediate prose, she describes atrocities the rest of the world might prefer to ignore: her sick yet still breathing mother, thrown along with corpses into a well; a pregnant woman beaten to death with a spade, the baby struggling inside her; a sister impossibly swollen with edema, her starving body leaking fluid from the webbing between her toes.

The mind retreats from horrors like these--and yet what emerges most strongly from this memoir is the triumph of life. Chanrithy is determined to honor her pledge to the dying Chea, to study medicine so she can help others live. When Broken Glass Floats accomplishes the same goal in a different way. "As a survivor, I want to be worthy of the suffering that I endured," Chanrithy writes; by giving such eloquent voice to her dead, she has proven herself more than worthy of her suffering--and theirs. --Chloe Byrne

From Publishers Weekly

Born in Cambodia in 1965, Him lived from the age of three with the fear of war overflowing from neighboring Vietnam and suffered through the U.S.'s bombing of her native land. However, thanks to her loving and open-minded family, her outlook remained positive--until 1975, when the Khmer Rouge seized control and turned her world upside down. (According to a Cambodian proverb, "broken glass floats" when the world is unbalanced.) Armed with a nearly photographic memory, Him forcefully expresses the utter horror of life under the revolutionary regime. Evacuated from Phnom Penh and and shunted from villages to labor camps, her close-knit family of 12 was decimated: both parents were murdered, and five of her siblings starved or died from treatable illnesses. Meanwhile, the culture of local communities was destroyed and replaced with the simple desire to survive famine. Yet for all their suffering throughout these years, the surviving Hims remained loyal to one another, saving any extra food they collected and making dangerous trips to other camps to share it with weaker family members. Friendships were also formed at great risk, and small favors were exchanged. But by the end of the book, Him finds herself surprised when she encounters remnants of humanity in people, for she has learned to live by mistrusting, by relying on her own wits and strength. When the Khmer Rouge were overthrown, Him moved to a refugee camp in Thailand. Today she works with the Khmer Adolescent Project in Oregon. This beautifully told story is an important addition to the literature of this period. (Apr.) FYI: In the January 17 issue, PW reviewed another memoir of growing up under the Khmer Rouge, First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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May 11, 2013 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 t...more 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."(less)

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Apr 17, 2013 Cameling rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, non-fiction

The Khmer Rouge seizure of Cambodia in 1975 began a period of horrific cruelty and death. Pol Pot's regime evacuated families from Phnom Penh, forcing them into the countryside into forced labor camps and makeshift villages where they were starved, beaten and more often than not executed for even the smallest disobedience. The author was 10 years old when her world violently fell apart, beginning the execution of her father. Before she was even 16, her mother was thrown into a well and she had l...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Hud-c rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Hud-c by: Polsci Professor

Shelves: biography, reviewed, non-fiction

Initially, I read this to fulfill my requirements for an elective in college. It was recommended by my professor since our class tackles the political structure and history of South East Asian Countries and i prefer to review a book that focuses on the country of Cambodia.

This was an emotional read. It pertains to genocide during the Khmer Rouge. The depiction of what the author and her family went through was really horrible. And considering that this really happened, it makes you question the...more

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May 06, 2012 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

A heart rending biography. An astonishing, startling story of survival that underscores how fragile life is. A latter-day 'animal farm' but perhaps even more extreme.

A coup by a Maoist regime overthrows the Cambodian government- that is already weakened as a consequence the West's (Nixon's) clandestine military incursions across the boarder in the Vietnam conflict. A cultural revolution ensues. The historic slate is wiped clean and life is re-calibrated from 'year zero'. Chanrithy recounts a li...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everybody

Shelves: 2012-books

"Chea, how come good doesn't win over evil? Why did the Khmer Rouge win if they are bad people?"

Chea answered: "Loss will be God's, victory will be the devil's." When good appears to lose, it is an opportunity for one to be patient, and become like God. "But not very long, p'yoon srey [younger sister]," she explained, and referred to a Cambodian proverb about what happens when good and evil are thrown together into the river of life. Good is symbolized by klok, a type of squash, and evil by armb...more "Chea, how come good doesn't win over evil? Why did the Khmer Rouge win if they are bad people?"

Chea answered: "Loss will be God's, victory will be the devil's." When good appears to lose, it is an opportunity for one to be patient, and become like God. "But not very long, p'yoon srey [younger sister]," she explained, and referred to a Cambodian proverb about what happens when good and evil are thrown together into the river of life. Good is symbolized by klok, a type of squash, and evil by armbaeg, shards of broken glass. "The good will win over the evil. Now, klok sinks, and broken glass floats. But armbaeg will not float long. Soon klok will float instead, and then the good will prevail."

I seriously found this memoir brilliant.

Chanrithy Him was 10 years old when the Khmer Rouge came to power in her native Cambodia, she was 14 years old when the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia and drove the Khmer Rouge back into the jungle. Finally, she was 16 years when she and her remaining family immigrated to the United States.

The writing might be clumsy at times, but the author never failed in making me understand the feeling of helplessness, starvation and resilience in this memoir. She introduced me to the numerous members of her family and to Cambodian customs, she brought me to the killing fields and the moments where she ran for her life, she made me realize what measures we're capable of going when deprived of food.

There are several occasions described by Chanrithy Him (nicknamed Athy) that, in my opinion, really stood out:

(view spoiler)

This book didn't try to impress me, didn't try to seek out my pity, didn't try to sensationalize anything. It just told me about life and what happened to Athy and her family when ruled by a tyrannical government and starvation. Furthermore, this book gave me an idea how the people of North Korea might be starving. I hope their tribulation is going to come to an end soon, cause Cambodia, four years under the Khmer Rouge, still left the country today with a lot of open wounds.(less)

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Jan 06, 2012 Devika Koppikar rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked this book. However, as it gives a detailed account of life in labor camps and under oppressive conditions, it is a difficult and sad read. With books like these, I tend to put myself in the middle of the story – so it was hard to be under the Khmer Rouge and their long, oppressive days in the fields. Some highlights of the book that left an impression on my mind:

• Him’s life before the Khmer Rouge – and how her family lived an upper-middle class life in Cambodia.
• How the family was pus...more

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Jul 23, 2009 Christina rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the true life horror story of growing up under the regime of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. I traveled to Cambodia last year and came across this book while traveling there and it really put into perspective what the people there have overcome. In the 1970s a dictator-like regime took over and killed over one million of their own people. The goal of this political party was to take the Cambodians back to an agrarian society without modern technology, education, etc. To achieve this goal th...more

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Apr 05, 2009 Jeanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a memoir written by a woman who grew up (age 9-16) during the years the Khmer Rouge came to power and ruled Cambodia. It was not as gruesome as I feared it might be given the subject. It is the story of her and her family's experiences, and it certainly describes the suffering and tragedies that befall them, but it's also about survival, the human spirit and the ties that bind families to endure hardships I still can't imagine having the strength to endure.

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Sep 18, 2012 Andrew Som rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 w...more

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May 13, 2013 Keri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, 2013

A little conflicted reviewing this one. There is simply no way to give it poor marks because the story is so heart wrenching. I can't even imagine the cruelty and uncertainty these people suffered at the hands of this evil 'government'. I also learned so much about this era of history that I had simply no idea about! The strength and will of this young girl and family is just incredible. I was so moved by her courage and the generosity of so many people who were helpers. It is shocking that such...more

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Mar 30, 2010 LemonLinda rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is a first hand horrifying account of what happened in Cambodia during the time of control under the Khmer Rouge. During that time both of Him's parents and 5 siblings were either killed by the Khmer Rouge or died because of such a weakened state due to lack of nourishment and torturous living and working conditions. Her determination for survival and that of her siblings that did make it out of Cambodia is inspirational. This book is a testimony to the human spirit and what can be end...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Patricia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Amazing, life-changing, historical fiction. Cambodia, Khmer Rouge, and it's impact on ordinary citizens. I felt like I was experiencing the pain, and the numbness of their lives, it was that well-written. What a contrast to my American experience.

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Jul 12, 2010 Tina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: asian, holocaust, read-in-2010, non-fiction

It's difficult to write a review for this book as the subject matter moves me almost beyond words. I've visited Cambodia twice now; seen firsthand the devastation that the Khmer Rouge left on this country. I've walked the killing fields, seen the sunken pits (newly exhumed mass graves), the execution trees, the piles of bones and skulls. I've heard personal stories of families affected by the KR--what devastation and destruction that part of history brought an entire culture. It's a part of hist...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Sinuon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Since "The Hunger Games" trilogy I haven't read a book that I have a hard time putting down until I read "When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge". After reading this memoir I've thought about asking my parents, mainly my father if he would be willing to share with me about their life during that era. A subject I have avoided for so long and have only heard bits and pieces of. At 33 and after reading this I felt as if I ought to at least know what my parents had to go through...more

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Sep 14, 2009 Cmacauley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cambodia

This turned out to be one of the very best personal accounts of survival during the Pol Pot Regime. I've read eight others, mostly by women who were children or in their early teens at the time. Chanrithy Him's prose is smooth and engrossing--after the first chapter, which was hard to get through, full of angry bitterness over her experiences; perfectly understandable, but it doesn't draw the reader in, just establishes a barrier. After this, however, she warms up to her subject and paints a vib...more

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Nov 04, 2010 Ann rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 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 reali...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is another great book about living through the Khmer Rouge communist rule in Cambodia. I read "To Destroy You Is No Loss" many years ago and met the co-author and heard her speak from the perspective of an American sponsor of a Cambodian family. This was another well-written account. I think it is amazing to see how the spirit can triumph even when the body is broken. What the Khmer Rouge did to thousands and thousands is on par with the Jewish Holocaust. I applaud those who are strong enou...more

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Aug 13, 2011 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

If I ever find myself having a pity party, I just need to remember Chanrithy Him. The things they had to endure under the athiest Khmer Rouge is appalling. I take so many things for granted. America is an amazing place to grow up and live. It is so disturbing to me that people can treat other people this way. And this was in the 1970s! I wonder why we don't focus on Communists like we focus on Nazis when it comes to history. She really tells her story in a way you that you can't put it down. I c...more

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Jan 29, 2010 Hmo rated it 3 of 5 stars

myeh.

Most of us don't remember this era in world history, or we remember it in a detached sort of way. On a trip to Cambodia, I picked the book up hoping to glean some insight into the people. Nah.

While the subject matter itself is both horrifying and fascinating in a car-wreck-rubber-necking kind of way, I found the technically poor writing style of this story (the dialogue is in the stilted sentences of a child's thought process) caused difficulty in staying engaged. I finished it but if I wer...more

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Nov 06, 2010 Akhila rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Incredible book, illustrating the horrific conditions of life and death under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, where the educated were deliberately targeted and the country was returned to a primitive agricultural state of life in the name of "equality." A saddening book, and truly depressing, but with a somewhat hopeful ending. I don't know if I enjoyed reading it, as it was extremely heart-wrenching, but I certainly learned a lot from this book. I applaud Chanrithy Him for her incredible courage...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Felecia rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a sad story to read. It opened my eyes to what happened to people at that time in Cambodia. It was horrifying to learn about this young girls life at the time, in the labor camps. At times I thought I should stop reading it, because it was depressing, but at the same time I was compelled to keep reading on to see what else she went through. A rather disturbing story, but it helped me to realize what happened, and I knew several people back in the late 70's that were refugees that came t...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Mary Finochiaro rated it 5 of 5 stars

Harrowing and told in a simple voice, this true story of survival of the Cambodian Genocide is one of the most touching I've ever read. Despite a very straightfoward way of describing things, somehow this story is all the more sharp for it, focusing on the horrific indifference of cruelty instead of relying on dramatization, which the sory does not need. Its a hard one to read, took me coming back to it a few times before I could stomach all of it, but definently a must read for anyone intereste...more

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May 16, 2013 Lena rated it 2 of 5 stars

I think people are generally reluctant to give this book a low rating due to it's subject matter. Seeing as how the author actually experienced the atrocities she described it would be a pretty low blow to critique a book that is essentially her story as she experienced it.
However it needs to be said that the writing was pretty juvenile. The dialogue is really stilted and the characters were pretty undeveloped. A really complex situation was pretty much boiled down to bad guys vs good guys with...more I think people are generally reluctant to give this book a low rating due to it's subject matter. Seeing as how the author actually experienced the atrocities she described it would be a pretty low blow to critique a book that is essentially her story as she experienced it.
However it needs to be said that the writing was pretty juvenile. The dialogue is really stilted and the characters were pretty undeveloped. A really complex situation was pretty much boiled down to bad guys vs good guys with the good guys being people in her family or who she befriended and the bad guys being all of the Khumer Rouge. I am in no way saying that the work she is doing and the writing of the book are not valuable.Both endeavors shed light on the atrocities ordinary Cambodians faced under Pol Pot which is important for people for whom this conflict seems too far , too long ago and too foreign to know about. Having said that, I think the book would have definitely benefited from some structural upgrades.

The descriptions of her family members were not very detailed or compelling. I always find it hard to endure descriptions of people that center on only the positive things about them. People are multifaceted and complex. Everyone, even the stoic matriarch would have had flaws or weaknesses that I think are worth mentioning because they are easier to relate to. In this case, I found it hard to relate to the author's family both because of the details she chose to share and the heavy use of romanized Cambodian through the text. This was unnecessary and distracting.

The main criticism I have of this memoir is that it fails to give a context to her experiences. The average person reading this kind of book probably lacks sufficient historical knowledge to be able to make sense of the events that transpired. I got a sense that the author wrote this work in a large part as a way to make sense of her experiences and give them voice so that she could make peace with her past. I think that is very valuable, but I couldn't help thinking that part of making peace is getting some perspective on what transpired. I felt that this work did not communicate that. It ended as abruptly as it started.

I would have loved to have more background on the rise of the Khumer Rouge movement, the role of the US and it's containment policy that lead to the war in Vietnam and well as the role of the neighboring countries like Thailand. This was necessary in that it would help explain the motivations of the revolutionaries as well as the resistance movement in Cambodia. Going forward, this would have helped contextualize her experiences in the refugee camps as well because Thailand's involvement was key to establishing trade, markets and a sense of normalcy for the Camboidian refugees living close to the border. It was not , however, a perfect relationship as many Thai people revictimized the refugees by trafficking them or treating them unfailrly as evidenced by several anecdotes from the story. Again I cannot speak confidently on this topic because it was not elaborated upon in any great detail and was not put into context.

There were so many parts of the book that I felt needed elaboration. She hinted at issues that would have made for a more compelling read. One example is the role of semi collaborators like the man who helped the author obtain food and who seemed to be empathetic to her plight. Who were these people? Were they the exception to the rule, or were acts of furtive kindness pervasive through the cruelty of the revolution? I have to admit I want to believe the latter but as Him didn't really say much about that aspect of her story other than to express gratitude, I have to read additional books on the subject.

Him also hints at the cultural legacy of the period and how transformative it was for the mentality of the people. This is crystallized when Him has the courage to stand up for herself in class when accused of plagarism. She notes that the revolution allowed people to step outside the Confucian hierarchies that had defined inter generational communication. Without the revolution, without having gone through what she went through she would have never talked to an elder in that way despite being in the right. Other times there appears to be a nostalgia, a comfort when people address her using traditional Cambodian greetings which always take into account the speaker's social position relative to the receiver's. I sensed there is more to this ambivalence about cultural shifts resulting from the revolution than Him addressed. But those can not be spoken about without acknowledging the complexity of the situation and of people's experience. These issues require a more detailed, informed analysis that the one Him provides the readers with in this book.

Without providing much of a context for the events she describes, Him works tends to put the reader outside the situation, like a person morbidly observing a car crash. I get that this recreates how it must have felt for the ordinary people involved, but it does little to educate the general public reading about it today. Without contextualizing her experiences, the book is just an array or tear inducing memories.
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Lianne The point of reading memoirs, especially accounts of genocide from a child's perspective is to be empathic and appreciate the extreme deprivation the...more
13 de Feb 06:51

Lena I appreciate your feedback. I didn't realize I misspelled Khumer. I often find I have typos in my writing. I disagree that the whole point of reading...more
16 de May 19:43

Jan 05, 2010 Eileen Souza rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: asia, genocide, cambodia, communism

A very interesting book on a subject (the Khmer Rouge) that I was not familiar with until recently.

This is the story/memoir of Chanrithy (Artee) Him, who grew up as a child during the time of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, and who was later granted asylum in the US. Today she works on a government funded research project of post traumatic stress syndrome for children who have lived in war time.

The story itself was horrifying, and real. She did not leave out parts - even of her own poor judgements...more A very interesting book on a subject (the Khmer Rouge) that I was not familiar with until recently.

This is the story/memoir of Chanrithy (Artee) Him, who grew up as a child during the time of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, and who was later granted asylum in the US. Today she works on a government funded research project of post traumatic stress syndrome for children who have lived in war time.

The story itself was horrifying, and real. She did not leave out parts - even of her own poor judgements or character. It seemed to me that the Khmer Rouge regime was similar to the cultural revolution in China, with the exception that there were no "better times" or even times between purges. It was just one purge the whole way through. Artee was taken from an upper class family, educated in Phnom Pen, and found herself starving to death, with edema, swelling, feverish, being forced to work in labor camps, and having many members of her large family torn from her in a variety of inhumane ways. There was a lot of detail about the methods that they would go to to capture "food" and the ways that the family stuck together and fell apart. It was a moving story, and not one that I am likely to forget. I definitely have a better understanding of life during that time. Her story is gripping, and I'm grateful that she was willing to share it.

The reason that I gave it four stars rather than five had to do with the writing style more than anything else. There was a lot of the Cambodian language included (not something that I'm generally opposed to) but you had to remember a lot of vocabulary, and each time I set the book down, I forgot what bang, poon, Mak, Om, Yiey, etc meant. It was hard enough for me to keep reminding myself that "Athy" sounded like Artee, Vin was Win, Ry was Ree. I also struggled with the fact that some of the dialogue was done in the third person. I got the impression that this is the way the word structure is in the Khmer, but since these were not recorded dialogues (where keeping it as close to the actual language would make sense)it would have been easier to read if it had been in first person. Especially when the sentence is something like "Mak poon can't walk that far" and not only are you supposed to remember that Mak is mom, and poon is child, and mak poon means mother's child, but you're also supposed to remember that Mak is talking in the third person about the fact that SHE can't walk that far.

I will definitely read this book again- as a haunting reminder of what people can do to each other at their worst, and how hard survival can be.(less)

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Sep 01, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-autobiography, read-in-2012

This book started off slow but really picked up. Chanrithy's riveting account of surviving the killing fields of Cambodia and living under the Khmer Rouge kept me turning the pages, holding my breath, and praying that every person in her family makes it out alive. Sadly this is not the case. Throughout her story she loses her father, mother and half her siblings through awful circumstances. The Him family is driven from their home, starved, forced into hard labor camps that benefits the Khmer. L...more This book started off slow but really picked up. Chanrithy's riveting account of surviving the killing fields of Cambodia and living under the Khmer Rouge kept me turning the pages, holding my breath, and praying that every person in her family makes it out alive. Sadly this is not the case. Throughout her story she loses her father, mother and half her siblings through awful circumstances. The Him family is driven from their home, starved, forced into hard labor camps that benefits the Khmer. Living under the oppressive regime that sees the Cambodians as commodities to be used up, Chanrithy is subjected to cruelty and apathy and lives an existence I cannot fathom. When the family is first forced from their homes they flee to stay in a village with other relatives. It is soon discovered that the village is crawling with informants who will report any indication of words or actions not favorable to the new government. She relates a story of sleeping on the floor and looking through the slats in the floorboards because she feels like someone is watching her. There she sees an informant standing in the basement shadows. I cannot even begin to understand what kind of psychological impact that would have, the fear, the paranoia it makes me shudder. Later her father is taken away for "orientation". They are told he will return in a month. A month passes and he does not return. After weeks of begging for information, a neighbor finally tells Chanrithy's mother the truth in hushed words. Her husband was was considered an enemy of the Khmer Rouge. There was no orientation, instead he and some other men were rounded up, marched to a field, forced to dig their own graves and executed. Chanrithy's mother must then relate the truth to her children, but because of the informants she cannot show any signs of sadness or remorse for fear of being labeled a traitor. She tells her children their father's fate as though she is telling them she plans on making chicken for dinner.

Somehow Chanrithy manages to survive everything. When I look back and realize she was just a little girl, I marvel at how she made it through alive. The horrors of war and dictatorship are made all to real to the reader.(less)

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title link	preview: When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4372.When_Broken_Glass_Floats?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347672494l/4372.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4372.When_Broken_Glass_Floats?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge by Chanrithy Him[/url]

When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge

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