From a childhood survivor of Cambodia's brutal Pol Pot regime comes a narrative of war crimes and desperate actions, the unnerving strength of a small girl and her family, and their triumph of spirit. Until the age of five, Loung Ung lived in Phnom Penh, one of seven children of a high-ranking government official. While her mother worried that she was a troublemaker, her beloved father knew Loung was a clever girl. When Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army stormed into Phnom Penh in April 1975, Ung's family fled their home and moved from village to village to hide their identity, their education and their former life of privilege. Eventually, the family dispersed in order to survive. Because Loung was resilient and determined, she was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, while her other brothers and sisters were sent to labour camps. As the Vietnamese penetrated Cambodia and destroyed the Khmer Rouge, Loung and her surviving siblings were finally reunited. Bolstered by the shocking bravery of one brother and the vision of the others, and sustained by her sister's gentle kindness amid brutality, Loung forged on to create for herself a new life.

About the Author

Loung Ung has lectured widely to schools, universities and corporations on Cambodia, child soldiers, women and war, and landmines. She currently lives in the US.

Prizes

An unforgettable narrative of war crimes and desperate actions from a childhood survivor of Cambodia's brutal Pol Pot regime

Reviews

"Thus began/ my Erotikon--thus, my book of books, round-robin encyclical,/ round-the-head and round-the-corner, memorabilia/ of mobs and rabble, corraling coral with carols...." Mitchell's first collection since 1992's NBA finalist Rapture fuses eros and iconic lyric imagery into an alloy of poetic excess. With copious allusions (and copious notes) to such books as Frazer's The Golden Bough, Mitchell makes labored use of textual fragments, whether weaving a seven-part poem in seven seven-line stanzas ("Bird: A Memoir") or collaging her title poem into "a grand slam of sound." Many of the poems seem heavy with undigested Jorie Graham-like notions and movements, particularly those that point to their own well-worn methodology as if it were the first wheel: "It's not a question/ of what's true or not true, it's more/ a matter of what I want to hear." The speaker asks to be spared "the long slow walk of recitative" in favor of more operatic gestures, "the way notes// cluster in a difficult passage, the dotted/ sixteenths sugaring off, almost cloying, the ink/ crossed and recrossed, written/ over." Indeed, desire is equated with speed, "striding toward faster and faster tempos" as the images within poem after poem collide with one another like a sort of blenderized National Arts Club. Some will find Mitchell's diction thrillingly decadent, while others will find the over-the-top alliteration, stock high-art figures and mannered frisson tiresome. (Feb.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

YA-Ung was a headstrong, clever child who was a delight to her father, a high-ranking government official in Phnom Penh. She was only five when the Khmer Rouge stormed the city and her family was forced to flee. They sought refuge in various camps, hiding their wealth and education, always on the move and ever fearful of being betrayed. After 20 months, Ung's father was taken away, never to be seen again. Her story of starvation, forced labor, beatings, attempted rape, separations, and the deaths of her family members is one of horror and brutality. The first-person account of Cambodia under the reign of Pol Pot will be read not only for research papers but also as a tribute to a human spirit that never gave up. YAs will applaud Ung's courage and strength.-Katherine Fitch, Rachel Carson Middle School, Fairfax, VA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

The 1997 Nobel Peace Prize winner recalls Cambodia's killing fields. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.