April | 2010 | Book Chatter

First They Killed My Father Book Cover

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
Loung Ung
HarperCollins
April 2006
288pp

The Short of It:

A young girl’s heart wrenching tale of her family’s struggle for survival during the Cambodian Genocide (1975-1979). Hard to stomach at times but beautifully written.

The Rest of It:

Ung’s tale begins in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Once known at “the pearl of Aisa”, Phnom Penh is the home of the Ung family which consists of her mother and father, and her siblings, Meng, Khouy, Keav, Kim, Chou, Loung (the author) and Geak. Life in Phnom Penh is quite pleasant for Loung. Her father (Pa) works for the government and is highly respected in the community. Due to his class standing, they live in a nice house and Loung’s mother (Ma), does not need to work. However, as the Khmer Rouge invade Cambodia, the Ung family is forced to leave their home. This is Loung’s story of what happened to them on their way to Thailand.

As you can imagine, this is a very tough story to read. Loung is so young when her family is forced to move. She is only five-years old. Caring for her younger siblings and sometimes even the older ones, must have been very tough for her. As her family makes their way from one work camp to another, their fight to stay alive becomes more difficult as food rations dwindle, and violence abounds all around them.

This is from page 149/50 of the paperback. Loung is referring to her younger sister’s emaciated body:

My eyes stay on Geak. She does not talk anymore. She is so thin it is as if her body is eating itself up. Her skin is pale yellow, her teeth rotten or missing. Still she is beautiful because she is good and pure. Looking at her makes me want to die inside.

Ung’s story is quite compelling. Her relationship with her father comes through as being strong and solid, so much so, that when the soldiers take him away, her world falls down around her. Since it is impossible to know exactly what happened to her father, she fills in the gaps with visions she has of the event. These visions seem plausible and serve as closure for her, and I found them to be quite effective. She uses this technique again towards the end of the story and although I saw it coming, it was just as effective and shook me to the core.

What was particularly poignant for me, were her memories of life in Phnom Penh. The clothes they wore, the food they ate. She never realized how good she had it until all of it was taken away. Those moments seemed so small to her at the time, but in reflection, they end up being the cement that holds her together.

My book club chose this book for May. We meet to discuss it next week. I didn’t know too much about the Cambodian Genocide before reading it. Although it is a tough read and hard to stomach at times (it took me a really long time to finish), I am glad I read it. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about this topic.

Source: Purchased.

Welcome to Wuthering Heights Wednesday! Softdrink is hosting a read-along of this classic novel, and we’re reading (and posting about) 3 chapters a week.

Chapters 10 through 12

My Synopsis:

What a tangled web they weave…

The chapter opens with Lockwood sick in bed. Remember that jaunt he took through the frozen woods? Well, it has caught up with him. From his sick-bed, he asks Mrs. Dean to continue the tale of Heathcliff and company…and so she does.

As we mentioned in last week’s reading, Cathy has married Edgar and moved to Thrushcross Grange. Mrs. Dean is surprised at how agreeable Cathy is, but after thinking about it a bit, she realizes that it’s easy to be agreeable when there is no conflict to speak of. Edgar and his sister, Isabella bend to her every whim and in so doing, reap the rewards of a happy Cathy.

BUT…

After being away for three years, Heathcliff returns which pretty much rocks Cathy’s world. Cathy is so ecstatic to see him that it grates on Edgar’s last nerve. Cathy tries to persuade Edgar to accept Heathcliff as a friend so that all may be well at Thrushcross Grange. Edgar doesn’t accept him per se, but sort of turns a blind eye to him for a bit, which of course is a huge mistake.

In the meantime, it comes to Cathy’s attention that Isabella is smitten with Heathcliff. She finds this laughable at best and says so in front of Heathcliff and Isabella. Of course, Isabella is humiliated that Cathy shared her feelings in that way and attempts to grab Cathy. Cathy turns it around and makes Isabella out to be a monster in disguise. Heathcliff finds it all very amusing. Men.

I’ve forgotten why, but Mrs. Dean visits Wuthering Heights and manages to get hit in the head with a rock (she’s okay though). Who do you think threw it? Hareton! The kid that she practically raised. He has no recollection of her and curses her existence. Turns out, that our dear Heathcliff has been coaching the young lad in an attempt to turn him against his own father. I suppose he IS exacting his revenge upon Hindley but not in an obvious way because even Hindley has allowed him to stay at Wuthering Heights. When Heathcliff sees Mrs. Dean lurking about the premises, he comes out to talk to her but she runs back to Thrushcross Grange.

This is where it gets good so stay with me.

Heathcliff visits Thrushcross Grange and kisses Isabella! Cathy becomes aware of it and flies into a terrible fit. Edgar stumbles upon the two of them in the kitchen and Cathy locks the door and throws the key into the fire so the two of them can go at it. Edgar sort of collapses into a chair and Heathcliff realizes what a wimp he is and tells Cathy that he will never understand how she could have chosen Edgar over him. Surprise! Edgar jumps up and pops Heathcliff right in the throat and then runs out the back door.

When Edgar returns, he demands that Cathy choose between him and Heathcliff. Cathy feigns illness by collapsing and rolling her eyes into the back of her head which frightens Edgar but Mrs. Dean tells him that she is play acting. Cathy, upon hearing that the jig is up, jumps up and runs off to her room where she decides to starve herself. Take that! (insert foot stomping here).

After this bit of theatrics, Edgar tells Isabella that if she chooses to spend her life with Heathcliff, then she can consider their familial relationship over. Blood is thicker than water and all that. Right?

So what does Isabella do? She runs away with Heathcliff and Cathy loses her mind.

My Thoughts:

When I tell people that I am reading Wuthering Heights, there is an audible groan. This, I cannot understand. I am loving it but I have to tell you, half the fun is writing about it. These people are not right.

I am loving the tension between Cathy and Heathcliff. He knows how to push all of her buttons and running off with Isabella has sent Cathy into a tizzy that she may never recover from. It was implied that he is interested in Isabella for her money as she is her brother’s heir, but Heathcliff has his own money now and no one seems to know how he came upon it.

Heathcliff was gone for three years. A lot could have happened in three years. Wonder how long it will take for him to return this time.

Reading along: