First They Killed My Father

A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers

By: Loung Ung

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

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.

©2000 Loung Ung (P)2011 Tantor

Critic 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)

Deeply Emotional

Would you consider the audio edition of First They Killed My Father to be better than the print version?

I enjoy the audio version because i listen to it while I'm driving; I prefer a good book over music.

What was one of the most memorable moments of First They Killed My Father?

This was a truly difficult question to answer...i found myself nervously waiting to see what happens next on this emotional ride. I guess what sticks out in my mind was when they came for her father.

What does Tavia Gilbert bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Tavia did an excellent job on this book. She made me feel as though she was talking to me, telling me a story rather than reading a book to me.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Emotional and humbling story of human survival.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this book!!!

Fantastic, Thrilling and Heart Wrenching.

I was fully captivated by this book. I enjoyed every second of listing to it.

Important and moving, but flawed

Would you listen to First They Killed My Father again? Why?

No, I would not. Why? It's emotionally draining and deeply disturbing. But the overwhelming reason is the overwrought performance by the narrator. There's a way to narrate a book without seeming like you are auditioning for a Lifetime movie. That is not meant to cast any negative light on the author or the book itself. I think this book would have benefited greatly with a more talented narrator.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I very much admired Loung Ung's father.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Tavia Gilbert?

No.

Any additional comments?

This is an important book on an important subject. My heart breaks for everyone who suffered and died under Pol Pot and his despotic, murderous regime. That said, I have some issues. First, I question how much of the exact details quoted in the book the author truly remembered with the utter exactness that is presented here. I am NOT suggesting she made anything up- certainly not the deaths of her family members. But knowing that this is meant to be a memoir- a non fiction book- told from the point of a very young girl, the specificity of certain passages cannot help but cause the listener to raise an eyebrow. AGAIN, I am not disputing the terrible suffering that the author experienced, but I frankly would have preferred to see this labeled as, perhaps, a partially-fictionalized memoir, if only to address the very, VERY exact conversations and remembrances in this book. What made me give this review 4 out of 5 is not only my concerns about this (and they are, to my mind, important concerns), but the really over-the-top performance by Tavia Gilbert. I know that is a matter of personal taste, but in my opinion, Gilbert reads every single word in ALL CAPS. It's a touchy criticism to make, as this is certainly an emotional and dramatic memoir, but there's no subtlety or difference in tone. Again, some may disagree with my criticism, and it was certainly an upsetting book, but I wouldn't care to listen to Gilbert narrate again.

Incredibly powerful, heartbreaking

From a 5-8 years old point of view where we are still in theta, it is heart wrenching. 5 stars hands down. I wish the world knew more about this. Thank you for sharing your story.

An eye-opening look into an unknown world

Would you listen to First They Killed My Father again? Why?

Yes. it was a difficult read, so I had to pick it up and put it down, but it was captivating and tragic.

Have you listened to any of Tavia Gilbert’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't believe I have... but I will have to check out more of her material; she did an amazing job on this one.

Interesting story

language was a little elementary at times. Focuses more on her experience with little insight into the politics and history of the regime. Overall a good listen

heart rending.

an excellent book about a genocide exacted on people during my adult lifetime. reading this I had to keep reminding myself that the author was 6 when it started and 9 when she escaped to the US. pol pot exterminated 1/4 of the population of Cambodia and they still have yet to recover.

Brilliant

What made the experience of listening to First They Killed My Father the most enjoyable?

Couldn't put it down.

What was one of the most memorable moments of First They Killed My Father?

Just reminded you that even when soldiers come to "help" there is always another side.

The history class I never had

Her words are far more impactful than you might realize at first. A true story as much as memory can be relied on but written so smoothly that you almost think it is a fictional novel of an imagined world. I hope that comes through as a compliment to the author's writing abilities; for it also forces the listener to remind themselves that it is as true as true can be and face realities unnoticed by the west. It is not a violent force upon the listener but a force of nature, so to speak... and no part of you will want to resisit in face of the lived reality. Her choice of permormer was excellent too, as she gives her best effort to tell simething ao cruel but also somehow miraculous for the author herself. I am left seeking greater depth of the cause of such justified muder and ready to face other histories that were the history class I never had the fortune to attend.

Rollercoaster of emotions

An emotional story of a family's journey of survival and redemption in a cruel world.