Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.)

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.)
First They Killed My Father A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers - P.S.
Author: Loung Ung
ISBN-13: 9780060856267
ISBN-10: 0060856262
Publication Date: 4/1/2006
Pages: 288
Rating:
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
 51

4.3 stars, based on 51 ratings
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

10 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

J avatar reviewed First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.) on
Helpful Score: 4
Wonderful book! I stayed up half the night reading it and didn't want it to end. I was very interested in Loung's story, but wondered with all the foreign names (large family) and places, would I get them all confused, but I didn't. It was very well-written with a satisfying ending. By the end, I felt the story was "complete."
booklit avatar reviewed First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.) on + 473 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I could not put this book down. Break out the tissues. I do not know how people have the resolve to survive such horrible conditions. Loung is amazing .Do not miss this book.
Shervivor avatar reviewed First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.) on + 97 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This book is heart wrenching. It was an extremely depressing book to read. This is the true story of a child that survived the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. I am amazed at how resilient the people of Cambodia are, especially after reading Luong's story. It seems that many survivors never even mention those four years in the late 70's when the world went crazy allowing a psychotic man to kill millions of people. I am just a couple of years older than Luong and during the time she was struggling for her life I was here safe in the US, a child with everything I could possibly want. The children of Cambodia were watching their families be murdered, were starving, were being trained as soldiers. I recommend this book because the more aware we are of genocide the more likely we are to step in when the next Pol Pot tries to create an "ideal" society.
reviewed First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.) on + 11 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
If you love reading memoirs you should definately read this one. This was a very sad, but touching story. I couldn't put it down.
reviewed First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.) on + 16 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book touched my heart! I cried many times hearing the terrible things that happened during the Khmer Rouge regime. My heart goes out to all those whose lives have been touched by it.
Warning though this book can be graphic and is very sad!!
reviewed First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.) on + 6 more book reviews
Could not put this book down, DIDN'T want to put it down! I have a strange fascination with memoirs and stories of tragedy, which is why this interested me in the first place. It made me wonder afterwards if I could actually survive on a ball of rice every couple days, and how grateful I am to be able to have the freedom to eat whatever and whenever I want, and to have FREEDOM, period!
reviewed First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.) on
A heart wrenching tale of life in Cambodia under Pol Pot. I was 17 when this book begins, and while I listened to the news, I had no idea what was really happening there. It makes me wonder what we really know about what is happening in Sudan, Darfur and other places.

Well written. Highly recommended.
reviewed First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.) on + 125 more book reviews
Absolutely searing. I couldn't put the book down until I finished. Have already read the second book and ordered the third in the trilogy. Exceedingly well written.
chergold avatar reviewed First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.) on + 4 more book reviews
Fabulous book! A must-read.
r801 avatar reviewed First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.) on + 122 more book reviews
While difficult to read, this story, told from a young child's point of view, takes you back with someone who survived the horror of Cambodia during Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge decimation of Cambodia. While other stories have been told from an adult's point of view, Loung Ung reminds us that while children grow up, they do not forget. An amazing story of the human spirit and determination intertwined with the evil of human against human that we all want to forget.