Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

This is the thread for the buddy read of In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner

I will be joining this discussion, but probably not before the second week of February.

I am reading this book.

I read this in 2013. Such a good book.

I’m reading it as well—hoping to finish by the 10th or so.

I just found a copy and would love to join in. I'll probably have my copy in about a week and just finishing up one or two other reads.

Franky, I am finding this book very easy to read and fascinating since most of us saw this from a great distance and really didn’t know what was going on, on the ground.

I'm reading this as well, but probably second half of February.

I have begun and finding it flows nicely and that I feel a great concern and affection for all the members of this family, but particularly Raami and her father. There is something so frightening to me about the idea of being herded up and watching people you have known and love just disappear, never to be heard from again.

Yes, Sara. This book is profoundly affecting me as I read it. We both undoubtedly remember the bombing of Cambodia, a move that Kissinger said was needed because the North Vietnamese supply line moved back and forth across the line to Cambodia to evade being caught. When we “knew” what was happening at 30,000 feet, it was not so personal as to know what it was like on the ground. This book brings us down to a ground level view.

Sara, I just started too and I'm at the point where the family is having to evacuate (or being forced to evacuate is a better way to put it). I also thought the flow and depictions are very vivid, and how the author/narrator manages to juxtapose the upcoming New Year's and family dynamics with the dark and dangerous things that are taking place outside. It's very descriptive and reflective so far. I'm only a few chapters in but I'm really I'm very invested in finding out what happens.

Terry, a "ground level view" is a perfect way to put it. The point of view is perfect for taking us as readers into what is taking place.

Terry wrote: "Yes, Sara. This book is profoundly affecting me as I read it. We both undoubtedly remember the bombing of Cambodia, a move that Kissinger said was needed because the North Vietnamese supply line mo..."

I think this is what makes this so moving so early on--it happened, we knew, but we were really so caught up in the bombardment of news that it was almost lost in the cycle. I think it happens to us all the time today--there is so much news to sort through. When I read In the Time of the Butterflies I could not stop thinking that this took place in my lifetime, just miles from our shores, and I was virtually ignorant of it.

Here is the Wikipedia article about the Kmer Rouge with some references to the US:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer...

The book seems more about the Kmer Rouge than the bombing, but I am only about half through.

I think the book intends to focus on the internal pressure vs. the foreign ones. I have been thinking about Dr. Zhivago while reading parts of it--the throwing out of the upper class without regard to any individual and despising the man of letters. Communism in both cases, but the same sense from the victims (Uri Zhivago and Raami's father) of sympathy with the overall cause of making life more just or fair for the poverty stricken masses.

I have stopped right now in the middle of Chapter Sixteen. The first part of the Chapter brought tears to my eyes. I think the writing is beautifully evocative of loss and sadness.

Sara, the comparison to Zhivago seems apt. Raami’s father is like the idealistic Doctor, isn’t he? And they are both poets. I love the poetic nature of the Cambodian culture and Vaddney’s writing, too. This is the book I want most to read right now, competing with my attention to the Cheever stories. It takes discipline to turn away from it. This may turn into a five star book for me. Right now, it seems at least four and a half. This is her first novel.

I am in the middle of chapter 12. I also seem to be pushing the other books aside to read this one. I don't want to rush the experience. She has certainly made me feel the situation her characters are in.

That's a nice comparison with Dr. Zhivago with what is taking place. I'm only about a quarter in and I'm finding the writing and prose very lyrical and vivid as well. The depictions are so clear.

I have just gotten my copy. The comments here make me eager to get reading!

This one has been a nice surprise for me, Annette. I wasn't sure what to expect but I am finding it very emotional.

I am on Chapter 26 and I must admit to being gutted by this book. I have the same feeling that I have when I read an account of the Holocaust, that little thread of hope that runs through a life that has so much needless cruelty and upheaval in it that it makes no sense at all. I find myself silently pleading for someone to survive. I wonder how the sun can keep setting, the moon can keep rising, the monsoons can still keep the seasons as if nothing has changed when the world these people live in has completely fallen apart.

I’m in Chapter 35 and feeling the same, Sara. I have teared up several times and cannot imagine such loss. I am also enjoying the poetry in the prose, and the point of view of the young girl.

I have finished and had to take a lot of deep breaths by the end. I remembered reading First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, a non-fiction account of this same era and these two girls had virtually the same experience. I cannot imagine how they lived to tell.

The writing is quite beautiful, isn't it, Terry? I love the voice of the father, which comes through very much as that of a poet. I think this would have had less impact told from any other point of view than Raami's. It is sad enough to think of how confused and distraught adults would have been, but to see it through a child's eyes is even more painful.

This month I was over-committed. So I am starting this novel tonight or tomorrow. I am looking forward to reading the human experience describes here.

I think this will stir some emotions and some thoughts for you, Cynda. Looking forward to your comments.

I completely understand being over-committed. I finally wrote my review tonight because I have such an aggressive schedule this year. I would recommend that you get a little ways into the book or even wait until you finish before you read reviews, so you can experience the impact as it unfolds. I loved this book and hope you love it as much as I did, Cynda.

Thanks Sara.
Okay Terry. Because since you suggest I just start, I will as I trust your judgment.

I just finished this weekend. Overall, it is a very deep and heavy reading experience and beautifully and lyrically written. I think my biggest takeaway was the theme of survival and how Raami has to deal with so many emotions as she watches what she witnesses. I guess my only issue was that I wished it had been a little more deep in explaining what exactly was taking place. It felt a little more done with a broad stroke than giving any specifics. However, I do realize that this has a lot to do with the point of view of a child. I have to be honest. I'm kind of glad I was balancing this read out with a satire alongside because it is pretty heavy and somber. Yet, very powerful. Thanks for suggesting this one!

I had wrongly thought, going into the novel, that the story was going to be about the bombing of Cambodia, and that probably would have been a wider view angle. But you are right, a little girl would not have a larger perspective.

I liked the narrow perspective mainly because it kept us focused on what was happening to Raami apart from what was happening to the world around her.

I agree, Franky, always good to have something lighter going at the same time, because this kind of book can feel almost oppressive in its sadness and horror.

At just over 25%.
As I read, I am reminded of Olamina of Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler--anarchy, social ties, residential compounds, a spiritual element. But definitely a different literary tone. Here in this novel In the Shadow of the Banyan, we see how innocence filters the destruction.

I'm finally starting this one and the first two chapters are very powerful in how they create the contrast between the serene gardens and rituals and the chaos outside.

I’m so glad you can fit this into your reading, Carolien. I look forward to your comments and hope you find it as powerful a story as I did.

Cynda, this book remjnds me of the various books I have read about the Holocaust.

I'm also very pleased to see you here, Carolien. I agree that the contrast is powerful and gets even more so as the book progresses.

Here are some quotes I found worth considering.

Quote said two in times in book, something worth considering how we are often sharing the same life lessons in different ways:

We are all echoes of one another.

[J]oy and sorrow often travel the same road and sometimes, whether by grace or misfortune, they meet and become each other's companion.

Don't mistake my leaving for a goodbye.

Cynda wrote: "Here are some quotes I found worth considering.

Quote said two in times in book, something worth considering how we are often sharing the same life lessons in different ways:
We are all echoes of..."

That's a great way to put it, "sharing the same life lessons in different ways."

I read in the afterward that the author in telling this story was influenced by reading Elie Wiesel's Night. I can see the similarities in the experience for these two authors.

Right Sara and Terry.
Sara, the book does encourage me tio think and feel, look for new understanding, a favorite reason for reading.

Terry, the holocaust was a real-life, in real-time dystopian or apocalyptic time. I can see the connection easily.

Franky wrote: “I read in the afterward that the author in telling this story was influenced by reading Elie Wiesel’s Night. I can see the similarities in the experience for these two authors.”

As I was reading, I felt echoes of both Night and Man’s Search for Meaning. The latter especially when she was struggling with the question of whether to give her fish to the pregnant woman. The parallels with the Holocaust were pretty strong.

I’m glad you are finding meaning in your experience reading this book with us, spoko. I look forward to your further comments.