/lit/ - Literature

>>21531677
Picrel is a much better account of life in Democratic Kampuchea. Life as a serf under the Khmer Rouge was always harrowing however, so take your pick.

The søi In Order to Live by millennial Yeonmi Park:
>poorly written
>events happened in childhood so it was all in the past when she her brain was still developing
>did nothing brave, all the action is done by the adults, she just observed or followed along
>didn't even witness any brutality
>is well-adjusted as an adult
>has a happy and uncomplicated ending
Meanwhile, the chad Survival in the Killing Fields: A Cambodian Odyssey by Dr. Haing "S." Ngor
>overall autobiography, the story of one man's life with a focus on his life living as a labourer in the work camps
>deftly and movingly written
>experienced in adulthood so details are vivid and correct
>witnessed the worst kinds of brutalitu and deprivation man can come up with
>used his intelligence and skill as a medical doctor to stay alive, as well as sheer luck. By all likelihood he shouldn't have survived.
>meanwhile the book is a love story about him and his wife
>book is filled with poignancy, tragedy, unfettered violence, tenderness, loss, anger, life, death, tenacity, love
>ending is complicated and uncertain
Choose wisely.

Is this the anti kommunist aktion thread now? I read this last year. Absolutely harrowing.

>>20024564
This is fantastic. The title mostly speaks for itself, but the book does cover his entire life, but with a focus on his time as a prisoner and a labourer along with his wife in the Cambodian gulag. It's a miracle he survived and it's an incredibly harrowing story. The way he died in America years later was cheap and cruel, which makes everything about his life sadder. It's a fascinating portrait of life in the worst of the DK labour camps though, and that along with the incredibly engaging storytelling of Dr. Haing S. Ngor, makes for a great read.

>>19886166
Best autobiography I've ever read.

>>19634334
This. It's stuck with me the most.

pic related

>>17452316
Kindle tells me I'm only 27% of the way thru. I'm enjoying it but jeez I need to make a better habit of reading a chapter every day.

>>17312782
Currently reading pic rel, it's quite good (as I've heard) but I'm only 2 chapters in.