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First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers Paperback – April 4, 2006

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 6,679 ratings

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“A riveting memoir. . . an important, moving work that those who have suffered cannot afford to forget and those who have been spared cannot afford to ignore.” — San Francisco Chronicle

From a childhood survivor of the Cambodian genocide under the regime of Pol Pot, this is a riveting narrative of war crimes and desperate actions, the unnerving strength of a small girl and her family, and their triumph of spirit.

One of seven children of a high-ranking government official, Loung Ung lived a privileged life in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh until the age of five. Then, in April 1975, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army stormed into the city, forcing Ung's family to flee and, eventually, to disperse. Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, her siblings were sent to labor camps, and those who survived the horrors would not be reunited until the Khmer Rouge was destroyed.

Harrowing yet hopeful, Loung's powerful story is an unforgettable account of a family shaken and shattered, yet miraculously sustained by courage and love in the face of unspeakable brutality.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Despite the tragedy all around her, this scrappy kid struggles for life and beats the odds. I thought young Ung’s story would make me sad. But this spunky child warrior carried me with her in her courageous quest for life. Reading these pages has strengthened me in my own struggle to disarm the powers of violence in this world.” — Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, author of Dead Man Walking

“[Ung] tells her stories straightforwardly, vividly, and without any strenuous effort to explicate their importance, allowing the stories themselves to create their own impact.” — New York Times

“A riveting memoir. . . an important, moving work that those who have suffered cannot afford to forget and those who have been spared cannot afford to ignore.” — San Francisco Chronicle

“Loung Ung plunges her readers into a Kafkaesque world. . . and forces them to experience the mass murder, starvation and disease that claimed half her beloved family. In the end, the horror of the Cambodian genocide is matched only by the author’s indomitable spirit.” — Iris Chang, author of The Rape of Nanking

“Loung has written an eloquent and powerful narrative as a young witness to the Khmer Rouge atrocities. This is an important story that will have a dramatic impact on today’s readers and inform generations to come.” — Dith Pran, whose wartime life was portrayed in the award-winning movie The Killing Fields

"A harrowing true story of the nightmare world that was Cambodia in those terrible times of mass murder and slow death through overwork, starvation, and disease." — Kirkus Reviews

"Ung's memoir should serve as a reminder that some history is best not left just to historians, but to those left standing when the terror ends." — Booklist

"In this gripping narrative Loung Ung describes the unfathomable evil that engulfed Cambodia during her childhood, the courage that enabled her family to survive, and the determination that has made her an eloquent voice for peace and justice in Cambodia. It is a tour de force that strengthens our resolve to prevent and punish crimes against humanity." — U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy

"This is a story of the triumph of a child's indomitable spirit over the tyranny of the Khmer Rouge; over a culture where children are trained to become killing machines. Loung's subsequent campaign against landmines is a result of witnessing first hand how her famished neighbors, after dodging soldier's bullets, risked their lives to traverse unmapped mine fields in search of food. Despite the heartache, I could not put the book down until I reached the end. Meeting Loung in person merely reaffirmed my admiration for her." — Queen Noor

"Loung has written an eloquent and powerful narrative as a young witness to the Khmer Rouge atrocities. This is an important story that will have a dramatic impact on today's readers and inform generations to come." — Dith Pran, whose wartime life was portrayed in the award-winning movie The Killing Fields

From the Back Cover

One of seven children of a high-ranking government official, Loung Ung lived a privileged life in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh until the age of five. Then, in April 1975, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army stormed into the city, forcing Ung's family to flee and, eventually, to disperse. Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, her siblings were sent to labor camps, and those who survived the horrors would not be reunited until the Khmer Rouge was destroyed.

Harrowing yet hopeful, Loung's powerful story is an unforgettable account of a family shaken and shattered, yet miraculously sustained by courage and love in the face of unspeakable brutality.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial; First Harper Perennial trade edition, 2006, 4th printing (April 4, 2006)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 238 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060856262
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060856267
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 920L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.65 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 6,679 ratings

About the author

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Loung Ung
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Loung Ung is an author, lecturer, and activist who has devoted her life to advancing human rights and equality in Cambodia and around the world. She is the author of the memoir First They Killed My Father: a Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (HarperCollins 2000), which tells the story of her survival under the Khmer Rouge regime. It was a national bestseller and won the 2001 Asian/Pacific American Librarians’ Association award for “Excellence in Adult Non-fiction Literature”, as well as other awards. It has been translated into many languages and taught in many schools and universities. In 2013, Loung expanded her activism as a writer for Girl Rising, a documentary film about girls’ education around the world. First They Killed My Father was adapted into a Netflix movie in 2017 by director by Angelina Jolie from a screenplay co-written by Angelina Jolie and Loung.

For her work, Loung was chosen by The World Economic Forum as one of the “100 Global Youth Leaders of Tomorrow”. Additionally, Loung has also written two other books, Lucky Child and Lulu in the Sky, both published by HarperCollins, and is currently working on a novel. She is a sought-after speaker who has shared her story and insights with audiences around the world, including at the United Nations Conferences, and various universities and corporations. She has also appeared on numerous media outlets, such as CNN, and NPR.

Loung has visited Cambodia over 40 times since leaving the country. She likes to eat fried crickets and ride her tandem bike with her husband Mark, who is her partner/owner in three restaurants and a microbrewery–Bright Side, Nano Brew and Market Garden Brewery–in Cleveland, Ohio.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
6,679 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the story profound and captivating. They describe the book as a good read with vivid descriptions and insights. The writing is described as well-crafted and candid, capturing the beauty of the human spirit and culture. However, some readers find the story heartbreaking and thought-provoking while others feel it's easy to follow. Opinions differ on the pacing and authenticity, with some finding it riveting and easy to follow, while others consider it difficult to get through.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

218 customers mention "Story quality"218 positive0 negative

Customers find the story profound, powerful, and captivating. They describe it as a moving account that provides a true insight into the events. The book is described as empowering, sobering, and emotional.

"...- The arrival of the KR in Phnom Penh. A moment of high historical drama, but perhaps the author was too young to remember the details...." Read more

"...I’ve had the chance to do something that’s worth my being alive. It’s empowering, it feels right...." Read more

"...Please, for your own sense of security and the wellbeing of you and your family; for your own sense of what's right and just in the world, read this..." Read more

"What an absolutely powerful and transformative story. Some times it is hard to read, but I could not take my eyes of of the pages...." Read more

174 customers mention "Readability"174 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and engaging. They say it's important for people to read to understand the horrors of genocide. The book shows Cambodia through the perspective of a child, and readers appreciate the beautiful culture and people of the country.

"...The author was young, but her memory is sharp...." Read more

"...I also ordered the book. The movie is ok. But this book is fantastic...." Read more

"...just want to read a compelling memoir, then I feel this Is a very good book to read." Read more

"What an absolutely powerful and transformative story. Some times it is hard to read, but I could not take my eyes of of the pages...." Read more

125 customers mention "Writing quality"112 positive13 negative

Customers praise the book's writing quality. They find it well-written, candid, and effective. The author deftly handles facing death, torture, starvation, and cruelty with vivid descriptions and keen observations. The book captures these experiences well, showing how courageous the author was. Readers appreciate the author's ability to speak, read, and write English well. The narrative is told in first-person from the perspective of the little girl.

"...Ung's book is full of vivid descriptions and keen observations that bring the vicissitudes of that era poignantly to life...." Read more

"...The movie is ok. But this book is fantastic. The author writes in the present tense with the mind of a little girl...." Read more

"...This narrative is told in first person, from the perspective of the little girl as she lived it ...a little girl who struggles to live even as she..." Read more

"...Well written, rich, and compelling. I would reccomend it to anyone interested in contemporary SE Asian history." Read more

15 customers mention "Beauty"15 positive0 negative

Customers find the book poignant and expressive. They appreciate the human spirit, culture, and people of Cambodia. The book provides a graphic view of the horrors of the 4 years of war, with no dull moments. It personalizes the atrocity and gives a picture of the conflict.

"...this book does not aim to answer this question, it certainly personalizes the atrocity. The horrors that ordinary folk like you and I had to endure...." Read more

"...people have went through and helps me to really appreciate their beautiful culture all the more...." Read more

"This book gave a view, a picture, an understanding of a conflict many Americans are not educated about...." Read more

"Very personal and graphic view of the horrors of the 4 years of dictatorship under the Cambodian communists...." Read more

126 customers mention "Heartbreaking story"73 positive53 negative

Customers have different views on the story. Some find it educational and thought-provoking, while others say it's difficult to read about the atrocities of genocide.

"...It’s just not believable. That said, she gives an account so brutal that it will haunt me for a long time...." Read more

"...Some times it is hard to read, but I could not take my eyes of of the pages. Well written, rich, and compelling...." Read more

"The raw horror of this book is really painful to read...." Read more

"...The details and story in this book were so moving and painful to read and learn about, that it brings tears to my eyes just writing this, and I'm..." Read more

44 customers mention "Pacing"30 positive14 negative

Customers have different views on the pacing of the book. Some find it moving and easy to follow the story, while others feel it's difficult to get through and tiresome at times. The book can be described as intense and overly dramatic at times.

"This is a moving and gut-wrenching story of the author’s flight from the Khmer Rouge...." Read more

"...all told through the lens of a 6-year old, strong-hearted and ferocious little girl!..." Read more

"...out, the book, despite being a meager 238 pages, is incredibly difficult to get through and not because of the subject matter...." Read more

"...The details and story in this book were so moving and painful to read and learn about, that it brings tears to my eyes just writing this, and I'm..." Read more

9 customers mention "Authenticity"5 positive4 negative

Customers have different views on the book's authenticity. Some find it genuine and well-written, bringing them into the author's young life. Others feel it lacks authenticity at times, being boring and difficult to read.

"...She genuinely, simply, and fully brings us into her young life and lets us experience the events and feelings of a Cambodian family during this time..." Read more

"Non fiction, written in the first person documenting families tragic history and the horror of the Cambodian civil war and atrocities committed be..." Read more

"...Positives of the book are that it seems very authentic. Lucid style of writing keeps the reader engaged...." Read more

"So heart-breakingly violent, crude, and honest that it is difficult to read. But such horror must be remembered so that it won't be repeated." Read more

A must-read before a trip to Cambodia
5 out of 5 stars
A must-read before a trip to Cambodia
I read this book before a 4-month volunteer trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It is heart-wrenching and difficult to grasp much of what the author describes. Loung Ung's powerful descriptions about the atrocities that happen and the general confusion about what will happen next allow the reader to journey with her through the increasing insanity of the Khmer Rouge. I especially recommend this book to anyone traveling to Cambodia. This book was a big part of the inspiration for my own novel 'The Brittle Limit', a story of present-day Cambodia still grappling with its dark past.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2015
    It has been more than 40 years since the black-uniformed columns of the Khmer Rouge rolled into Phnom Penh and changed the life of a 5-year old girl named Loung Ung forever. With the benefit of distance, it may be all too easy to dismiss the horrors of that era to a distant corner of memory, or to brush it off as a bizarre aberration of history. That would be a mistake. Communism as an ideology may be bankrupt, but the specter of Utopian extremism lives on. Many young men and women who flock to ISIS today are fired by the same misguided zealotry, the same disdain for common human decency in the name of a supposedly better world, that brought young men and women into the folds of the Khmer Rouge 40, 50, and 60 years ago. In fact, the parallels are chilling - like many leading figures of ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban today, the leaders of the Khmer Rouge were by and large teachers. They wrote beautifully, if somewhat naively, of a return to innocent rural simplicity. They impressed their students with their erudition, simplicity of living, and apparent dedication. How can such earnest people do any wrong? Many will find out at the cost of their lives.

    Loung Ung's autobiography is a moving memorial to all the lives lost in that deranged quest for Utopia. In the eyes of the Angkar (the Khmer Rouge "organization"), liquidating the members of the old regime is but a necessary prelude to building a society of true believers. And if the Angkar believes that each hectare can yield 3 tons of rice (even though the best yield before the war was only 1 ton/hectare), then it must be achievable if everybody just works hard enough. The starry-eyed school-teachers of yesteryear who dreamed of an agrarian paradise had become totally out of touch. And with the absolute power they wielded, nobody was about to tell them otherwise. The result was mass famine as local cadres starved the people to turn in their production quota. As millions perished, the top leadership witch-hunted for "saboteurs" and berated their subjects for lack of revolutionary fervor.

    Ung's book is full of vivid descriptions and keen observations that bring the vicissitudes of that era poignantly to life. Many passages are naturally cinematic. These include:

    - Her idyllic family life in pre-KR Phnom Penh. The author was young, but her memory is sharp. Her colourful description of early 1970's Phnom Penh with its many exotic (to an American audience) sights, sounds, and colors is an adventure in itself;

    - The arrival of the KR in Phnom Penh. A moment of high historical drama, but perhaps the author was too young to remember the details. This is where Chanrithy Him's dramatic account offers some truly memorable moments;

    - Getting through the KR check points on the way out of Phnom Penh, as KR soldiers systematically rounded up all former members of the old regime. Most would be executed within days;

    - A widow who took refuge with the author's family, tenderly talking to the baby that she carried with her everywhere, refusing to accept that he was already dead; (p.86)

    - The ritual brainwashing of children at a child labor camp, with the clapping, the chanting of "Angkar!", the endless repetition of propaganda;

    - Loung's savage attack against one of her tormentors, a bully in the children's labour camp who despised her because of her light skin. Even as a 7-year old she dreamed of the day when she'd have the power to come back to look for the bullies and "beat them until she was tired". She vowed never to forget. Her sweet-natured sister couldn't understand why she wanted to retain such horrible memories. But as Loung explained, she needed the anger, the thoughts of retribution, to fill the bottomless sadness in her soul.

    I've always said that anger, or at least righteous indignation, is a much under-rated emotion. It needs to be controlled. It needs to be properly-channeled. But it's the juice that drives much social progress.

    Finally, a few observations about the author's family background. A few readers took offense at the author's perceived lack of sensitivity. Perhaps she took too much pride in her family's light skin, high status, and economic prosperity. Reading her account of her family's encounter with the villagers in the KR base areas, it's quite evident there was much class resentment and perhaps plain-old jealousy on the part of the country folk. Even to this day many villagers in the old KR base areas seem to recall that era wistfully - Pol Pot's cremation site seems to have become something of a shrine. No doubt the villagers didn't enjoy the regimentation, but it was a topsy-turvy time when poor people like themselves could feel superior to the city folk who probably looked down on them. Not that the Khmer Rouge cadres themselves were particularly holy, of course. Plenty were mere opportunists. The Khmer Rouge village chief who lorded over the "new people" ate better, dressed better, and was apparently not above trading extra food for gold at exorbitant prices. (Ironically his corruption probably saved some lives, because life definitely got a lot harder after Angkar tightened things up and sent more soldiers into the villages.) As for Pol Pot, the young Loung Ung knew almost nothing about him, except that he was "fat" in a country of living skeletons.

    A postscript: Those readers who are interested in how Loung and her siblings fared after the war may be interested in reading her second book, Lucky Child. While some readers may find the events in her later life less dramatic, I found it equally fascinating to read about her endeavors to come to terms with her past while trying to make a new life for herself in America. Like many children from similar backgrounds, she went through a phase when she attempted to cut all ties with her past (to the point of deliberately avoiding contact with her siblings) and plunged headlong into mainstream American youth culture. As she got older, she discovered that she could only conquer the ghosts of her past by embracing her roots, and to rise above her personal losses (and petty personal vengeance) by making them her life-long cause. While my own life experiences were nowhere nearly as dramatic as Luong's, there are enough similarities that what she wrote rang true to me and resonated. Well worth a read.
    48 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2017
    Last month we had a leaky pipe. We called a plumber, and they sent a man to fix it. He was very friendly and talkative. He invited us to ask him any plumbing questions. Then when he was done, we just chit-chatted for a while. He is a child of Cambodian immigrants, and he has family in Cambodia. He mentioned that Cambodians love Angelina Jolie, and then he mentioned the movie that is based on this book. It's on Netflix so I checked it out. I also ordered the book.

    The movie is ok. But this book is fantastic. The author writes in the present tense with the mind of a little girl. She describes events, but more deeply she describes her reaction to the events. First she describes her life and family. She really had tremendous affection for her father, also for her mother and siblings, but this was daddy's little girl. During the march she describes her confusion, her exhaustion, her fear, the smell of a rotting human corpse. During the regime she describes the guilt of stealing a handful of rice from her family, her grief at the death of her father and other family members, and the hatred for her oppressors that grew over time.

    But one thing she describes over and over again is the hunger. She goes into great detail describing what it's like to starve to the brink of death. The hunger turning to pain spreading all over her body. The dreams she has about food and the guilt she feels upon awakening and realizing that, in the dream, she didn't share the food with her family.

    This girl saw a lot, armed invasion by the Khmer Rouge and later by the Vietnamese, suffering, her best friend died from a shrapnel wound while sitting right next to her, hearing the screams of people who couldn't get out of a burning structure, dead bodies, she witnessed a mob kill a man; she was a boat-person. Remember the boat people from the 70s? She was one of them, and they were robbed by pirates. She was the intended victim of sexual assault (she's tough; I would not recommend messing with her).

    There isn't a whole lot of politics in the book or documentation of historical events. She's just a kid. She doesn't know what communism is or what is causing her plight.

    All in all, and extremely well written book about an intense period of history.
    12 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible
    Reviewed in Canada on February 21, 2022
    I’m not much of a reader, but, this is special. The amount of detail that she goes into, the horrific situation she and millions of others were placed in needs to be heard and read. Don’t settle for the movie, read the story. You won’t regret it!
  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply moving and inspirational!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 17, 2024
    This summer I am going on holiday to Vietnam and Cambodia with my family and wanted to read books about the history of both countries including memoirs. I'm glad I discovered this one.

    I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it to be very fascinating from start to finish. There were parts of it that were incredibly sad and heartbreaking, I can't imagine how horrific things must have been for Loung Ung, her family and the people of Cambodia during that very bleak period!

    I admire the author for her tremendous strength and bravery that got her through a terrible childhood and very happy to see she now lives a happy and stable life.

    I encourage people to read this book if they haven't already and especially if they're interested in Cambodian history. It's very educational and I'm sure they would enjoy it as much as I did.

    I haven't seen the Netflix film (based on this book) directed by Angelina Jolie yet but now that I've finished reading this I'll look forward to watching it and I'm sure I'll enjoy that too.
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
    Reviewed in India on May 22, 2020
    A five year old girl's journy into war, death of her parents and siblings because of the injustice and hunger. In my opinion any one who think 1. modernization is not good. 2. Nature is like a mother. 2. Socialism is great
    must read this book.

    This book is great because it deals with the consequences of the dumbest political philosophy of all time a combination of communism/socialism and agrarian philosophy is put into practice in the best way possible.
  • FHO
    5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding the Killing Fields from a personal perspective
    Reviewed in Australia on October 10, 2018
    Whilst I knew a lot about the Pol Pot era, this book allowed me to see how it affected one family. It was clearly written and the author captured how it was seen through the eyes of a 5 year old. The book had even more meaning as I have just returned from Cambodia and visited the Killing Fields. A really worthwhile book to read.
  • B.A.M
    5.0 out of 5 stars Impactante
    Reviewed in Spain on June 4, 2016
    Es un libro que me ha enganchado desde el primer momento. También tengo que decir que acababa de volver de Camboya y me había quedado con la sensación de que me faltaba de conocer un poco más su historia reciente ya que allí te la explican la versión "oficial" , no te hablan del sufrimiento de la población y de la operacion de exterminio a todo aquel que se consideraba disidente o no útil para trabajar.
    Está escrito por una mujer que narra su propia experiencia , que fue durisima, y que una vez superada esa fase se ha volcado en darla a conocer para tratar de evitar que se vuelvan a producir hechos semejantes.
    Está escrito en un lenguaje claro, directo y sencillo.
    A lo largo del libro se presentan una serie de dilemas morales ante situaciones muy fuertes en los que te preguntas : que hubiera hecho yo?
    Ayuda a conocer el horror desde dentro y al mismo tiempo el afán por sobrevivir y superarlo.
    Me he quedado tan impactada que leeré el siguiente libro en el que la protagonista se reencuentra después de quince años con su familia que quedó en Camboya.
    Me parece muy recomendable leerlo porque en algunos países muchas veces se maquilla el pasado y tratan de darte la versión oficial y pasan de puntillas por lo que no les gusta de su propia historia y donde por supuesto no oyes ninguna autocritica ya que lo que se cuenta es reciente .
    Libro totalmente recomendable.