Sometimes you don't choose a book to buy off the shelf - it chooses you...and Thy's autobiography somehow made it's way into my hands.

In a beautiful story about courage and loyalty to family even when staring death in the face, it is impossible not to become attatched to characters such as Pa, Mak and Chea. Although I cannot deny that parts of the story are left unfinished, such as Ra's first marriage and subsequently her second marriage to bang Ventha, which left me wondering what eventuated, it does not detract from the overall effect of the book.

It is heartwrenching to read of the hunger, death and inhumane conditions Thy and her family endured at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. As cliched as it sounds, it truly does make one realise how blessed we are to be living in a country where atrocities such as what Thy suffered no longer occur...

"When Broken Glass Floats" is one of those rare books that remains etched in your memory long after the last page closes...

When she hears the news of the death of yet another family member, young Chanrithy writes, "Death is a constant, and we've become numb to the shock of it. People die here and there, all around us, falling like flies that have been sprayed with poison." Such was life under the Khmer Rouge. Chanrithy Him was only four years old when war came to Cambodia, first in the form of troops fleeing from neighboring Vietnam, and then the more deadly Khmer Rouge. Educated professionals were summarily executed, entire cities were evacuated under threat of death, and children such as Chanrithy were forced to work in inhumane conditions. An entire culture was virtually destroyed, but Him still manages to maintain an amazing degree of innocence and positivity. This is a powerful book about a tragic period in world history.

In general I think that Amazon customers rate books too highly, but I cannot say enough good things about this book. The author has an excellent, readable writing style. Combined with the amazing story of her family's experiences in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, this book is nearly impossible to put down. I finished it in two days and when I was not reading it, I was thinking about it. I only wish that the author would have told us a bit more about her life in the U.S. and what became of her other family members. However, I cannot imagine that anyone would dislike this book.