I read this book about a month ago and I still turn it over in my mind. Written from the perspective of a bright 5-7 year old girl during the Khmer Rouge reign in Cambodia, it is honest, remarkable and haunting. It is a story of survival but not one of optimistic triumph. The author is completely real as she lets the reader into a time I knew little about and found my heart broken again for what so many people, especially children have gone through at the hands of a corrupt government. The writing was fantastic. The horror of what was happening, told through the eyes of a young girl, surprisingly kept the tragedy a bit more palatable. Though it was non-fiction, I found myself immersed in the story and unable to put it down. I looked for any excuse in order to read and finished the book in just a few days. Clean. Highly recommended.
One of seven children of a high-ranking government official, Loung Ung lived a privileged life in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh until the age of five. Then, in April 1975, Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge army stormed into the city, forcing Ung’s family to flee and, eventually, to disperse. Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, her siblings were sent to labor camps, and those who survived the horrors would not be reunited until the Khmer Rouge was destroyed.
Harrowing yet hopeful, Loung’s powerful story is an unforgettable account of a family shaken and shattered, yet miraculously sustained by courage and love in the face of unspeakable brutality.
Related Reading
Frequently Asked Questions: First They Killed My Father
Is First They Killed My Father a true story?
Yes, it is a memoir. Loung Ung is recounting her own childhood in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, from the fall of Phnom Penh in 1975 through her training as a child soldier and the scattering of her family. Though it is non-fiction, I found myself immersed as though it were a novel and unable to put it down.
Is it too disturbing to read?
It is a hard story, but the child’s perspective makes it more bearable than you might expect. Because the narrator is between five and seven, the horror arrives without commentary and without the vocabulary an adult would use, which keeps the tragedy a little more palatable while somehow making it land harder.
Does it have a hopeful ending?
Not in the way you might want. It is a story of survival but not one of optimistic triumph, and I think that honesty is a large part of its value. It refuses to resolve into a redemption arc, which leaves you sitting with what actually happened rather than with how it was overcome.
Is there a follow-up book?
A reader told me there is a sequel called Lucky Child if you want to learn more about what happened afterwards. I have not read it myself, so I cannot tell you how it compares — but if you finish this one wanting the rest of the story, that is where to look.
There is a sequel called Lucky Child if you want to learn more!
Thanks Kimmy! I should pick it up!
Thanks for the recommendation. That WAS a great read!!!