Sum Rithy: Surviving the Genocide in the Land of Angkor

by Kok-Thay ENG

A story of suffering, hope and resilience under the Khmer Rouge genocide

Genres: History

115 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Rebekah Gyger]

I'm not going to leave a starred review, as I feel that there are many layers to evaluating a book like this which perhaps make a starred rating ineffectual.

The most obvious criteria to evaluate is that of the writing, which is admittedly poor. Unlike what other reviewers seem to have mentioned (and how it may have been translated to them by an interpreter) this book was not written by Sum Rithy himself. The author is instead a historian who has devoted his career interviewing those left behind in the wake of the defeat of the Khmer Rouge. Based on what little information can be gleaned from the book itself, it seems that he wrote the book in English himself without a translator (there is not one credited) or an editor. As Kok-Thay Eng is a Khmer name, it is likely that English is his second language.

As far as content, the book details the life of one of the survivors of the Khmer Rouge, his story made all the more important due to his status as one of the few survivors of one of the torture prisons. Sum Rithy's story offers much to history in that he was imprisoned for two years, in which time he was witness to some of the Khmer Rouge's worst brutalities.

The book's historical and anthropological value is compounded by the addition of twelve interviews following Rithy's story, these being interviews with Khmer Rouge members who remained part of the party until its final desolation in 1998.

As other reviewers have mentioned, I also purchased a copy from Sum Rithy himself, where he now lives in Phenom Penh. On a personal level, it was moving to see him in person and to experience the emotion on his face as he spoke with my friend who translated for me. And, if for nothing else, I am grateful for this book which allowed a man to share his story with me across languages and culture.

[Lori]

We bought this book from Sum Rithy himself in Siem Reap, Cambodia on the site of the former Khmer Rouge prison. We were able to talk to him a little about his experience, but reading this book filled in al the horrific details. He was one of only seven survivors of the prison at Siem Reap. I rated the book high because of the importance of the story that it tells and I appreciate the political details included that wrap Sum Rithy's story into its historical context. It has some writing errors - could use a good editor - but the story is incredible. I'm glad Sum Rithy was able to share his story and that someone took the time to print the book. I'm far from an expert on this and am glad to have been educated. These stories are important.

[Erika Hyett]

Obviously a translation to English so this can make the story a bit stilted but extremely moving for such atrocities and for people to have survived.

[Katrine Funding]

Det ville ikke være særligt givtigt at forsøge at give denne bog stjerner, for den er virkelig ikke særligt velskrevet. Bogens forfatter, en cambodjansk historiker, hakker noget i det engelske, så det giver nogle spøjse sproglige konstruktioner. Selve indholdet er dog interessant og vigtigt, når man ser igennem fingre med den ringe formidling. Bogen beskriver en personlig fortælling fra folkemordets tid. Vi hører om Sum Rithy, der overlevede flere års fængsel under Khmer Rouges tyranni. De færreste slap levende ud af fængsler i de år… Rithy lever stadig og sælger denne bog ved Killing Fields i Phnom Penh, så bogen har jeg købt af ham personligt. Det sætter virkelig vores behagelige moderne liv i perspektiv når man får indblik i fortidens brutaliteter.

[Jaedyn]

I feel you can’t review this book as you would a normal book. I actually got the honour to meet Sum Rithy at the killing fields in Phnom Penh and it made this book way more impactful and important.
Not too many people I have spoken to know much about the genocide that occurred under the Khmer Rogue and it is such an important and devastating part of history, especially when you’ve seen the remnants first hand.
I think I saw somewhere that the author (as Sum Rithy didn’t write this) translates this into English themself so it’s not always grammatically correct but I don’t find that it gets in the way, highly recommend this book

[Andreanna Coley]

This is a great book, with some important historic information. The English and the flow of the sentences could be improved alot. I would be happy to assist Rithy!

[J Davies]

A gruesome tale of one man's survival against all odds.

This book is a biography of Sum Rithy. It deals with his early life and then, in great detail, with what he had to do to survive during his two year imprisonment in a Khmer Rouge death camp at Siem Reap.

Like some of the other reviewers, I had the honour to meet Mr Sum at the Genocide Museum which at Phnom Pen on the sire of the notorious S21 Prison described in "The Killing Fields". He told ushecould not forgive the Khmer Rouge for what they had done.

The book details his experiences of day to day life at the camp and the brutality of the guards. There were prisoners arriving al out every day and these were soon taken away but truck, never to be seen again. He survived because he was able to repair motorcycles and bicycles for the staff and guard at the camp. He was one of only seven men and twenty one women who survived from the camp.
Although this is a short book, some of the descriptions are so harrowingthat a could only few pages at a time of what went on at the camp.

The book is not written by someone whose first language is English and there are clear errors that in an ideal world would have been edited and corrected. That may put some readers off but for me that is r that is a small price to pay for access to a story that must be told. It deserves a wide circulation.

[Naj]

I bought a copy from Sum Rithy himself at the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center in Cambodia. I was particularly drawn to his account because he was arrested, imprisoned, and tortured in Siem Reap—home to Angkor Wat. It's difficult to fathom that such brutality occurred in a place so sacred—yet it did. I'm grateful Sum Rithy survived and shared his story, lest we forget.

The appendix also includes stories of villagers who viewed the Khmer Rouge in a positive light (even as a blessing), which I found thought-provoking and deepened my understanding of this part of Cambodian history.

Overall, my thoughts about this book and the Khmer Rouge more broadly can be summed up by this quote from Milan Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of Being:

"Anyone who thinks that the Communist regimes of Central Europe are exclusively the work of criminals is overlooking a basic truth: the criminal regimes were made not by criminals but by enthusiasts convinced they had discovered the only road to paradise. They defended that road so valiantly that they were forced to execute many people. Later it became clear that there was no paradise, that the enthusiasts were therefore murderers."

[Fifi Brindacier]

Tbh the English wasn’t great so that made it harder to get through

So if we’re rating it as a read I have to be a harsh critic

But it was so raw and real (plus I bought the book from the author so I felt connected to it) that it’s unfair to rate it at all

Some lines I had to read over and over because of the VIOLENCE

It’s been real

[Maureen Mclelland]

I bought this book on site at the El Chouek Killing Fields just outside of Phnom Penh from Sum Rithy, the author. While it is not very well translated and is actually written by an historian and is not his first-person account, there is no mistaking the gut punch it leaves. What he experienced and the senseless tragedy of what occurred in his country is something we all need to learn about.

[Jonathan Phillips]

Interesting first-hand account of someone's experience throught the Cambodian genocide.

Littered with spelling and grammatical errors, due to being written by a non-English speaker and the structure is a bit jarring, but ultimately not too difficult to understand what is being said.

[Ben Wooding]

This book discusses Sum Rithy’s experiences during the Khmer Rouge genocide, and what he had to do to survive. Although the English quality is not the highest, that perhaps protects you from overly graphic descriptions and is therefore appreciated.

[Héloïse Couronné]

Grijpende getuigenis over het overleven van de genocide door de Khmer rouges in Cambodja. Vertaling naar het Engels dus niet prachtig geschreven.

[riti aggarwal]

Bought the book from Sum Rithy himself. Very harrowing. It's important to document tragedies and atrocities like this, especially in light of current genocides.

[Vera Kirk]

This is such an important topic and story to talk about, to remember the history that came before us.

At the same time this wasn't well written, which did take away from the experience.