Saving Nary

by Carol DeMent

Exploring the losses, loyalties and secrets held within families broken by war and genocide, Saving Nary presents a palate of unique characters who struggle to make sense of the events that led them to America, even as they ponder the bewildering culture and lifestyle of their new homeland. Refugee Khath Sophal lost everything when the Khmer Rouge swept into power in Cambodia: his wife and son murdered before his eyes; his daughters taken from him and still missing; his sanity barely intact from the brutality he has been forced to witness. Now resettled in the Pacific Northwest, Khath treads a narrow path between the horrors of his past and the uncertainties of the present. His nights are filled with twisted dreams of torture and death. By day he must guard constantly against the flashbacks triggered by the simple acts of daily living, made strange in a culture he does not understand. Then Khath meets Nary, a mysterious and troubled Cambodian girl whose presence is both an aching reminder of the daughters he has lost, and living proof that his girls, too, could still be alive. Nary's mother Phally, however, is another matter. A terrible suspicion grows in Khath's mind that Phally is Khmer Rouge, that Phally might not even be Nary's real mother. A split develops in the community between those who believe Phally and those who believe Khath. And those, it seems, who don't really care who is right but just want to stir up trouble for their own personal gain. Khath's search for the truth leads him to the brink of the brutality he so despises in the Khmer Rouge. His struggle to wrest a confession from Phally ultimately forces him to face his own past and unravel the mystery of his missing daughters.

311 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 6, 2016

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saving Nary gives a reader a glimpse of what it is like to be a refugee. Seeing the tragedy, the struggles, the losses, the heartache, the devastation, and the torture is so heartwrenching. This is by no means a light read. It deals quite a bit of heavy issues that makes the reader really think. Saving Nary is most definitely a must read for those who want to read a book that tells the story through the eyes of a refugee that had to leave their homeland to find hope and triumph in another part of the world. 

Highly recommended. 

5+ stars. 

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

[Laura Swan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful writing. Great characters. Rung true of my own experience in the 1980s here in the Pacific Northwest.

[Nancy Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only give 5 star reviews to books that change my life - the way I look at or think about things. I had never really considered the whole picture about what it must be to be an immigrant. I had a general idea that any human would want to flee war, but hadn't thought that through to living in migrant camps, waiting for word about missing loved ones and whether or not one had been accepted into a new country, and I was totally oblivious to the complex relations hips within an ex-pat migrant community. Now I read news stories about re-settling refugees very differently than I did before. Thank you for opening my eyes, Ms. DeMent.

[Patricia McClure · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story about tragedy and hope. A story that brings to light the dark days in Cambodia. The characters are so true to life in there hopes, dreams and discoveries. Not only does the story boggle the mind but it also captivates the heart.