In the Shadow of the Banyan: A Novel

Different approach to telling the horror story of the Communist take over of Cambodia between 1975-'79, and the merciless slaughter of nearly 1/3 of the population (about 3 million) by the Khmer Rouge. The author relies on her own experiences as a child observing the atrocities, but chooses to use a fictional approach, telling the story through the eyes of a 7 yr. old female character named Raami, instead of exclusively using her personal memories to create the story. Ratner's style is poetic and artistic, and she tells much of the story through metaphors and similies--using the folklore, mythology, Buddhist poetry and fables, and the stories of her caretakers and poetic father to make any sense of what is happening, as observed by a child that has never known fear, pain, or monsters other than mythical dragons.

Ratner doesn't go into great detail compared with other books I've read about Phnom Penh and the Khmer Rouge, but the overall barbarism and senseless chaos recounted through the eyes of a child whose childhood has turned into a nightmare, ratchets the violence and fear up to another level that is heartbreaking and sickening. Raami's is a royal family, described as *Our family is like a bouquet, each stem and blossom perfectly arranged.* In the middle of a celebration, they are torn from the palatial home, separated, and thrown into the crowds of human despair by the brutal regime. The familial bonds, the respect for life, and the ability to pull strength and hope from nowhere add a sense of inspiration to what could have been a completely depressing novel.

There is a scene where a rice farmer is carving a small wooden calf, he says it is to hang around the neck of the mother cow that constantly cries *maaa maaa* mourning the death of her calf. The farmer tells Raami he is making the little wooden calf to hang around the neck of the cow so she "will have somewhere for her sorrow to go." The tremendous sorrow and loss is often expressed in beautiful passages like this that made the reading often meditative. Even with such meaningful writing and disturbing subject, there is a sense of recollection in the telling, an overriding distance that seems sometimes removed from emotion, and an insight and style that seems years beyond a 7 year olds, that combined made it difficult for me to genuinely connect with the storyteller, Raami. It didn't detract from the story, just my depth of involvement with the emotional side of Raami's experience--but no regrets. The narration fits the story and the character of Raami well. A timeless story that should be told and remembered.

In the Shadow of the Banyan, by Vaddey Ratner, is the "sleeper" novel-memoir of the summer. This semi-autobiographical novel about the life of one child and her family, in Cambodia, during the regime of Pol Pot, is a must read that the listener will never forget! It is an exquisitely written and powerful account of life and death in the killing fields of Cambodia and the power of a father's love through his self-sacrifice in order that his family, most importantly his children, could endure and survive, both physically and spiritually, through the four years of mass genocide and torture of the Cambodian people under the regime of Pol Pot.

Vaddey Ratner's own story, written as a novel, is both extremely powerful and gut wrenching. The story spans the four years of the Pol Pot regime. Written in the first person voice of the young Raami, and narrated over the four years of her life, begins when Raami is 5, living a life of privilege as a princess in Phnom Penh, and then quickly moves through the 4 years of extreme deprivation, starvation and death of the Cambodian people in the killing fields of Cambodia, under the Pol Pot regime.

The author's story is one that you will never forget. It is among one the most beautifully written contemporary novels that I have listened to on Audible in the over 10 years that I have been a member! It is a novel that must not be missed, both for the story and an understanding, in the lyrical and poetic writing of the author, of the suffering of the Cambodian people during the holocaust that they endured. Like her father, who was famous poet in Cambodia, the author, Vaddey Ratner, has a true gift for writing that lives, in her, through her father.

In the Shadow of the Banyan is written tribute to the 1 to 2 million Cambodians who died in the killing fields during the regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, and to her father, who gave her, through his own sacrifice, the gift to endure the unendurable and to hope when there was none!

I had to restart this story twice before I decided to just go with it. I found it to be well worth it. The story follows a young girl as she faces so much turmoil with wavering strength, but as the story continues I felt closer and wondered how she would get through it all. In the end the story was not as much about the stories her father told her but the unfolding of a family story.

But this book held my attention every minute and I thought the narrator was professional and sympathetic.
There was nothing about it I would change. I cried even in parts and I don't normally do that with a book. Worth every minutes listening and every cent paid.

While the basic storyline (set in Cambodia during the regime of the Khmer Rouge) is tragic, the lyrical imagery and the embedded stories of spirits brings beauty to the sordid details, and the tone is one of hope and celebration of life.

top 5

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

excellent

Poignant, sad, hopeful.

I loved the beautiful imagery of Cambodia and the descriptions of Cambodian traditions. Also, the author's description of the resilience of Rami's family.

When Rami and her father discover the prayer temple at the Buddhist monastery; they are led there by a servant who knows Rami's father and invites him to write in the sacred space.

Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime -- how one family's stories and tradition kept hope alive.

The best part of this book is probably the author's afterword -- she is the voice of Rami, the main character; it will bring tears to your eyes.

The narrators overly sweet voice distracted from the tragic but gripping material. Some background on Cambodian history leading up to the revolution might have also better set the story's events.

Beautifully written book with many lessons- lessons in history, survival, government, corruption, tragedy, and the ability to find beauty in the midst of unspeakable horrors and cruelty. And all based on true story. I appreciated every minute of this book.

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.

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

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.

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.