winyeemichelle's review
4.0
Thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This gorgeous memoir felt like far more than a memoir. Born in, and named after, Thailand's Khao-I-Dang refugee camp, Y-Dang Troeung was just one when she fled her homeland and was admitted to Canada. There, she became the poster child for the Canadian refugee project and the horrors of Pol Pot’s brutal, senseless brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.
Admittedly, I didn’t know a whole lot about this part of history, which made this book all the more special to read. It’s written in a beautifully lyrical way that transcends prose, dialogue and memory. The chapters are fairly short, which moves the memoir quickly and simultaneously absorbs you into the ‘story’, and some of them are letters from Troeung to her son, offering a scrapbook effect. A truly beautiful read.
This gorgeous memoir felt like far more than a memoir. Born in, and named after, Thailand's Khao-I-Dang refugee camp, Y-Dang Troeung was just one when she fled her homeland and was admitted to Canada. There, she became the poster child for the Canadian refugee project and the horrors of Pol Pot’s brutal, senseless brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.
Admittedly, I didn’t know a whole lot about this part of history, which made this book all the more special to read. It’s written in a beautifully lyrical way that transcends prose, dialogue and memory. The chapters are fairly short, which moves the memoir quickly and simultaneously absorbs you into the ‘story’, and some of them are letters from Troeung to her son, offering a scrapbook effect. A truly beautiful read.
saestrah's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
A free advanced reading copy of this title was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review:
Firstly, I loved the formatting of this book. Interspaced with artwork, photography and letters from the author to her son, the narrative of the author's life is captured in very short chapters, segmenting the reflections on her life into brief snapshots. It's an incredibly tragic book, that leaves you with an ache in your chest, but it's an enjoyable read.
Firstly, I loved the formatting of this book. Interspaced with artwork, photography and letters from the author to her son, the narrative of the author's life is captured in very short chapters, segmenting the reflections on her life into brief snapshots. It's an incredibly tragic book, that leaves you with an ache in your chest, but it's an enjoyable read.
uroobaa's review against another edition
5.0
heartbreakingly powerful & hauntingly relevant. Y-Dang, you were gone too soon.
karissaang's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
An eerie but incredibly moving experience to read a posthumous memoir. I loved how the chapters are written in brief bursts - indeed, “life in fragments”. I also learned a lot that I hadn’t known about with the Cambodian war and how that impacted the Teochew Chinese community (from which my family is also a part of and didn’t know made up the majority of ethnic Chinese living in Cambodia)! Sad and heart aching and resilient all in one.
caelysium's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Genocide, War, Violence, Death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Colonisation
Minor: Suicidal thoughts