When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge
| When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge | |
|---|---|
| Author | Chanrithy Him |
| Book type | Memoir |
| First published | 2000 |
| Original language | English |
| Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. |
| ISBN | 0-393-04863-2 |
| Subjects | Literature & Storytelling; History & Remembrance; Migration & Diaspora |
| Creator pages | Chanrithy Him |
When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge is a memoir by Chanrithy Him, first published in 2000. (Kirkus Reviews)
Description
Chanrithy Him’s memoir recounts her childhood and adolescence in Cambodia during the civil war and the Khmer Rouge regime. Through memories of forced displacement, labor, starvation, illness, executions, and the deaths of family members, the work explores trauma, family loyalty, survival, resilience, and hope. It also follows Him and surviving siblings as they eventually escape Cambodia and attempt to rebuild their lives in the United States. (Kirkus Reviews)
Publication and editions
First published in 2000, the memoir received the Oregon Book Award and was a finalist for the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize and the PEN USA West Literary Award. Him drew on her experiences as a survivor and researcher of trauma among Cambodian refugees. (Kirkus Reviews)