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uhambe_nami's review
4.0
Phnom Penh, 1975. Seven-year-old Raami was a little princess, a distant member of the large Cambodian royal family leading a privileged life. But when the Khmer Rouge took over, she and her family were driven from Phnom Penh to the countryside just like all those thousands of other Cambodians, to work in the rice fields and dig irrigation canals. Many of her fellow Cambodians wouldn't make it, but Raami somehow held on to the ancient stories that her father had told her, giving her hope and the strength to survive.
As the author was only five when she went through more or less what Raami is telling us, In the Shadow of the Banyan is a fictionalised autobiography that combines her own vague memories with what she now knows must have happened during those years. At times, Raami's observations seem too wise for a seven-year-old and this renders the story a bit unrealistic. However, this is a compelling narrative tackling one of history's worst tragedies, and the writing is not bad at all for a debut novel on such a difficult topic.
Please keep writing, Vaddey Ratner. You're doing just fine.
As the author was only five when she went through more or less what Raami is telling us, In the Shadow of the Banyan is a fictionalised autobiography that combines her own vague memories with what she now knows must have happened during those years. At times, Raami's observations seem too wise for a seven-year-old and this renders the story a bit unrealistic. However, this is a compelling narrative tackling one of history's worst tragedies, and the writing is not bad at all for a debut novel on such a difficult topic.
Please keep writing, Vaddey Ratner. You're doing just fine.
gck's review
5.0
"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 graphic atrocities. There is beauty and wonder to contrast with the fear and anticipation, and in a way, the tragedies hit me even harder because they felt personal. I really liked seeing the progression of Raami's relationships with her family, especially with her father and mother.
Then my heart broke even more when I got to the end and saw that Raami's story was based on the author's real life. Everything felt so authentic because it was based on actual experience.
I enjoyed this book even more because I read most of it as I was traveling around Vietnam and Cambodia, and the timing of some passages in the book would magically correlate with my travel experience. For example, I had met an old woman in Vietnam with black teeth right before I read about Raami's grandmother's teeth and the reason for them.
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 graphic atrocities. There is beauty and wonder to contrast with the fear and anticipation, and in a way, the tragedies hit me even harder because they felt personal. I really liked seeing the progression of Raami's relationships with her family, especially with her father and mother.
Then my heart broke even more when I got to the end and saw that Raami's story was based on the author's real life. Everything felt so authentic because it was based on actual experience.
I enjoyed this book even more because I read most of it as I was traveling around Vietnam and Cambodia, and the timing of some passages in the book would magically correlate with my travel experience. For example, I had met an old woman in Vietnam with black teeth right before I read about Raami's grandmother's teeth and the reason for them.
vmcivor's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-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
nessieread's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bhurlbut's review against another edition
5.0
A movingly beautiful memorial to a prince of old Cambodia. The story, written by his daughter, captures the horrors of the Khmer revolution as seen through the eyes of a child.
johndiconsiglio's review
3.0
A semi-autobiographical novel of a Cambodian girl & her family enduring the horrors of the Khmer Rouge. Considering the author’s real-life plight—forced labor, near starvation, her family slaughtered, she escaped to the US as a refugee—you don’t want to be insensitive to the subject matter. It’s her powerful story; she can tell it as she likes. In this case, it’s with a mix of brutality, a kind of lyrical Buddhist idealism &, ultimately, a triumph of sorts. Honest, sincere, if not overly compelling. There are shocking moments, but not many surprising ones.
dsbressette's review
4.0
I knew nothing of the revolution in Cambodia and the rise of the Khmer Rouge. This book educated me on that period and the author also developed a strong, well-drawn main character in Raami (who is really the author herself).
mastben11's review
3.0
Heartwrenching and clearly based on authorial experience about a period of Cambodian history I know next to nothing about, but the inconsistent naivete of the narrator was off-putting - I had trouble believing in Raami's voice throughout the account.