First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.)
by Loung Ung
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recommends it for:
people visiting Cambodia to study the Khmer Rouge atrocities
I, literally, abandoned this book half-way through. I may not be an expert on good prose but I definitely recognize when I am NOT privy to such. This novel rests on the fact that it is an account of real events. A people's version of one of the "greatest-atrocities-of-the-twentieth-century." I don't intend to demean the subject matter here, but a lot of this book regurgitates, unquestioningly, a textbook understanding of the Khmer Rouge. The author blantly inserts generic socio-politic...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
There are some things left unlearned from history books. You can read about the Cambodian genocide from many other sources that will explain the facts and statistics in the traditional sterile style that historic texts usually take. You can actually witness the places and things that history has left behind. And then, you can dive into personal accounts of history; how humanity struggles to survive during some of its darkest hours.
While I am usually a sucker for auto/biographical works for th...more
While I am usually a sucker for auto/biographical works for th...more
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Millions of Cambodians suffered from all kinds of atrocities - the American bombings, displacement,starvation, communist killings, genocide, and other such violence during the 70s Specifically during the time of Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot Regime), 1975-1979.
This book is a chilling, deeply touching, eye-opening and educational narrative of an American Cambodian woman who was a child during the Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot Regime).
In response to this book (one of the first recollections of the regime...more
This book is a chilling, deeply touching, eye-opening and educational narrative of an American Cambodian woman who was a child during the Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot Regime).
In response to this book (one of the first recollections of the regime...more
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Read in February, 2008
2/6/08
Great book. This is the first book I've read by Loung Ung and so far I'm not a big fan of her writing style (it seems predictable and borrowed). But.. the book is excellent, mostly because it is a five-year-old's perspective on living and dying during Pol Pot's cleansing project in Cambodia. It's an interesting perspective because it is based on a mix of innocence, confusion, blind trust, fear, an innate need for self-preservation and the amazing ability that children have to sense and u...more
Great book. This is the first book I've read by Loung Ung and so far I'm not a big fan of her writing style (it seems predictable and borrowed). But.. the book is excellent, mostly because it is a five-year-old's perspective on living and dying during Pol Pot's cleansing project in Cambodia. It's an interesting perspective because it is based on a mix of innocence, confusion, blind trust, fear, an innate need for self-preservation and the amazing ability that children have to sense and u...more
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Read in November, 2006
recommends it for:
everyone
This is one of the most powerful books I've read. It's an autobiography of a young girl and her family during the oppressive Pol Pot regime. I traveled to Cambodia last year with only a faint idea of what the Khmer Rouge was and of what actually happened in that country in the late 1970s. Loung Ung's story is a story is one of survival. If it weren't, it would be too heartbreaking to bear.
Under Pol Pot, people were forced to leave their homes in the cities and move into the countryside where...more
Under Pol Pot, people were forced to leave their homes in the cities and move into the countryside where...more
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An extremely challenging book. It is graphic, emotional, and of course it doesn't help being told from the point of view of the author at age 5-10yrs. But I felt it an important account, good to really see what happened during the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia through a personal experience. Courageous woman who survived something that could only be concieved as extremely UNsurvivable by our privileged selves in the US. I was awed and humbled. We are capable of surviving so much, it leaves a b...more
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Read in January, 2004
I read this book awhile back and i can't remember much details, but this was the first book I read (besides history text books) about the history of my own country. Growing up, my parents really never talked about this time period and our relationship lacked communication and misunderstanding. After reading this book, I became more aware of who and why my parents were the way they are. I grew so much more respect for them, even though til this day, they never really much talk about it. This ...more
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Read in February, 2008
I read this book in prepartion to our trip to Cambodia in April. I would have read it anyway, however, because I love depressing autobiographies. This one was far different than any other I have ever read being that it was from a child's perspective. It retold her unbelievable story of escaping the killing fields during Pol Pot's reign with the Khmer Rouge. I think everyone in my generation needs to read this book. Many people my age do not even know Pol Pot's name, moreless that he killed o...more
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Read in May, 2008
This was the compelling story of a five year old girl who suffered and struggled to survive during the Khmer Rouge reign. She describes every detail possible of her fight and struggle for survival.
I found this book to be heart wrenching and chilling. There were times when I felt the need to put it down and take a break. It almost seems unreal to me that a human being would go through such toture and loss.
Though I admits certain aspects regarding the writing were a bit off, it was still...more
I found this book to be heart wrenching and chilling. There were times when I felt the need to put it down and take a break. It almost seems unreal to me that a human being would go through such toture and loss.
Though I admits certain aspects regarding the writing were a bit off, it was still...more
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Read in January, 2008
This memoir is about the Cambodian genocide and the Khmer Rouge regime told from the perspective of 5-year old Loung Ung. The author spares no detail about the starvation, violence, and horrors of the period, which makes this a very difficult, depressing read.
The first several chapters take some getting used to; they are boxier and more awkward than the remainder of the book. However, the rest of the story is well-told, and overall this book is extremely informative and moving. A worthwhile ...more
The first several chapters take some getting used to; they are boxier and more awkward than the remainder of the book. However, the rest of the story is well-told, and overall this book is extremely informative and moving. A worthwhile ...more
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When travelling through cambodia another traveller recommended this book. I was sceptical when she said it was so sad at times she had to put it down - I found out the hard way sitting on an airplane...
I am glad I waited till I had been to Cambodia before I read it and it did make it easier to visualise. But even knowing the history of the country and what happended under Pol Pot it was not any less emotional to read. I know there are lots of stories similar to this but I thought this one ca...more
I am glad I waited till I had been to Cambodia before I read it and it did make it easier to visualise. But even knowing the history of the country and what happended under Pol Pot it was not any less emotional to read. I know there are lots of stories similar to this but I thought this one ca...more
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Read in March, 2008
I picked this up on Sunday morning 3/1/2008 and finished it Sunday eve 3/1/2008. I'm now reading her second book and think it's amazing. Definitely one of the all time top reads and will truly open your eyes to those in our country who may have a very deep story to tell and are simply trying to fit in. (more the second book here as she arrives in America). Amazingly haunting story from a family with all the conveniences and great lifestyle in Cambodia to having that stripped away in one day. Wil...more
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Read in February, 2008
This book makes me shake my head...what these poor people went through and only 30 years ago!! The more I read about the wars in other countries, the more I realize how insane governments are and how corrupt everything in the world is.
It was a good read, and made me want to read more about this time period so I could maybe understand a little more about what the point of the Khmer Rouge was...it was impossible to wrap my head around they "why" of why they did what they did. I'm ...more
It was a good read, and made me want to read more about this time period so I could maybe understand a little more about what the point of the Khmer Rouge was...it was impossible to wrap my head around they "why" of why they did what they did. I'm ...more
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Read in September, 2006
recommends it for:
everyone
This book - and its sequel, Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind - are an amazing, heartbreaking and yet ultimately hopeful story of a young girl's journey from the security of her privileged home in Phnom Penh through the horror and ravages of the countryside under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge, to safety and loss in the U.S. She is spunky, loving and definitely a survivor through years of captivity, deprivation, hunger, and separation. These are GREAT reads, y...more
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Read in March, 2008
I approach this book with anticipation and apprehension. I know virtually nothing about the Pol Pot regime, so I'm anxious to learn more about that aspect of history. I'm only on page 32 and I can already tell that this book is going to wreak havoc on me, emotionally. It may be hard to get through, but I will. These stories need to be told.
And, as a ridiculous side note, you know the "Ads by Google" that run on the side bar on GoodReads? When I typed in the title to this book, one of...more
And, as a ridiculous side note, you know the "Ads by Google" that run on the side bar on GoodReads? When I typed in the title to this book, one of...more
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Read in July, 2007
This book is very engaging. But be warned, it will be hard to read at times.The book is the very personal account of the author's childhood in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia during the 1970's when an extremist communist radical group (the Khmer Rouge) took over power and began the systematic killing, torture and starvation of anyone deemed a traitor (intellectuals,certain racial groups and anyone deemed to have been affiliated with the previous goverment).
I learned a ton about the history of Cambodia a...more
I learned a ton about the history of Cambodia a...more
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I had heard the name Pol Pot, I had heard of the Vietnam war, seen the Vets and the vietnamese immigrants, but sadly I had no idea how far reaching and truly devastating the effects of communism had been on Southeast Asia. It frightened me to know that in recent history genocide had chased some of my closest friends lives. If you take nothing else from this story, remember that Cambodia is the home to worlds most unmapped unfound landmines. Write a letter, send a donation, say a prayer, decades ...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone
I was surprised how fast I read this book in spite of its heavy topic. In some weird way, I felt this book as a light read. The author does a great job to convey the tragic journey she survived in a very simple way. Very much a page turner. Even though the title might scare people who don't want heavy topic books, this is actually a great read and insight into a girl's life during the takeover the Khmer Rouge. Another highlight is her great way of writing from a child's perspective without losin...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
ppl who can handle tragic reading
I am so very happy I started reading memoirs in recent months. First they Killed my Father would have to be one of the most heartbreaking ones I have read so far. No human beings should ever have to endure what these poor souls were put through during the course of Pol Pot's, Khmer Rougue regime, which were responsible for the genocide of millions in just a few short(or long)years. I found Loung Ung's heartfelt narrtive to be a gentle guide leading me along the tragic content of this book. What ...more
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Here is why this book is interesting: the Khmer Rouge turned a an approximately modern, urban nation into a murderous medieval serfdom. The only time I can think of in history that humans have abandon cities to becomes farmers, jumping back generations. The story is told from the perspective of an urban girl whose father was a middle-class bureaucrat. They were forced to farm the mud of the Cambodian countryside at the demands of 13 year-olds with AK-47s. It was, once, the most fucked-up plac...more
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