Monthly review prompt for "First They Killed My Father"

What was the author's purpose in writing this book, how can you tell? How well was this purpose achieved?

The purpose of this book was to describe what Loung Ung's life was like during these hard times. From what i could tell from the book, Luong wanted the reader to know how people were treated in this time by the Khmer Rouge and what life was like in general during the time inside and outside of camp. The quotes she used really made this book excellent. I can not express how well this book was written and how the quotes made described the scenes at hand. She seemed to make it very easy for the reader to tell how she felt, what was going on, and how other characters felt without them even really being in the midst of what was happening. These were just a few of the things that stood out to me. The purpose of showing the reader what life was like was definitely fulfilled from the very beginning of this book.

"This morning, I am stuck at a noodle shop a block from our apartment in this big chair. I'd much rather be playing hopscotch with my friends."-2 This shows that Luong goes to the noodle shop on a semi regular basis in the morning. You can tell this by her writing style and the way she describes the setting. She describes the setting well enough to not make it boring but to also get the point across to the reader that she wants them to be informed about her life.

Throughout the book she shows that her purpose of the book was just to inform people. She emphasizes the key aspects and even the ones that are not so relevant. During this book she helps the reader completely understand her purpose of wanting the reader to enjoy the story but also learn about her culture and how she lived through these hard times.

How would you describe the author's style of writing? What's your opinion of the style?

I would describe Loung Ung's writing more of a suspenseful kind of writer. I find her style very amusing and it always seems to keep the reader (in my case me) on their toes throughout the book. For example during the book this part stood out to me, "Leave me alone. Don't bother me," he yells and comes after me with a large rusty silver cleaver. With my knees shaking i run from him." (199) This part shows the tension in the air and also how the character feels at this time. Pithy's brother is sad and angry because his mother died. I find it ironic that he wants to be left alone but he chases after her.

Another part of the book that stood out to me again that also describes Loung Ung's writing style is this quote on page 183. "You will never be great. What makes you think you will be great? You are nothing. You are an orphan. You'll only be something if you become a hooker." Luong's Foster mother tells Loung that she is worthless. Her new family cares nothing about her. I thought about this throughout the whole book but i wonder why the mother is so petty that she has to make children feel bad about themselves.

One more quote that stood out to me the most over all the others was, "He wants us to follow him to get the water,"...He puts up his palm to stop us. He points to me and waves for me to follow him...I follow him into the woods leaving Chou and Pithy behind." (179) They way Ung describes this situation makes what is about to happen very clear. I could tell right after i finished reading that, she was going to be raped. These descriptions that she uses really helps the reader understand more and focus on her style of writing.

These are some quotes that just show Loung's writing style and how it is different from that of many other writers. She writes in more of a suspenseful thriller genre rather than a biography. I like that a lot more because biography's tend to be boring if the writer does write very enthusiastically, but Luong did a great job writing with enthusiasm while also keeping the book going at a very good pace.

Find out about the author. How did they end up writing this particular book? Is the author's true life reflected in the book in any ways?

I did some research and i found out that Loung does not know her own birthday due to the Khmer Rouge erasing all records of people. This was not put in the book but i found this an interesting fact about what the Khmer Rouge had also done. I also found out that after escaping "the Killing Fields" she emigrated to the United States of America where she wrote this book. She also wrote another book, a sequel to this book called "Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind" which is her second memoir about her struggles with the Khmer Rouge.

Loung Ung wrote this book as a memoir of her memories of being a child soldier. She wrote about how she was trained as a child soldier to become part of the Khmer Rouge. Her life is definitely reflected in this book because it is all about her life. Her personal stories are in this book and you can tell she remembers every single occasion that happened during her life that she showed in the book.

She reflects her life in her writing by explaining some quotes with such emphasis that a reader could tell that it had to be a first hang experience and not just a fictional piece. Loung does not just do this for a few quotes in the book, but for all. She definitely is writing more out of experience and from her heart then she is just trying to make the book sound good.