Have been reading a bit more lately so I've decided to take out my old, semi-retired laptop and write a review on the books I thought were worth a read. It may not turn out like a review, but perhaps learning points/lessons that I wanna remind myself of because I almost never remember what I watch or read (unless they are gossip).
Was introduced to this book through the movie on NetFlix on my trip back from Malacca. The film was super long (anything which is not Marvel and over 2h is considered too long) but I liked several parts of it, so I texted Mama to get it for me and when I reached home, it was on my table.
The story follows the experience of a middle-class Cambodian family during the Khmer Rogue, told through the eyes of a 5 year old child as she grew. According to the book, 2 million out of 7 million people died during the period. The details were recorded to the best of the author's ability, although at times it felt like some parts may have been exaggerated. The emotions and trauma from the experience though was very real and well described. The book itself was slightly draggy too, in my opinion, for the writer inserts many of her own dreams/imaginations into the tale to build up the experience.
A few things:
1. I learnt a bit more about this time period that the Cambodians had to go through. The massacres, starvation, being beaten up, separations, hard work, distrust among people, propaganda etc. All in the span of those few years. I felt extremely lucky that we were fortunate enough not to have gone through this in our country, yet I kind of hope that our youths our children get to learn all about these things that have happened to our ASEAN neighbours. This would help us to better understand an appreciate each human as a whole -- not just their work, their personality, their family, but also their history of being resilient survivors who have the drive to better their lives.
2. The theme of hatred was strong throughout, where the writer was constantly angry with the regime, with the injustices, with the sufferings she had to go through. But at the end of it all, once you have a chance to get revenge, you realise that it is futile because what's done is done. It serves as a good reminder to me I guess, in my daily life, not to be so caught up with anger and hate but to forgive and move on.
3. The author mentioned infants dying because their mothers were so starved they could not produce breast milk, education was forbidden, children had to work on fields or even as child soldiers, kids eating poisonous mushrooms unknowingly because they were starving...Unimaginable. The topic of children has always been something I feel a lot for. It seems like they did not even get a fair shot at life and then they are subjected to experiences with irreversible outcomes. They did not get a chance to fulfill their potential because surviving was an issue. This made me rather sad.
Okay, till the next book I read. I liked The Girl Who Fled ISIS and also the Phillip Yeo book Neither Civil Nor Servant too. Would see if I can make time to consolidate thoughts.
