When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge

by Chanrithy Him

Overview

"A gut-wrenching story told with honesty, restraint, and dignity." —Ha Jin, National Book Award-winning author of Waiting

Chanrithy Him felt compelled to tell of surviving life under the Khmer Rouge in a way "worthy of the suffering which I endured as a child."

In a mesmerizing story, Chanrithy Him vividly recounts her trek through the hell of the "killing fields." She gives us a child's-eye view of a Cambodia where rudimentary labor camps for both adults and children are the norm and modern technology no longer exists. Death becomes a companion in the camps, along with illness. Yet through the terror, the members of Chanrithy's family remain loyal to one another, and she and her siblings who survive will find redeemed lives in America.

A Finalist for the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393322101
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	04/17/2001
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	568,263
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Chanrithy Him, born in 1965, lives in Eugene, Oregon, where she works for the Khmer Adolescent Project, studying post-traumatic stress disorder among Cambodians.

Editorial Reviews

"There are few books that give a refugee’s point of view as clearly and passionately as Him’s."

Time Out

"An inspiring story that draws hope from horror."

Seattle Times

"A touching and illuminating human account and should not be missed by anyone around the world."

Le Ly Hayslip

"A gut-wrenching story, told with honesty, restraint, and dignity."

Ha Jin

"Intelligent and morally aware…[Him] tells us what it was like to struggle to survive while others played out utopian dreams."

New York Times

"Astonishing and heartbreaking…Written in spare, visual prose that makes the world it describes tangible."

Boston Globe - Katherine A. Powers