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evaemargje22's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, War, Suicide attempt, and Violence
utahmomreads's review
5.0
Review originally posted on my blog : http://utahmomslife.blogspot.com/2012/08/in-shadow-of-banyan-book-review.html
In 1975 the Khmer Rouge "The Revolutionaries" took control of the country of Cambodia. Forcing people from their homes and into work camps, over a million people were brutally murdered by the communists. Vaddey Ratner takes her own personal experience as a child during this time and weaves it into a simultaneously beautiful and horrifying novel, In the Shadow of the Banyan.
The narrator, Raami, is a seven year old girl and the daughter of a royal prince and poet. As her aunt says after they have been driven from their home by the conquering army, "The problem with being seven . . . is that you're aware of so much, and yet you understand so little. So you imagine the worst." Raami does not have to imagine the worst. The worst is bent on destroying her family and a country.
This is not just a tale, it is the story of our shared human history. Our recent history. A history that should be remembered so that it can be prevented in our future. It should take it's proper place with We the Living by Ayn Rand and Dreams of Joy by Lisa See and other books that detail that tragedies that follow evil regimes intent on destroying liberty.
Bringing her own experiences and pain into the story, Ratner excels at creating overwhelming scenes of emotion. She writes with a passion that is rare and the intimate scenes that Raami describes between her parents as they prepare to be separated are exquisite in their intense love and despair. While tragic, In the Shadow of the Banyan is also full of hope. This novel will rip your heart out and then slowly put it back together.
Just trust me on this one. Read In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner as soon as possible.
In 1975 the Khmer Rouge "The Revolutionaries" took control of the country of Cambodia. Forcing people from their homes and into work camps, over a million people were brutally murdered by the communists. Vaddey Ratner takes her own personal experience as a child during this time and weaves it into a simultaneously beautiful and horrifying novel, In the Shadow of the Banyan.
The narrator, Raami, is a seven year old girl and the daughter of a royal prince and poet. As her aunt says after they have been driven from their home by the conquering army, "The problem with being seven . . . is that you're aware of so much, and yet you understand so little. So you imagine the worst." Raami does not have to imagine the worst. The worst is bent on destroying her family and a country.
This is not just a tale, it is the story of our shared human history. Our recent history. A history that should be remembered so that it can be prevented in our future. It should take it's proper place with We the Living by Ayn Rand and Dreams of Joy by Lisa See and other books that detail that tragedies that follow evil regimes intent on destroying liberty.
Bringing her own experiences and pain into the story, Ratner excels at creating overwhelming scenes of emotion. She writes with a passion that is rare and the intimate scenes that Raami describes between her parents as they prepare to be separated are exquisite in their intense love and despair. While tragic, In the Shadow of the Banyan is also full of hope. This novel will rip your heart out and then slowly put it back together.
Just trust me on this one. Read In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner as soon as possible.
greta_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Child death, Classism, Death, Medical content, Vomit, Child abuse, Dementia, Violence, War, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Excrement, Genocide, Infertility, and Kidnapping
kewps's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
gabmc's review
4.0
A beautiful written fictional story of a chilling time in modern history - Cambodia during the 1970s. Seven year old Raani and her family are descended from Cambodian royalty and the book tells her story from when the Khmer Rouge forced them from their ancestral home in Phnom Phen. I don't know enough about the Cambodian genocide and this book has inspired me to find out more - about how this atrocity happened.
pox10's review
4.0
“Words, you see,” he said, looking at me again, “allow us to make permanent what is essentially transient. Turn a world filled with injustice and hurt into a place that is beautiful and lyrical. Even if only on paper."
ovenbird_reads's review
4.0
Around the World: Cambodia
Fiction, but based strongly on the author's own experiences as a child during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. This novel brought the brutality to the surface, forcing a very intense and emotional reading experience. I frequently had a hard time continuing as the atrocities piled up. But Vaddey Ratner keeps her story from plunging irrevocably into despair by showing the reader moments with wings, poetry that soars, love that keeps victims from laying down in the mud and giving up. If you knew very little about the Khmer Rouge, as I did, this is an eye opening story that you are unlikely to forget any time soon.
I wasn't sure how to rate this. It was an extraordinary book, but so painful that I had a hard time actually enjoying the read. I kept on because I felt it was important to bear witness to events that seem to have been largely forgotten. Everyone grows up knowing about the Nazis and the Holocaust. Why don't we all know about this?
Fiction, but based strongly on the author's own experiences as a child during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. This novel brought the brutality to the surface, forcing a very intense and emotional reading experience. I frequently had a hard time continuing as the atrocities piled up. But Vaddey Ratner keeps her story from plunging irrevocably into despair by showing the reader moments with wings, poetry that soars, love that keeps victims from laying down in the mud and giving up. If you knew very little about the Khmer Rouge, as I did, this is an eye opening story that you are unlikely to forget any time soon.
I wasn't sure how to rate this. It was an extraordinary book, but so painful that I had a hard time actually enjoying the read. I kept on because I felt it was important to bear witness to events that seem to have been largely forgotten. Everyone grows up knowing about the Nazis and the Holocaust. Why don't we all know about this?
annieca's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25