 "moving" | 2008-01-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A17PYN6663ST7R |
| After reading this I somehow felt changed. Written so well that you feel her emotions immensely throughout the book. I didn't want to put it down. |
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| "A sad experience but wonderfully written." | 2008-01-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: A6JRYQ7DBX0GL |
| When Boken Glass Floats tells the story of a young girl and her experiences and life as she lives in Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge. It is very emotional as she weaves the story of her family in the labor camps and then the periods spent in the refugee camps in Cambodia and Thailand. I recommend it as a five star book. |
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 "Every page kept my interest." | 2007-10-26 |
| - Reviewed By eileensd |
This was an entirely good read. One of the amazing things I kept realizing as I read is Chanrithy Him has condensed a number of harrowing years of into just ~300 pages, so the reader only hears about some of her experiences - there's probably much more that didn't make it to the pages of this memoir. Also, Him's story is only one out of myriad others . . . thousands of thousands of Cambodian people who could tell a story even more devastating than Him's.
When Broken Glass Floats kept me interested from cover to cover, and I enjoyed Him's writing style. It's likely I can't say anything positive that hasn't already been said, so I'll pick out a couple of things I wonder if other readers noticed.
For one, the black and white family photos included in the book did not resemble the images I had of disease-stricken, starving children Him described. For instance - granted he is wearing a shirt in the photos, none of the pictures show Map (Him's youngest sibling) with a protruding belly - although towards the end of the book Him tells her readers Map fails to lose this effect of starvation even after his diet improves. Similarly, the photo of Ra on her wedding day shows a young woman who looks healthy (nice complexion, full cheeks, hair in an up-do, clean floral shirt), so I couldn't help but feel confused because this is far from how Him described her physically weak, skinny sister who was barely recognize at times. I realize the photo was taken during better times, but do people so sick and hungry recover to that degree so quickly? Also, the memoir chronicles countless dizzying days, months, and years of walking, working, and barely surviving from severe dehydration, starvation, infection, diarrhea, disease, and depression; personal belongings (books, valuables, etc.) were stolen, taken by the Khmer Rouge, and lost along the way. Under those conditions, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt as I read about the photos Him had "managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p. 330) and the "cream lace blouse from Phnom Penh, which she (Ra) managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p.286). Given the circumstances described, this just didn't seem plausible. But who knows . . . not a major problem for me, it just caught my attention - as did the typographical errors I found from time to time.
Great book . . . would have enjoyed a bit more of a history lesson. If that's what you're seeking you might look elsewhere, because this is a tale focused on a very strong and intelligent young girl's survival. |
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| "A Trek to the Past" | 2007-08-18 |
| - Reviewed By User: A34PMB6BLJW7RT |
When Broken Glass Floats is the author's journey to find the magic of a world lost as a result of the Khmer Rouge. This book, as a personal account of the Khmer Rouge regime, is also my personal journey as a reader and a Khmer person. Through this magical journey, my own forgotten memories are awakened and many traditional beliefs that I have pushed to the back of my mind resurface.
I was too young to have memories of the Killing Fields, but I have heard enough stories to feel connected to it. There were gaps missing in my memory and this book filled those gaps. When Broken Glass Floats is poetic and touching, a book rooted in the author's desire to let the world know about the tragic death of her family. It begins when her memories are awakened as a result of her work as an interpreter and interviewer for the Khmer Adolescent Project, studying post-traumatic stress disorder among Cambodian survivors. This is a story of triumph, survival, and hope written from the Khmer soul of a Cambodian-American woman.
When Broken Glass Floats is a book with two moving and powerful purposes: one, as a therapeutic tool for the author, and, two, as a reminder of an event that should never have occurred. The author describes her book as a way "to use the power of words to caution the world, and in the process to heal myself" (p. 23). The process of writing the book became a trek to the Himalayas, "a search to recapture the long-lost magic in [her] life" (p. 23). My travels have taken me to the Himalayas. I have been seeking magic for my own healing like the author of When Broken Glass Floats. The process of reading her book and other autobiographies has provided much healing. I recommend this book for everyone who is interested in this subject, but in particular to Cambodian-Americans, because this book can take you on a journey into yourself, your soul, memories, and past.
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| "Good reading in preparation for Cambodia trip" | 2007-03-15 |
| - Reviewed By sharon59801 |
| I read this first and then Pol Pot, by Philip Short, in preparation for a trip to Cambodia. The combination was excellent. Short's historical, researched book helped me analyze what had happened and why. Him's book gave a personal story to go with it. While I traveled in Cambodia, I thought back to her comments as often as I remembered Short's history. Together, they gave me a much better travel experience. |
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| "Heart-Wrenching" | 2006-11-05 |
| - Reviewed By dsswaney |
| this is one of the most heart-wrenching stories I've ever heard told, and it well illustrates what can happen when such a ridiculous, unrealistic political ideology as fanatical socialism/communism - and its well-armed proponents - cause a country to self-destruct. I read this book while in Cambodia, so it had all that much more impact, and I constantly found myself looking at older people - and there seemed to be disporportionately very few people over the age of about 50, which in itself is probably part of the story - and wondering what they went through, or what they inflicted on others, back in those horrible Khmer Rouge days. |
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| "Should be required reading" | 2006-07-01 |
| - Reviewed By scruffy_scirocco |
I met Ms. Him at a book signing and have a hardcover signed by her. She is a beautiful, gentle woman with one of the most musical voices I have ever heard. To listen to the stories of unspeakable horror that issued from her lips as she read a passage chilled me. She is my age; while I was struggling with Algebra, she was sturuggling with pure evil. I promised her that I would do my best to never let her story be forgotten. My children will be required to read this when they reach the age she was in the book.
Evil exists, and it will only grow stronger if we ignore it. |
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| "A Must Read" | 2006-04-07 |
| - Reviewed By catherineatwell |
This is a great biography of a Child's perspective of the Khamer Rougue take over in Cambodia in the 1970's. Chanrithy's story will stir up every emotion in you. This is a real story about survival during a very dark time in history. Her escapes from labor death camps, while nearly dying from starvation and sickness. The constant fear of military attack, or excecution by the Khamer Rouge soldiers. The loss of innocence, freedom, family, Friends, a life she once knew and culture she once cherished.
This is a must read for all. Chanrithy's story really breaks through all the "static" of media coverage that we hear about on the news everyday regarding similar things going on all over the world and opens the eyes of the reader to see the PEOPLE who live through these horrific experiences, and how their lives are forever changed. What I realized from reading this story is how little we as a culture are aware of what horrors have existed in the past, and the horrors that exist now. It is a travesty that we are so blind. |
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| "Vivid, shocking account of destruction of Cambodia" | 2005-09-09 |
| - Reviewed By cmbcat |
| This is a great story illustrating the strength of the human spirit and the will to live and thrive against all odds. Chanrithy Him effectively loses her childhood when her home is bombed as a small child by the Khumer Rouge and her family is thrown into the middle of war-torn Cambodia, struggling to stay together and to survive. Hers is an amazing firsthand account of the horrors of slavery, execution, starvation and disease her family went through in a relatively modern era of the 70s. The clippings from the US newspapers of the time detailing the events overseas bring to mind the huge differences between a country of freedom and prosperity vs. a country being torn apart by bombs and ruthless individuals. |
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| "Compelling Account of a Tragic Time" | 2005-07-28 |
| - Reviewed By mysterypat |
| Chanrithy Him has told an authentic account based on her story. It replicates the hundreds of thousands of suvivors of the genocide regime of Pol Pot. The story is simple in the story telling, which makes it all the more compelling. For anyone interested not only about this sad time, but also interested in the struggles of these traumatized newcomers, even after 25 to 30 years, it is a must read. |
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