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A review by uhambe_nami
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
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.