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Surviving Year Zero
Surviving Year Zero is the story of one young man, yet it is the story of millions of people. It tells of how Sovannora Ieng lived through the genocide that tore at the heart of Cambodia in the 1970s.
Sovannora survived in an environment where survival was barely possible. He and his family experienced starvation, backbreaking labour and constant surveillance. They learnt to be silent in a world where a casual remark could be turned into a sentence of death.
Sovannora’s experiences under the Khmer Rouge remind us of the terrible things that we humans have done to each other, and his eventual escape to Australia is a testament to his resilience and ingenuity in the face of constant danger.
Sovannora Ieng escaped from Cambodia to Thailand as a refugee before migrating to Australia.
Sovannora survived in an environment where survival was barely possible. He and his family experienced starvation, backbreaking labour and constant surveillance. They learnt to be silent in a world where a casual remark could be turned into a sentence of death.
Sovannora’s experiences under the Khmer Rouge remind us of the terrible things that we humans have done to each other, and his eventual escape to Australia is a testament to his resilience and ingenuity in the face of constant danger.
Sovannora Ieng escaped from Cambodia to Thailand as a refugee before migrating to Australia.
294 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 14, 2019
A moving personal account of a young boy and the rise of the Khmer Rouge.
January 20, 2016
I don’t think it’s just a coincidence that there is a rash of books about refugees suddenly available on the Australian book market. This month’s Australian Book Review includes a review by Peter Mares Confessions of a People-Smuggler by Dawood Amiri (Scribe) and of The Undesirables: Inside Nauru by Mark Isaacs (Hardie Grant). (Sorry, the ABR site is pay-walled.) Another title, Refugees: Why Seeking Asylum is Legal and Australia’s Policies are Not by Jane McAdam and Fiona Chong is reviewed at Readings, and no doubt there are others. I myself recently reviewed The People Smuggler by Robin de Crespigny. I think that there are a good many Australians who are appalled by Australia’s current policies and since the prospects of change look quite hopeless at the moment, it seems that about the only thing one can do is to try to counter the disinformation and hard-heartedness of the tabloid media through books.
There seems to be two strands of reportage tackling this subject. There are the exposés about the current situation, aiming to penetrate the veil of government secrecy about what’s going on behind the shrieking headlines, and then there are books like the one I’ve just read, Surviving Year Zero, My Four years under the Khmer Rouge. Books like this aim to show the Australian public that they have nothing to fear from people who seek asylum here: people who flee their homes as refugees have escaped unimaginable horrors but have since proven themselves to be worthwhile Australian citizens.
Sovannora Ieng’s story begins when he is just fourteen, as the Khmer Rouge arrive in the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. His story traces the brutal four years during which his family were, like millions of others, uprooted from their homes, forced to work in the fields
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2014/10/02/su...
There seems to be two strands of reportage tackling this subject. There are the exposés about the current situation, aiming to penetrate the veil of government secrecy about what’s going on behind the shrieking headlines, and then there are books like the one I’ve just read, Surviving Year Zero, My Four years under the Khmer Rouge. Books like this aim to show the Australian public that they have nothing to fear from people who seek asylum here: people who flee their homes as refugees have escaped unimaginable horrors but have since proven themselves to be worthwhile Australian citizens.
Sovannora Ieng’s story begins when he is just fourteen, as the Khmer Rouge arrive in the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. His story traces the brutal four years during which his family were, like millions of others, uprooted from their homes, forced to work in the fields
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2014/10/02/su...
August 28, 2020
Truly heartbreaking reading stories of the pure evil that millions had to endure in Cambodia... Such a recent genocide of our time that isn't spoken of enough! However, I found the writing to be lacking in emotion and felt like it was hard to paint a picture of much of the story - it is missing detail, luckily I was able to put the pieces together due to having some knowledge on the overall events so I was able to get the general idea of what was going on. I do admire his story of survival and cannot imagine the pain and suffering that this man along with many others must have felt and gone through, during and after.
April 26, 2018
Overall this text exemplifies how the naivety of children was taken advantage of. Alike to the protagonist there would've been adolescents as young as fourteen and younger when the regime took over. Their lack of independent thought and trusting nature made them easy to manipulate. Through the act of brainwashing the regime fully indoctrinated them, resetting their moral compasses and gaining their loyalty. Majority were complacent to the point of spying on their own families, neighbors - anybody and everybody. They grew up to be desensitized to the everyday atrocities. It became the norm to put Angkar above all us and all were willing to turn their backs on each other.
In offering this naive lens of a child during the Cambodian genocide it is highly valuable. It is useful in understanding the vulnerability of the people and overall social context. Added, being a survivor with nothing to gain or lose writing this in his senior years, it shows the Khmer Rouge’s methods on children without bias. The reader is able to still see all individuals as human. Whether it be the officers, bullies or even the lady who ate her own children we still emphasize with these individuals as though they are people.
In offering this naive lens of a child during the Cambodian genocide it is highly valuable. It is useful in understanding the vulnerability of the people and overall social context. Added, being a survivor with nothing to gain or lose writing this in his senior years, it shows the Khmer Rouge’s methods on children without bias. The reader is able to still see all individuals as human. Whether it be the officers, bullies or even the lady who ate her own children we still emphasize with these individuals as though they are people.
April 7, 2025
Devastating story well worth a read. The topic is very challenging but it is written in simple words that make it easy to read. Unlike other readers, I appreciate the "lack of details" and "lack of emotions". Savannora was 14 to 18 years old, he is retelling the events from his point of view, a young boy who probably could not grasp the unfolding of the events, the political situation and the overall state of his country. He was focus on his survival, his family's, and his day-to-day challenges. The "lack" of details make it even more devastating as we really see it through the eyes of a child.
August 29, 2017
This book was quite horrific but very interesting. It's one man's account of growing up under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. While it's not a literary masterpiece it does give a very brutal and honest insight into what he and his family went through, and what they had to do to survive. It also starkly represents the dangers that come when people are given ultimate power and the way communism can be twisted so badly that it gets turned into facism.
I'm going to Cambodia soon and this gave me and very good insight into the history of the country. Well worth the read.
I'm going to Cambodia soon and this gave me and very good insight into the history of the country. Well worth the read.
April 13, 2023
“In Cambodia, millions were tortured and killed, and a nation was devastated. Now, years later, we as a society and species have not learnt our lesson. Genocide, abuse, persecution and intolerance occur every day, and the rights of perhaps most of us on this planet are constantly abused.
This story is for our times”.
This story is for our times”.
September 3, 2019
With candor, Sovannora describes his experiences of survival throughout the atrocities and horror of the Khmer Rouge years. He kept his hope alive and took comfort in his darkest moments from the assurance that his mother in Spirit was always with him... and urging him to go on.
May 9, 2018
Wow what a powerful story...tragic and unbelievably sad. Horrific time in our history and so hard to believe it happened.
So many, many lives lost and so much suffering in Cambodia...a tough read!
So many, many lives lost and so much suffering in Cambodia...a tough read!
July 10, 2018
A rare opportunity to experience genocide from a victim's experience. Survival becomes the author's primary instinct amidst gruesome death and horror. This narrative is not for the faint-hearted.
August 25, 2020
Purchase Surviving Ground Zero here for just $10!
A tragic story that captures the atrocities of Cambodia in the 70s, from a child's perspective, it is also a reminder of what humans are capable of; their strength and resilience. A powerful read.
Elisa - The Book Grocer
A tragic story that captures the atrocities of Cambodia in the 70s, from a child's perspective, it is also a reminder of what humans are capable of; their strength and resilience. A powerful read.
Elisa - The Book Grocer
January 24, 2015
I admire people who have survived such atrocities as the Khmer Rouge and are able to do something like write a book to make sure the rest of us know what happened. Admire is not quite the right word, but the best I can come up with at the moment.
Sovannora tells us of life in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. His story is not easy to read at times, heartbreaking and appalling at what happened and what it takes to survive. Even when Year Zero ended you realise that sometimes the liberators can make life just as difficult.
If there is a place where Surviving Year Zero falls down, it's where many books like this do - the author, either because they are an amateur writer or have English as a second language, is unable to fully use the language to convey they true nature of the events that take place. It's almost looking like a slightly out of focus picture, you get the general idea, but the details are lost.
In these times of much debate and argument over refugees in Australia, this is a book to remind us of what some people in the world are being forced to endure and the lengths they will go to survive. It should also serve to remind us of our obligations as people of privilege, who do not live in fear of our government and of speaking out, to those who are not afforded those rights.
Sovannora tells us of life in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. His story is not easy to read at times, heartbreaking and appalling at what happened and what it takes to survive. Even when Year Zero ended you realise that sometimes the liberators can make life just as difficult.
If there is a place where Surviving Year Zero falls down, it's where many books like this do - the author, either because they are an amateur writer or have English as a second language, is unable to fully use the language to convey they true nature of the events that take place. It's almost looking like a slightly out of focus picture, you get the general idea, but the details are lost.
In these times of much debate and argument over refugees in Australia, this is a book to remind us of what some people in the world are being forced to endure and the lengths they will go to survive. It should also serve to remind us of our obligations as people of privilege, who do not live in fear of our government and of speaking out, to those who are not afforded those rights.
August 4, 2017
4.5 Stars
Superb narration!
The way this true story was told, clearly depicted how it was one person's experience within the situation, whilst at the same time hinting at the grand scheme of what was happening in Cambodia at the time.
The story allows for readers to place themselves in the boy's head, and really gives him a sense of realism. This is important, because it is a real person we are reading about. The events actually occurred to them. The way the text makes such terrible deeds feel normal within the setting, is extraordinary. In doing so, it reinforces the social climate of the time and just how it affects the individual's mindset.
The reader is able to read the journey of this boy, be sucked into the climate of the time, whilst also constantly remembering in the back of one's mind, that the events are real.
A non-fiction text that can achieve this duality is incredible.
Superb text!
Much better than I was expecting.
Highly recommend!
Superb narration!
The way this true story was told, clearly depicted how it was one person's experience within the situation, whilst at the same time hinting at the grand scheme of what was happening in Cambodia at the time.
The story allows for readers to place themselves in the boy's head, and really gives him a sense of realism. This is important, because it is a real person we are reading about. The events actually occurred to them. The way the text makes such terrible deeds feel normal within the setting, is extraordinary. In doing so, it reinforces the social climate of the time and just how it affects the individual's mindset.
The reader is able to read the journey of this boy, be sucked into the climate of the time, whilst also constantly remembering in the back of one's mind, that the events are real.
A non-fiction text that can achieve this duality is incredible.
Superb text!
Much better than I was expecting.
Highly recommend!
August 22, 2016
Surviving the Khmer Rouge.
It is most important the reader very quickly adjust to the fact that while this is a book written by a senior person, it is written as he experienced life in his mid to late and not fully educated teens. The reader has a feeling of a first hand experience through 'junior eyes' of those years, but is provided with very little insight to the facts and figures of the bigger picture. No doubt the author learned these details with considerable shock and bitterness, but understandably not not until later years, hence not suitable to to be included in in the body of the book. However a final chapter as a 'Stop Press' would have been a very powerful addition to the book and consequently a full count of stars.
It is most important the reader very quickly adjust to the fact that while this is a book written by a senior person, it is written as he experienced life in his mid to late and not fully educated teens. The reader has a feeling of a first hand experience through 'junior eyes' of those years, but is provided with very little insight to the facts and figures of the bigger picture. No doubt the author learned these details with considerable shock and bitterness, but understandably not not until later years, hence not suitable to to be included in in the body of the book. However a final chapter as a 'Stop Press' would have been a very powerful addition to the book and consequently a full count of stars.
December 2, 2014
Autobiography of a man who lived in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. Very eye opening to read about the many atrocities that he witnessed and heard about. Unfortunately it suffered the same fate as other autobiographies that are not written by authors – it felt a bit sterile and the emotion reflected in the writing didn’t do justice to what would have been experienced in real life.
February 8, 2015
What can you really say about a book like this. The fact that a large part of his family survived is truly amazing.
April 17, 2015
Very moving of course, but also a very important read and a good way to learn of the events of 1975 on.
April 25, 2015
A very powerful story of survival under the Khmer Rouge regime of 1975 - 1979.
January 23, 2015
Depressing, horrific, inspiring.
April 22, 2017
A personal account of surviving and finding 'a new normal' after the Khmer Rouge. Ends kind of abruptly, opens your eyes to how comfortable life is in comparison.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews