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What Members Thought

Irene
Aug 09, 2013 rated it really liked it
Based on the author’s own childhood, this is a heart-breaking and inspiring story. The daughter of a wealthy, foreign educated minor noble family, the narrator’s happy and comfortable childhood is suddenly and violently disrupted as the Khmer Rouge take over Cambodia. They are forcibly driven from their estate, sent into internal exile, condemned to forced labor and endure starvation, execution and terror. The love of family, the power of story, the indestructible conviction that hope will preva ...more
Sera
Feb 16, 2014 rated it really liked it
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
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Julie
Aug 27, 2012 marked it as to-read
Janice (JG)
Sep 29, 2016 rated it really liked it
Kathy Chumley
Jun 16, 2013 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Karen Michele Burns
Nov 09, 2013 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: my-5-star-books
Jen
Aug 12, 2014 marked it as to-read
Viv JM
Sep 18, 2016 marked it as to-read
Shelves: library-nfk
Nadine in California
Jan 04, 2020 marked it as to-read
Shelves: world-lit
Sarah
Mar 21, 2020 marked it as to-read