Phnom Penh: A Cultural and Literary History

by Milton E. Osborne

Forever linked in the public mind with the Pol Pot tyranny, Phnom Penh only became Cambodia's permanent capital in 1866. Long neglected by Western travellers, in the sixteenth century it was home to Iberian missionaries and freebooters who briefly held Cambodia's fate in their hands. It faded in significance until France established a colonial protectorate over Cambodia in 1863. As the colonialists robbed the Cambodian king of his temporal power, their protection enhanced his symbolic importance, setting the scene for the emergence of one of the most intriguing rulers of the twentieth century, King Norodom Sihanouk. The city Sihanouk ruled from 1941 to 1970 was a mix of traditional palaces, Buddhist temples and transplanted French architecture. In the 1960s Phnom Penh deserved its reputation as the most attractive city in Southeast Asia.But after 1970 all this was to change, and a terrible civil war was followed by the Khmer Rouge's capture of the city in 1975. Since the defeat of Pol Pot in 1979, Phnom Penh has slowly recovered, once again attracting perceptive travellers. It is a city of royalty and colonizers - Kings, courts and battles with French administrators; royal ceremonies, dancers and elephants; foreign intrigue and carpetbaggers who sought and failed to find riches. It is a city of culture - A rich local culture that became a headache for French officials; traditional architecture and colonial buildings that remain today; notable literary visitors from Somerset Maugham to Andre Malraux. It is a city of evil and rebirth - The terrible rule of Pol Pot; the Tuol Sleng extermination centre where 17,000 men, women and children were tortured and killed as "enemies of the state"; the return to a fragile normality.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Asia

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

Reviews

[Bruce Graham]

Milton Osborne has done an immense amount of reading on Cambodia, and so his book is partly an annotated bibliography. Angkor ends, Phnom Penh begins is the simplified version of Cambodian history is the lesson, I guess.
We also get the arc of the man who dominates the age.
Imagine a 'randy as a rabbit' playboy, who makes babies with various women. Who also makes movies, holding international movie competitions in Cambodia that he wins, also running a nation. What could go wrong? Lots.
Juggling dynamite on the volcanic fissure of the Cold War. He broke with the French, named the Khmer Rouge, ceased receiving aid from the Americans, ensured that the KR would take control which cripples the monarchy and causes his exile to Pyongyang and Beijing. After Pol Pot, he returned, partially restored the monarchy, but had to deal with a Vietnamese occupation, and the rise of Hun Sen. Then he died. That was the arc of Sihanouk.
Unfortunately, Osborne's book finishes before Sihanouk's death, so now we are well into the Hun Sen arc. Somehow, this book cries out for a sequel.

[Stuart Hill]

This wasn't exactly what I expected as it isn't really a study of the culture and literature of the place but is rather a more standard history of the city with occasional references to literary accounts and cultural developments. I found the early chapters to be hard going, with an emphasis on prosaic details such as estimated population figures and proportions of ethnic groups as citizens. There is very little in the way of attempting to define the spirit of the place.

Thankfully, it became more interesting when it reached the Sihanouk period and the remainder of the book was quite well crafted, although it often threatened to become more a history of the nation than one of the city. To Osborne's credit he did attempt to place the focus on Phnom Penh, but in certain instances this was understandably difficult such as the Pol Pot era when there were few people remaining in the city resulting in a paucity of reportage.

Considering that this volume is part of the Cities of the Imagination series it was disappointing that it lacks vivid and atmospheric quotations from literature which would have helped to bring the place to life. I was hoping that there would have been a Cambodian equivalent to Dickens but this does not seem to have been the case. Indeed, Osborne makes no reference to any literary tradition in the country at all. When western authors referrred to Phnom Penh it was merely a passing reference as they treated the place as a way station whilst in transit to Angkor Wat. Many of these writers are now forgotten, those who are still remembered such as Somerset Maugham had little to say about the city.

In terms of presentation the book could have been better as despite the quality photographs on the cover there are none within. There are some illustrations but these were mediocre and I felt that photos would have been more effective. It would have also benefitted from maps to show the development of the city, but there is only one showing the current layout.

As a history of the city this book was adequate but if you are looking for an in-depth cultural analysis then it doesn't really offer that.

[Chris]

Phnom Penh: A Cultural And Literary History
(Cities Of The Imagination)
by Milton E. Osborne

For a brief moment in time, in the 1960’s, Phnom Penh was called ‘the pearl of Asia’ with a reputation of the most attractive city in Southeast Asia. All the rest of Phnom Penh’s history was rather troubled, and even horrifying in the 1970 with a civil war and the rule of Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge.

Milton Osborn tells the history of Phnom Penh in many interesting details based on a complete library he read and quotes and from his own experience ever since the 1960’s, the hay days of Phnom Penh.

A must read for everyone planning to visit the city, as I did in January 2018. After a visit to the mesmerising temples of Angkor Wat I was a little disappointed in Phnom Penh. Having read about the troubled history of the city helped me better to understand my own disappointment. In search of the Wat Prayuvong everything fell at its place. The Wat (temple) itself was a little difficult to find, the neighbourhood was a maze of houses and small ‘Buddha Factories’. In order to replace the countless Buddhas and ritual objects smashed by the Khmer Rouge, a whole neighbourhood of private workshops making cement Buddhas, naga’s (the holy snake that protects the Buddha) and small stupas has grown around the Wat Prayuvong. While the graceless cement figures painted in gaudy colours are hardly works of art, they are an effort by the Cambodian people to restore Buddhism to a place of honour in their culture. A job close to impossible to do, because not only were the temple destroyed by the Khmer Rouge also a whole generation of monks was killed. In the friendliness of the people around the temple and their enthusiasm to rebuild and redecorated the temples I again realised Phnom Penh’s and Cambodia’s greatest treasure.

[Marc Laderman]

A good history but does the author have to constantly refer to previous and coming chapters?