Reviews tagging 'Murder'

First They Killed My Father: Film tie-in by Loung Ung

25 reviews

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

this book was a very hard thing to read. it includes almost every content warning you can imagine. I can't believe i did not learn about this in any of my schooling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

stephanieluxton's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

This is the second book I read about the events that happened in Cambodia (this first was Survival In The Killing Fields - I actually recommend you start with that one as it gives so much extra context to experience things from an adult perspective first).

This book was pretty powerful. Seeing the chaos and hardships through the eyes of the most vulnerable (a little girl) was an eye opening experience. I respect the authors strength and bravery during those times. This book is about a family trying to stay together and survive during a collapse of their society. It's easy and enjoyable to read but the heavy content makes is challenging at times. It's written so vividly that you feel as though it's fiction.

It's crazy that this happened not so long ago. This book truly illustrates the dangers of communism and a tyrannical government. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in crimes against humanity and recent history.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Vomit

iguessthisisme's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Sexual assault

trs01's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, and War

paperlove's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense fast-paced

4.25

Ich kannte mich zuvor überhaupt nicht mit der Geschichte Kambodschas aus und war dementsprechend schockiert, über den Genozid der 1970er Jahre dieses Landes zu erfahren.
Die Erzählung ist sehr einnehmend aus Kindersicht der Autorin geschrieben, und war für mich emotional manchmal nur schwer zu ertragen. Von Völkermord, Zwangsarbeit, bis hin zu sexuellem Missbrauch und Tod ist wirklich alles dabei, was nicht nur die Autorin und ihre Familie, sondern das die Bevölkerung von Kambodscha damals ertragen musste.
Anders als in einigen Rezensionen kritisch erwähnt, hat mich der Schreibstil überhaupt nicht gestört, sondern sogar eher dazu geführt, dass ich manchmal den Eindruck hatte, das Geschehen hautnah mitzuerleben - mit all seinen schrecklichen Facetten.

Ich hätte mir allerdings gewünscht, dass man ein paar wenige historische Hintergründe zu den Motiven der roten Khmer erfährt. Für mich war nicht ganz klar, welches Ziel sie verfolgen und warum sie Millionen ihrer eigenen Landsleute entweder ermorden, oder unter unter schrecklichen Umständen infolge Krankheiten oder Hunger sterben lassen. Es gibt dafür natürlich absolut keine Rechtfertigung, und dennoch hätte es mir geholfen, ihre Taten aus ihrer Sicht besser einzuordnen.

Alles in allem aber eine sehr empfehlenswerte Erzählung, die ich vermutlich nicht mehr so schnell vergessen werde. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Rape, Death of parent, Murder, and War

elisegmusic's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

First They Killed My Father is a memoir about the Cambodian Genocide written by a woman who was five years old when the Khmer Rouge forced her out of her city. 

 

I had read a memoir about the Cambodian Genocide last year, and these tales were achingly similar - the starvation, the disappearances, the brutal killings. This whole memoir is a big trigger warning. 

 

What is so poignant about this memoir is that all of this is happening around a girl who is so young. How does it affect a girl when you have to keep secrets your entire life? When your mother tells you she doesn’t want you around in order to save your life? When you watch a girl’s head be blown off when she was sitting right next to you? When you steal a ball of rice from an old woman to save your own life, even thought you might have killed her? 

 

This was heartbreaking and beautifully written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Murder

alyssatuininga's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Another heartbreakingly sad memoir, this one about a young girl who survived the Cambodian genocide.   I enjoyed learning about this time period in Cambodia but this was a really rough one. As always I have a hard time reviewing memoirs but this one was well-written, easy to follow, and informative. I did find it being set in the present tense a little off-pointing and found some of the mature insight weird in a child's voice and perspective. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

gaeliloveweiss's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

swjessie10's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

This was a wonderful book. It was very emotional for me, especially due to my family connection in Cambodia. It was sad to hear about the awful experiences of war, genocide, and killing during the Khmer Rouge. The author told the story well in her first-person, present tense narrative. It follows her as a young child and what happens to each family member during the 4 years and then what happens when they find safety again, some as refugees. 
It was both hard to put down (because I wanted to keep reading) and something I needed to put down to give myself an emotional break.

There are some gruesome details regarding the killings and attacks, painting a picture in your mind. 

I learned so much about the Khmer Rouge as well as Cambodian culture before, during and after the Khmer Rouge. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Murder, and War

Moderate: Rape

nanabells's review against another edition

dark inspiring sad tense slow-paced

5.0

Really eye opening memoir about the khmer rouge regime. a hard read but it helped bring light during that time of steuggle and war

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Vomit, Murder, and War