First They Killed My Father - Loung Ung

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⭐ 7.0/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

I'm not totally sure why I decided to go ahead and read this... Maybe because I'd never read a book by a Cambodian author? Anyway, memoirs about war and death and suffering are not exactly my thing (I just like to feel happy!), and this one is about a young girl's experience living through the Khmer Rouge revolution. But I didn't know anything about it and thought I should, and in the end it was worth the listen for me for that reason.

Loung is really young - five - when everything starts, and the book covers about 6 years. Her family has to run away, members start dying, everyone is starving, and Loung has to train for the army. Not a lot of happy moments. It's told in the present tense, which was an interesting choice - it made it feel more immersive and immediate, since there's no detachment and reflection that comes with using the past tense. But she was also a child, so everything we get comes through a child-but-actually-adult POV. A bit weird. She's also not a GREAT writer, but again, I did learn a lot, and I was invested as I kept praying that MOST of her family would make it out okay. (About 60% did. So at least it's a passing grade?)

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