In the Shadow of the Banyan

A Novel

By: Vaddey Ratner

Narrated by: Greta Lee

Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Told from the tender perspective of a young girl who comes of age amid the Cambodian killing fields, this searing first novel - based on the author’s personal story - has been hailed by Little Bee author Chris Cleave as “a masterpiece… utterly heartbreaking and impossibly beautiful.”

For seven-year-old Raami, the shattering end of childhood begins with the footsteps of her father returning home in the early dawn hours bringing details of the civil war that has overwhelmed the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. Soon the family’s world of carefully guarded royal privilege is swept up in the chaos of revolution and forced exodus.

Over the next four years, as she endures the deaths of family members, starvation, and brutal forced labor, Raami clings to the only remaining vestige of childhood - the mythical legends and poems told to her by her father. In a climate of systematic violence where memory is sickness and justification for execution, Raami fights for her improbable survival. Displaying the author’s extraordinary gift for language, In the Shadow of the Banyan is testament to the transcendent power of narrative and a brilliantly wrought tale of human resilience.

©2012 Vaddey Ratner (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"This stunning memorial expresses not just the terrors ofthe Khmer Rouge but also the beauty of what was lost. A hauntingly powerful novel imbued with the richness of old Cambodian lore, the devastation of monumental loss, and the spirit of survival." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Vaddey Ratner's novel is ravishing in its ability to humanize and personalize the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s. She makes us look unflinchingly at the evil that humankind is capable of, but she gives us a child to hold our hand - an achingly believable child - so that we won't be overwhelmed. As we have passed from one century of horrors and been plunged into a new century giving us more of the same, In the Shadow of the Banyan is a truly important literary event." (Robert Olen Butler, author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain)

"Often lyrical, sometimes a bit ponderous: a painful,personal record of Cambodia's holocaust." ( Kirkus Reviews)

horryfying and important

Where does In the Shadow of the Banyan rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

top 5

Who was your favorite character and why?

the main characters courage was amazing, esp as it was based on true events

What about Greta Lee’s performance did you like?

excellent

First Audible Book - Amazing!!

I wasn't too sure about listening instead of reading a book since I am so visual but this book got me hooked. This is a great book to begin with as the narrator was perfect. You "felt" the story through her reading.

Mixed

I really wanted to like this book. I got so much from it, especially since I know so little about this history. However, I struggled to connect. The language, though poetic, seemed to calm ahf mature for a child amidst tragedy.

I couldn't stop crying at the end!

If you could sum up In the Shadow of the Banyan in three words, what would they be?

Heartbreak, heartbreak, and more heartbreak

What was one of the most memorable moments of In the Shadow of the Banyan?

At the very end, the author speaks. I could not stop crying.

What does Greta Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It was great to have someone pronounce the names better than I would have if I would have read it myself.

Any additional comments?

I did not know much about the Khmer Rouge. This book captures what a tragedy this time was during history. It is a must read!

Basically too long and very boring

Would you try another book from Vaddey Ratner and/or Greta Lee?

I'm sorry, but this story has been told too many times. There's nothing original about the book and I I to force myself to finish it just because I paid for it. Very boring.

Has In the Shadow of the Banyan turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

What about Greta Lee’s performance did you like?

Just okay

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It was just boring and not much new The whole idea of the story being told from a young observer grew tiresome very quickly. I should have paid attention to the other reviews.

wanted to like it but didn't

What would have made In the Shadow of the Banyan better?

The story is supposed to be from the point of view of a 7 yr old child but I don't know any 7 yr old that would have this degree of maturity in the way she viewed and related to her world.

What could Vaddey Ratner have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

If the narrator were a teenager the book would have been more believable.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Greta Lee?

I didn't like the narrator. There was way too much 'punctuation' in her voice. Between her way of reading and the prose of the book I often found my attention wandering.

Any additional comments?

I really wanted to like this book as I know it is autobiographical and the author lived through a horrific time but the main character was just not realistic and the narrator of the book irritated me.

Disappointing

What did you like best about In the Shadow of the Banyan? What did you like least?

I did learn a few more things regarding the tragic events in Cambodia. The character development was weak. The author did a poor job of telling us a story regarding these events.

Do you think In the Shadow of the Banyan needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No