Name: altlovesbooks's review of First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung
Item: First They Killed My Father
Rating: 5
Author: altlovesbooks

Loung Ung

First They Killed My Father

Timur Literal

A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.)

altlovesbooks

This book was my very first book I've read about Cambodia and what happened during the Khmer Rouge. Before this, I had read a lot on North Korea, memoirs, biographies, non-fiction historical accounts, the gamut. It stuns and astounds me that so much suffering for so many people can come entirely from the actions of so few. Each story breaks my heart, but I read more because I feel like these people's stories need to be remembered and read and recommended to others as cautionary tales and as teaching tools and as stories of human resilience. 

I almost think this one account is hands down worse than many of the accounts I've read from North Korea. Maybe it's the point of view, that of Loung Ung, child in a family of seven, who had to watch all this happen at such a young age. It was heartbreaking watching her entire world view change so dramatically from her relatively untroubled upbringing in Phnom Penh, to her confusion when they evacuated, to devastation, to hatred, to numbness. She saw so much, grew up so fast, endured so much.

While this was my first book involving Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge, I don't think it will be my last. This was such a good book, but I will need to be careful who I recommend it to. It is decidedly not a happy story, does not have a happy ending, and it does not pull punches. I'm very glad to have read it, though.

Yeung Man Lung

Loung has really good English and it is fascinating to read. The sentences can touch my heart and trigger my emotions. 
One thing I like about this book is how real the feelings of a little girl is when she was suffering from all that genocide and starvation. 
Another thing I like about the book is that I learned a piece of history of Cambodia. The history is terrifying and teaches me a lot. I have to remember that no matter how conflicting the world is, war or crimes against humanity and civilization will never be allowed.

linda

I read this book while I was in Siem Reap. I did not think the writing itself was exceptional - after all, it was written from the perspective of a five-year-old (at the beginning of the war).

Loung Ung begins by recounting her life in Phnom Penh - pork dumplings, gold and silver jewelry, red dresses for Lunar New Years. Ung claims that she was born to "a middle-class family in Phnom Penh," but it's clear that she and her family led a privileged existence. When the Khmer Rouge evacuate Phnom Penh in 1975, Ung's life falls apart.

The beginning of the book read surprisingly like Red Scarf Girl, and I couldn't help but draw comparisons between the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the collectivization and retreat to the countryside under the Khmer Rouge. In China, many urban, educated elite were too forced to the countryside to partake in hard manual labor. Collectivization meant that millions of families starved. However, the brutality Ung describes is far worse. It is genocide. Ung's family and friends are beaten for stealing food to survive, separated, raped, killed. 

By narrating the book in the present tense and through the eyes of a child (in the beginning, it is clear that Ung is in denial - she yearns to return to Phnom Penh, complains, bickers with her siblings - as any five year-old should), Ung makes the violence of the Khmer Rouge all the more vivid and horrifying.

Rose Donovan

forgot I read this ages ago but remembered due to WW3 vibes rn🤟 it's literally one of the best books I've ever read and it's a true story which made it so heartbreaking and it's just wow

Gabriela Cardenas

"You know the stars are candles in the sky. Every evening the angels come out and light them for us, so if we lose our way, we can still see." First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung

Can you rate a biographical account from a Genocide? I don’t think so. Therefore, I can only explain why this book is a must-read.

It follows the true story of a young girl who survived the Cambodian Genocide under the regime of Pol Pot in 1975. The narrative is seen through a child that had to endure many things no one should. As she remembers how it all started, her forced role during the regime, and her eventual escape; you meet people along the way that will haunt you in good and negative ways.

Ung’s retelling is raw and powerful. Sometimes it takes some time to digest because a Genocide is filled with atrocious actions. However, I believe that reading about these things can make people more conscious and emphatic of others, which is definitely what the world needs.

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Tessa

I find it hard to rate these kind of books with a star rating. However, this book was easy to read and made me remember how lucky I am to have the life I have had. I am moved by Ung's story and find it inspiring. I am now inspired to hear more about Cambodia's struggles and what the people of Cambodia endured in the late 1900s.

Timur Literal &
First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung

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First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung