In the Shadow of the Banyan in Around the World

Dec 31, 2019 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: asia2019, read2019, international-book-club, around-the-world, location-cambodia

This is the last book of 2019, just under the wire to squeeze one more Asian country in there. This incredible and poetic novel is parallel to the author’s lived experience of an idyllic early childhood descended from royalty in Cambodia cut short by being forced from her home and into work camps, and surviving the genocide that killed 1/4-1/3 of the population in the country. Definitely read the end matter in this book.

I can't undersell the beauty of the writing, the brilliant capture of a chil ...more

44 likes · Like · see review

Aug 04, 2012 Claire rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

A thought provoking, courageous read. It's fiction but everything the 7 year old Raami experiences has been experienced for real by the author, now looking back at those years in Cambodia when everything changed and what she and her family lived through before finding their way out.

My full review on Word by Word here. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Sep 12, 2012 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, historical-fiction, literary-fiction, young-adult, fiction, novels, memoir, biography, 2012-around-the-world

Ratner tells us in her author's note that "Raami's story is in essence my own." This is a novel about love and survival and the power of stories. Raami is just seven-years-old when the novel begins, when the Khmer Rouge comes to power. The murderous regime over the course of four years was responsible for as many as two million deaths, wiping out about a third of the Cambodian population in their attempts to establish a communist utopia.

The story is described in blurbs as "lyrical." I thought a ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2013 Nina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: se-asia, 2013, world2013

"The problem with being seven... is that you're aware of so much, and yet you understand so little. So you imagine the worst."

I'm not sure a child's imagination would come up with things that were worse than what happened in Cambodia, but this combination of awareness and innocence made the narrative voice really special. I loved her worldview and poetic language. Because the story is told through the eyes of a child without full understanding, we aren't presented with a constant stream of graph ...more

Like · see review

Sep 08, 2012 Joy rated it liked it

Shelves: around-the-world-in-80-books

In the Shadow of the Banyan is a moving account of one of the modern world's worst atrocities, the Khmer Rouge's murderous reign in the 1970's. This story takes what we've read in history books, and recounts it as life, lived & breathed & lost. Raami is a 7 year old girl, trying to make sense of the sudden upheaval in her world. Why do they have to leave their nice house in Phnom Penh so suddenly? Why can't she tell anyone that her father is a prince? And why must she lie about her mother's rol ...more

Like · see review

May 26, 2013 mussolet rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-notmine-c, region-asia, country-cambodia, language-english

I've read three novels about Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge over the last few months, all of them deeply moving (see below). Out of the three, "In the Shadow of the Banyan" is the one I'm least likely to recommend, but it is also the most beautiful one.

Vaddey Ratner chose a young girl (herself) as the narrator of this story. Raami comes from royal blood and grows up incredibly sheltered despite the war that has been going on for quite some time. When the Khmer Rouge evacuate Phnom Penh and her f I've read three novels about Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge over the last few months, all of them deeply moving (see below). Out of the three, "In the Shadow of the Banyan" is the one I'm least likely to recommend, but it is also the most beautiful one.

Vaddey Ratner chose a young girl (herself) as the narrator of this story. Raami comes from royal blood and grows up incredibly sheltered despite the war that has been going on for quite some time. When the Khmer Rouge evacuate Phnom Penh and her family's long journey begins, we can see her lose all those privileges one by one. Her family soon has to pay the price for their heritage, as the Khmer Rouge's new world order doesn't accomodate royals or intellectuals, and Raami's father fits both of these categories.

"I told you stories to give you wings, [...] so that you would never be trapped by anything."

Her father is a poet, and Raami's world view (or a young girl's equivalent of such a thing) is coloured by the colourfulness of his verses and by the mythological stories he and others have taught her. The narrator creates images of a haunting beauty to go along with the suffering of her characters, which sets a very strange mood. Along with this, Raami often flees into her own world of spirits, gods and demons, trying to find their equals in the world around her. She tries not to give up hope, but it becomes harder and harder for her the more she understands what's going on inside the grown-ups around her.

"There are no gods. [...] If they were the ones who gave life, created it, they'd know its value. There are no gods. Only senselessness."

The author describes her experiences as well as she can, which means that Raami is sounding way more grown-up than she should right from the beginning. But even so, she is a child and adults don't tell her much, or leave out important things, and Raami is too young and unexperienced to put enough perspective into things all by herself. This is part of what keeps me from recommending this book - there is an afterword and everything, but to get a clearer picture of the time, you'd be better of with a different novel.

My other issue is with the poetry of the language. I have encountered this in a lot of South Asian (and some South American) novels, and I love it. I really do. But I have encountered a lot of readers who are put off by it, and if you've never encountered an Asian author I would encourage you to read a chapter or two before deciding wheter this is the book for you or not. Much as I love the mythical aspects, the conjuring of deities is another part that takes away from the realism of the experience, and you have to like this kind of storytelling to be able to understand what it can give you instead.

I have a slight problem with the fact that you don't really know where the story is supposed to be going, but this is a minor issue and didn't bother me much once I was in love with the language and crying for Raami and her family. It is important that stories like these are told, and when they are told well they have a chance of staying with you and reminding you of what is important.

"... that life, with all its cruelty and horror, was still worth living. [...] This, I think, was what he was trying to tell you, a story about your continuation."

-----------
* The Disappeared by Kim Echlin. It is the story of a young Canadian woman going after her Cambodian lover, and is perhaps the most accessible from a Western POV. (my review)
* Dogs at the Perimeter by Madeleine Thien. This is the complex story of a survivor trying to remember and come to terms with what has happened. It offers multiple stories and also a modern perspective which makes it easier to understand. (my review)

This review can also be found at my blog. ...more

Like · see review

Oct 07, 2012 Sara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, historical-fiction, around-the-world-in-52-books, cambodia

This must be one of the most exquisitely written books I've read in a long time. It's based on the authors own experience during the regime of Cambodia's Khymer Rouge. The most memorable writing was the author's note in her own voice and dedication of this book to her late father. ...more

Like · see review

Feb 06, 2013 Supriya rated it it was amazing

One of the finest books I've ever read. Breathtaking on all levels. I hope they add this one to required reading lists at our schools and universities. Don't miss this one. ...more

Like · see review