Recommended novel for those visiting (or who have visited ) Cambodia
 

We just finished this and want to suggest it to others. This novel is based on the experiences of the author and her family during the reign of the Khmer Rouge.

In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner. (After all of these years I still don't know how to italicize a book title in the Fodor's format.)

<I>I shall look out for that title before our next trip<I> . To get italics just use the usual HTML - type <I> before and after the phrase

Clearly doesn't work if you type it on its own!!! type < and I for italics or B for bold and then > with no spaces before and after the text

Thanks for the reading recommendation Julies.

Read this and concur. Another excellent book that takes place in Cambodia is The Rent Collector by Camron Wright.

I just read the review, and it looks to be fascinating reading. I'm going to put it on my Kindle. Have you read, "First They Killed My Father" by Loung Ung? It has a similar premise. Pol Pot went after the educated, wealthy families because they were his biggest threat.

It's lovely to see you posting here again, julie. Thank you for the suggestion.

I loved that novel, Julie! She has a new novel called "Music of the Ghosts" coming out in April 2017: I am headed to Siem Reap for the first time in January, and I recently picked up an advanced copy of her new novel and I like it a lot so far.

Btw Julie - we've all missed you!

In slightly lighter vein, the Colin Cotterill Dr Siri mysteries are a good read and have a very strong sense of place:

https://www.amazon.com/Colin-Cotteri...ne_cont_book_1

I've just finished The Kings Last Song by Geoff Ryman, a novel set in the time of Javayaman and the present day. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

I would read anything you can find about Pol Pot and the atrocities he committed.
Our guide said he knew nothing about it as it isn't taught in the schools. He found books and self educated himself about the Killing Fields.

Forgot to mention that this author uses a lot of metaphors and other figurative language, so if this isn't your thing it might not call to you.

HappyTrvlr--

It is interesting that this is what your guide told you. We didn't have one set guide for our trip but interacted with many different people we used as drivers or guides or just ran into. Nearly every one of them had personal stories about their families and the Pol Pot regime (and/or later with the landmines).

I had my tuk tuk driver, Bun, take me to the Heritage House just outside of Battambang. The lovely owner told me in French that her husband and all four of her four children were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Next, Bun took me to the Killing Caves, and we saw skulls from the victims that the Khmer Rouge threw over the cliff. Sometimes I wonder what's in our DNA that could create such horrible murderers.

Thank you again, Julie, for starting an interesting discussion.

Thanks for the recommendations. I read "First They Killed My Father" before our trip some years ago but I'm interested in reading fiction set in Cambodia too...

"When Broken Glass Floats" is another one for Cambodia.

I just finished "First They Killed My Father". Excellent & emotional book. We learned last week in Battambang that Angelina Jolie was there last January directing a movie based on the book. She and the author are good friends. My understanding is that it will come out on Netflix in the fall. The actors are all Cambodian.

bookmarking this..thanks!

A Woman of Angkor by John Burgess is a wonderful novel. He writes both fiction and non-fiction, former reporter for the Washington Post.