28 Nov 2000

Below is a reaction to the reviews posted in the KI website sent in by an American reader of Loung Ung's book. I'd like to note that the author of the comment was gracious and open-minded enough to at least consider the point of views expressed in our subsequent replies. I hope those of you who read this will as well.

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From: Julie A Landry

Thanks for the link. Yours is not the first review of this type that I have read since I posted my own review; the problem is that, even now, there is still no similar book (i.e., an entire book told by one person who was 5 when this happened) to my knowledge that tells about the killing fields from an entirely different perspective. (Correct me if I'm wrong, because I have been looking for such a book.) Ung was rich, part-Chinese (as her mother constantly reminded her), and only ever knew city life before Phnom Penh was evacuated. I realize that these factors mean that the result is a story that most Cambodians can't relate to, and that the political and historical influences that shaped the Khmer Rouge are grossly oversimplified; on the other hand, the many atrocities she describes are consistent with the ones described by numerous people in "Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields," which I highly recommend.

As for the "artistic license" stuff, I can only say that whatever liberties Ung took with the details, they don't affect the story itself and they are of course pointed towards a largely American audience. I don't think the majority of American readers are going to care what kinds of leaves she put in her soup, or whether or not Cambodians like jade. That's not what the book is about.

I have to ask, however, after reading your review, I was puzzled by your objection to Ung's putting mint leaves in her soup. The local Vietnamese restaurants in Orlando also put mint leaves (actually they may be cilantro, I can't tell the difference and neither can a lot of people) in their soup; is it so impossible that one or two restaurants in Phnom Penh did the same thing? I only ask because in your review you state that this is ridiculous, but you don't explain why (for the benefit of us ignorant Westerners who are visiting the site).

Anyway, despite my complaints, I appreciate your sharing your viewpoint and I very much admire your own web site. I just want to point out that there are at least two sides to every story, and each person can provide only one. It doesn't make sense to me, again just an ignorant American, for killing field survivors to waste time discrediting one another when you could be helping one another heal. From the westerner's viewpoint, it simply appears that Cambodians have still not managed to stop fighting among themselves.

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