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In the Shadow of the Banyan

Vaddey Ratner

Start date: September 15, 2016

Finish date: October 15, 2016

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Feb 16, 2014 Sera rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, own, literary-fiction, library, 1st

Ratner wrote this book, which is based upon her life when she was growing up in Cambodia during the revolution. Interweaving fiction with fact, Ratner draws a picture from a 7 year old's perspective as to what did happen and what else might have happened during this time.

The book is beautifully written. Ratner, the daughter of a poet, clearly gets her feel and sound for language from her father. One criticism of the book is that it is told from the perspective of a young child, but the voice and ...more

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Dec 21, 2017 Andy Plonka rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: src

This book was a learning experience for me. I knew nothing about Cambodia's problems other than they were locked in a situation with Vietnam and Laos. Though this is a novel, the information at the end of the novel shows how closely it followed the experiences of the author and her family from the time she was five years old. The trials she went through just to survive were amazing. ...more

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Jul 01, 2013 Laura (booksnob) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: literature, humanities-reading-list, history, 2013, 2019

Raami is the seven year old daughter of a prince. She lives in a beautiful house in the capital city of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. Her father is a poet and a buddhist and he has created a serene, peaceful place for his family within their home. Raami lives with her parents, her mother is a vision of beauty, her baby sister Radana and her grandmother, the Queen as well as a variety of servants. The year is 1975 and the winds of a lost civil war are blowing into town.

The Khmer Rouge regime has just t Raami is the seven year old daughter of a prince. She lives in a beautiful house in the capital city of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. Her father is a poet and a buddhist and he has created a serene, peaceful place for his family within their home. Raami lives with her parents, her mother is a vision of beauty, her baby sister Radana and her grandmother, the Queen as well as a variety of servants. The year is 1975 and the winds of a lost civil war are blowing into town.

The Khmer Rouge regime has just taken power of Cambodia. They arrived in Phnom Penh and proceeded to evacuate the city. Raami's family piles into the family car in sweltering heat, in a rushed exodus, never to return. During the next four years, the Khmer Rouge tries to systematically destroy the infrastructure of the country and its people by creating a group mentality, separating family, reeducating the educated populace in the ways of the peasants and stripping each individual of their memory of self. Two million people lost their lives during the brutal communist regime of Pol Pot.

The author, Vaddey Ratner is a survivor of the Cambodian genocide. She was five years old when the communist regime came to power. She lost almost everything during the revolution, including most of her family. She survived to tell her story in this semi-autobiographical novel. Most of the characters in the book are based on her family members and her personal story is embedded in the narrative of In the Shadow of the Banyan.

Ratner is a beautiful writer. While the story itself is tragic, the beauty of the writing and the hope of the characters make this story exceptional. The love of family, the beauty of the moon, the hope for tomorrow are all reasons to fight and live among tragic and terrible circumstances. Poetry is woven throughout the pages as well as traditional stories and myths of the ancestors. At times In the Shadow of the Banyan is hard to read yet the author offers equal parts of tragedy and grace, imbuing the novel with small moments of kindness, love and spirit.

At one point in the novel the family is housed in a Buddhist monastery classroom. This quote is written on the chalkboard “Knowing comes from learning, finding from seeking.” pg. 69 ...more

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Jun 02, 2014 Ellen Librarian rated it liked it

This book struck me as a meditation on the author's young life and harrowing experiences in Cambodia more than a story. So while there are some beautiful passages and the overall plot is interesting, for me it lacked impact because the characters were so thinly drawn.

As a result, I found it rather dull which seems quite a feat given what an amazing tale it is. ...more

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