A Blessing over Ashes
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Book Overview
On a snowy winter's night in Vermont, eleven-year-old Adam Fifield and his family awaited the arrival of his new foster brother, Soeuth, a fourteen-year-old refugee from the killing fields of Cambodia. Scrawny and terrified, Soeuth was mute for days, warily retreating into his room despite the Fifields' numerous attempts to make him feel welcome. But for Soeuth, whose young life had been plagued with fear and violence, it would be months before any place could feel like home. In this rewarding memoir, Adam Fifield recalls the months and years that followed his first meeting with Soeuth. He describes the boy's amazing physical prowess, his sense of humor, and, juxtaposed against his own typically American coming of age, the horrific details of Soeuth's early years. But even more compelling is the story of Adam and his brother's journey to Cambodia to meet the family Soeuth once thought dead. What awaits them on the side of the globe will both reunite Soeuth with his lost family and cement the relationship he has forced with his new one.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0380800497
ISBN13:9780380800490
Release Date:June 2001
Publisher:Harper Perennial
Length:336 Pages
Weight:0.66 lbs.
Dimensions:0.8" x 5.3" x 8.1"
Customer Reviews
4 ratings
An amazing book for so many different reasons.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
As a former refugee who came to the United States at age 8, I understand a few of the main character's experiences, i.e growing up "different" in America. Luckily there are many other experiences in his amazing life which are completely foreign to me, living through the killing fields of Cambodia, adoption into a loving American family, financially supporting his long lost Cambodian family, etc... This is an amazing book for so many different reasons. It gives the reader an honest and intimate look at a unique and rich life very different form their own. I gained insight on some of my contemporaries by reading this book. It is a testimony of one brother's love for another. Finally, this book illustrates a character of the American people that is sometimes forgotten. Americans, as a whole, are a generous people. I've recommended this book to so many friends, especially those with an interest in understanding people with experiences different from their own.
Can't Put It Down
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
I read this book during vacation on Cape Cod-and finished it in about two days. It is so rich, so insightful, I loved it. Loved reading about the author and his brothers growing up in Vermont....what a colorful tapestry. I have never read Adam Fifield before (only read about him in Good Housekeeping Magazine) but am so impressed by his gift for the craft of writing. What a beautiful builder of phrases and sentences. This book should win a Pulitzer prize.
The Soeuth I know
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
Not being a professional writer or book reviewer, I can only state my experience while reading the book. Simply stated, once I began reading "A Blessing Over Ashes," I didn't want to put it down. Nearly every page bought forth a touching episode, or experience, some humerous, some distressing, but all riveting and memorable.Soeuth has established himself as a valuable and trusted employee in our company. Reading of his childhood experiences and following his growth to a responsible adult has given me a new appreciation for what he has become.The book is well written, easy to read, even if disturbing in places. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to be raised in a traditional american home will find it difficult to comprehend the early life of Soeuth. For me, it has created a new appreciation and respect for the Soeuth I know.
An unflinching, wise book full of love and compassion
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
Adam Fifield's rich prose is a pleasure, and his sense of narrative is elegantly gripping. I gobbled the whole book up in one sitting and wished it could have been even longer. His humane, sympathetic vision is the key to a book that manages to indict and embrace the thorny aspects of cross-culturalization at once. The unfolding of parallel childhoods is even-handed; he lets no one off the hook. There are pockets of unexpected humor and desolate poignancy going off like little landmines throughout the pages. This is a wonderful book abut the power of family and the horrors of our recent past.
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