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A Cloak of Good Fortune: A Cambodian boy’s journey from paradise through a kingdom of terror
A Cloak of Good Fortune traces one Cambodian child's coming of age from the idyllic, peaceful years of childhood in rural Cambodia through his family's forced exile by the Khmer Rouge.Sieu Sean Do was born in 1963 and grew up in Kampong Speu, a rural town about fifty kilometers outside Phnom Penh. The midwife declared Sieu Sean a rare family blessing because he was born inside the amniotic sac, and in Khmer folklore, the sac is believed to be a "cloak of good fortune" that brings good luck. No one knew then how much luck the family would ultimately need.In A Cloak of Good Fortune, Sieu Sean shares unique childhood trips to the town's bazaar with his grandfather to celebrate Chol Chnam Thmey (Khmer New Year) where street vendors sold delicious food, exotic candies, and snacks; and listening to his grandmother recite ancestral Cambodian folktales steeped in Theravada Buddhism, an enchanted world-view that permeated every part of his family life. His father was a successful fabrics merchant wholesaler whose frequent business trips to Vietnam took him away from the family. His mother was a talented seamstress whose designs were sought by the wives of locals and foreign diplomats."From our balconies, we could see the Black Iron Bridge sitting above the Stoeng Prek Thnaot River. Beyond the bridge beautiful, thick, green vegetation spread across the land. Along the road people grew coconut, banana, papaya, guava, and mango trees. Cool breezes spread the rich scent of wild, fresh jasmine. It seemed we dwelt in a kind of paradise."In 1969, Sieu Sean and his family moved to Phnom Penh where their fortunes improved until the outbreak of civil war. At the age of twelve, his peaceful world turned into a nightmare as his family was torn from their home and forced into rural exile by the Khmer Rouge. "We lived on the street for about two months, scavenging food and water like wild animals. We traded our belongings and ate anything and everything to survive." Sent to a labor camp in the Cambodian jungle, they endured dark years of violence, brutality, and starvation before making their escape to Vietnam.A Cloak of Good Fortune is told from the innocent perspective of a child coming of age. It captures the simplicity and beauty of the pre-war mystical and magical Cambodian culture that blossomed between the French colonial period and the brutal terror of Pol Pot's reign. Sieu Sean's triumphant memoir preserves the heritage, culture, and traditions of the country he loves.
308 pages, Paperback
Published June 3, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 3, 2026
The past few years I’ve become more aware of my westernized upbringing (most of my friends in my life have been White and I never took—or was offered—an Asian history course). This book details Sieu Sean Do’s childhood in a country I know little about (Cambodia) and a major historical event, the Khmer Rouge genocide that I also had never read up on. It’s unsettling how most history books seemingly without a second thought relegate a two-million person massacre to near-footnote status. The lessons and horrors of the reign of the Khmer Rouge should be universally known, and for that reason alone, this book is worth picking up.
Like most Asian history books, it’s hard to find an English text of Cambodian history written by a non-White author, and even rarer to read through a first-hand narration of the horrors of the reign of the Khmer Rouge. A Cloak of Good Fortune provides a rare perspective of this time period by someone who actually lived through it.
The book starts off describing Sieu Sean Do’s childhood in the Kampong Speu province of Cambodia. He regales me with many Cambodian tales and sprinkles in a few discussions about Buddhist philosophy. He brings me into what pre-Khmer Rouge life was like in his childhood home in the Kampong Speu province and life in Phnom Penh (its capital) after the move. He so successfully paints his childhood world such that when I finish with that part of the book I feel like I’m leaving my own rustic childhood nostalgia (the good ol’ times) even though I grew up in a completely different environment.
The bulk of the book describes the trauma and horrors of the Khmer Rouge massacre, which he does so in excruciating detail. The rotting dead bodies bloating away in the river, the swarms of insects, what feels like a constant stream of lifesaving deals he and his family make with acquaintances or even strangers. Even throughout the starvation and harsh working conditions, Sieu Sean Do throughout the book raises the question: do moral rules change when you’re starving? He talks about a neighbor adding bait to lure in a pet dog to kill for his next meal. He talks about people in need his family walked away from, sometimes out of fear that they were secretly Khmer Rouge spies, sometimes to avoid sharing extremely limited resources. It’s one of the toughest reads to get through because it is traumatizing (and I did pause reading to sob a couple of times), but it’s even more important to understand.
The book has made me profoundly more grateful of my living circumstances and my upbringing and I’m eagerly awaiting his sequel. Highly recommended! 5/5
Like most Asian history books, it’s hard to find an English text of Cambodian history written by a non-White author, and even rarer to read through a first-hand narration of the horrors of the reign of the Khmer Rouge. A Cloak of Good Fortune provides a rare perspective of this time period by someone who actually lived through it.
The book starts off describing Sieu Sean Do’s childhood in the Kampong Speu province of Cambodia. He regales me with many Cambodian tales and sprinkles in a few discussions about Buddhist philosophy. He brings me into what pre-Khmer Rouge life was like in his childhood home in the Kampong Speu province and life in Phnom Penh (its capital) after the move. He so successfully paints his childhood world such that when I finish with that part of the book I feel like I’m leaving my own rustic childhood nostalgia (the good ol’ times) even though I grew up in a completely different environment.
The bulk of the book describes the trauma and horrors of the Khmer Rouge massacre, which he does so in excruciating detail. The rotting dead bodies bloating away in the river, the swarms of insects, what feels like a constant stream of lifesaving deals he and his family make with acquaintances or even strangers. Even throughout the starvation and harsh working conditions, Sieu Sean Do throughout the book raises the question: do moral rules change when you’re starving? He talks about a neighbor adding bait to lure in a pet dog to kill for his next meal. He talks about people in need his family walked away from, sometimes out of fear that they were secretly Khmer Rouge spies, sometimes to avoid sharing extremely limited resources. It’s one of the toughest reads to get through because it is traumatizing (and I did pause reading to sob a couple of times), but it’s even more important to understand.
The book has made me profoundly more grateful of my living circumstances and my upbringing and I’m eagerly awaiting his sequel. Highly recommended! 5/5
May 11, 2020
As the title implies, “A Cloak of Good Fortune” is not merely a story of genocide, it is also a love story to a country and culture. The author starts his account of the Cambodian genocide before the genocide, when he was a young boy immersed in the nature and traditions of his country. Anecdotes about a baby elephant that becomes a family favorite and a deformed duck that the author protects, are more than just sweet stories, they also emphasize the Buddhist belief system Sean follows. The inclusion of folk tales reinforce the value system Sean learned, one in which elders are treated with great respect. These examples serve to further emphasize how completely Sean’s world is uprooted when the Khmer Rouge take over his country, plunging it into disarray, confusion and destruction.
Sean takes you so close to the story you sometimes feel the need to step back and look for context and understanding. Yet that is what Sean makes clear. There is no understanding when it comes to genocide. There are only the stories of survivors like Sean. His story is both one of hope and one of despair, a detailed account of beauty and brutality that will draw you in and leave you questioning human nature.
Sean takes you so close to the story you sometimes feel the need to step back and look for context and understanding. Yet that is what Sean makes clear. There is no understanding when it comes to genocide. There are only the stories of survivors like Sean. His story is both one of hope and one of despair, a detailed account of beauty and brutality that will draw you in and leave you questioning human nature.
January 22, 2025
"A Cloak of Good Fortune" is a deeply moving memoir that captures both the beauty and tragedy of Cambodia through a child's eyes. Sieu's vivid descriptions transport readers from his idyllic early years filled with the scent of jasmine and rich Khmer traditions to the brutal reality of survival under the Khmer Rouge. His unique perspective - beginning with his auspicious birth in an intact amniotic sac and continuing through forced exile - weaves together the mystical elements of Cambodian culture with stark historical events. The result is a powerful testament to human resilience that preserves precious insights into a vanished way of life.
May 28, 2022
First person narrative of a family living through the Khmer Rouge. Their language abilities and smart choices kept the family intact. Story begins in the years before the Khmer Rouge and then follows the family as their lives deteriorate and they become refugees.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews