When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge
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Book Overview
In a Cambodian proverb, when broken glass floats is the time when evil triumphs over good. That time began for the Him family in 1975, when the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia and they began their trek through the hell of the killing fields. In a heart-wrenching memoir, Chanrithy Him vividly tells of her childhood, growing up in a Cambodia where rudimentary labour camps are the norm and technology, such as cars and electricity, no longer exitst. As she struggles to understand the suffering and violence around her, she shows proof of unbounded courage and great hope.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0393048632
ISBN13:9780393048636
Release Date:April 2000
Publisher:W. W. Norton & Company
Length:330 Pages
Weight:1.05 lbs.
Dimensions:1.1" x 6.1" x 8.6"
Customer Reviews
5 ratings
A chilling autobiography
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
I read this book immediately after I finished "First They Killed My Father." Both are autobiographies by young women who were children at the time of the Khmer Rouge's rule of Cambodia. Rather than being redundant, I found that this book complemented the other. Both girls were daughters of relatively privileged families who were part of the forced evacuation of Phnom Phen. The author of this one, Ms. Him, was a few years older, and this slight age difference provides some different perspective. In addition, Ms. Him's family evacuated in a different geographical direction, which also affected her family's displacement over those years. The author shows how, as a child, she demonstrated incredible determination and courage in the face of the most horrendous conditions imaginable -- she even escapes one work camp as she was near death from dysentary.This book provides another necessary and compelling autobiography of a horrible time in history.
so much pain in such short time
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
This haunting yet awe inspiring account of life grabs you from the start puts you in the middle of her life and doesn't let you go. Her underling love and commitment to family leads to extaordinary acts of courage. The writting is vivid and entancing. You are drawn in by the childs voice and perception of how things are. You feel her pain as her inocense is lost to the enemy and her joys as she pulls her family together after each crisis. This is an account of life that will not be forgotten. Charinthy has much wisdom and desire to better the human condition despite what has happened to her and she expresses some of it here. Her spirit in indomitable.
A child's-eye perspective of the great Cambodian tragedy.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
Told in an unusually vivid style, "When Broken Glass Floats" provides a striking new perspective even to those readers already hardened from study of events in Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime. The scenes of the evacuation of Phnom Penh, family separation, slow starvation, and the deaths of members of the author's immediate family materialize as if on film.
My first book review
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
In a strange twist, I knew the author as a student, and later a collegue doing research on the Khmer Rouge era. I heard parts of the story from her, but was overwhelmed by the prose as she told it. I have heard the stories of many Cambodians, but because of this book I felt I could actually see what was happening. Her family and friends came alive for me on the pages of this remarkable narrative. It is a triumphant tribute to her departed relatives. I wish her the best and hope she will continue writing.
Gripping, sad, will make you appreciate life...
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
Through my readings of books dealing with the barbarism of the human soul I have gained a profound appreciation for the subtleties of life. This work brings that understanding another giant leap forward.The plight of Chanrithy Him through the relentless suffering of the Khmer Rouge is no less than heart sickening. You will discover a profound sense of respect for her and the victims and survivors of the infamous Pol Pot regime.This book has a similar approach to another - "First They Killed My Father" - by Loung Ung. Both books command you to continue reading. I could not put them down.All in all, a superb work on a less than superb topic - required reading for anyone interested in Asian culture, human suffering, and in a surprising way - human survival.
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