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A review by pennyluisa
Put It On Record: A Memoir-archive by Sokunthary Svay
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Disclaimer: I am acquainted with Sokunthary. Our interactions have been mostly in Instagram so reading this memoir shed light to their personal stories that I otherwise would not know. I am thankful for them sharing these stories.
I slowly read this book to reflect and think about each stories that span through different periods of their life. I've been thinking about what it means to have an archive as I am also part of the Khmer diaspora. Our stories were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge era including that of creating new ones during this dark history in time.
I enjoyed everything that they written with my emotions ranging from laughter, joy, appreciation, and sadness. One of my favorite piece was "Scene in Residence: A Score for bitter pills / bitter melons as she describes the meaningful objects that exist in our community by Khmer American artists Joe Bunko. Her initial dislike of the bitter melon stew made me feel seen because I thought I was the only one in community who didn't enjoy the dish as much as they should. There's others that I enjoy such as her trip to Seattle and decided on a whim to hitch a ride with "mama" or the piece where she wrote about her post postpartum depression. All of them very moving.
Overall this book gave me the opportunity to know her in ways I didn't expect and will use it to engage in conversation with her next time.
I slowly read this book to reflect and think about each stories that span through different periods of their life. I've been thinking about what it means to have an archive as I am also part of the Khmer diaspora. Our stories were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge era including that of creating new ones during this dark history in time.
I enjoyed everything that they written with my emotions ranging from laughter, joy, appreciation, and sadness. One of my favorite piece was "Scene in Residence: A Score for bitter pills / bitter melons as she describes the meaningful objects that exist in our community by Khmer American artists Joe Bunko. Her initial dislike of the bitter melon stew made me feel seen because I thought I was the only one in community who didn't enjoy the dish as much as they should. There's others that I enjoy such as her trip to Seattle and decided on a whim to hitch a ride with "mama" or the piece where she wrote about her post postpartum depression. All of them very moving.
Overall this book gave me the opportunity to know her in ways I didn't expect and will use it to engage in conversation with her next time.