In the Shadow of the Banyan: A Novel Audiobook

Quotes

• “In the Shadow of the Banyan is one of the most extraordinary and beautiful acts of storytelling I have ever encountered…This book pulls off the unsettling feat of being—at the same time—utterly heartbreaking and impossibly beautiful. There are some moments in this story that are among the most powerful in literature. This is a masterpiece that takes us to the highs and lows of what human beings can do in this life, and it leaves us, correspondingly, both humbled and ennobled.”

  — Chris Cleave, New York Times bestselling author of Little Bee

• “Vaddey Ratner’s novel is ravishing in its ability to humanize and personalize the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s. She makes us look unflinchingly at the evil that humankind is capable of, but she gives us a child to hold our hand—an achingly believable child—so that we won’t be overwhelmed. As we have passed from one century of horrors and been plunged into a new century giving us more of the same, In the Shadow of the Banyan is a truly important literary event.”

  — Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain

• “‘Words…turn a world filled with injustice and hurt into a place that is beautiful and lyrical,’ says Vaddey Ratner’s father in her stunning debut novel, and this is exactly what she has accomplished. Ratner has managed to conflate a child’s magical and indomitable hope with the horrific experience of the Khmer Rouge genocide to create a work that at once both deeply wounds and profoundly uplifts. With lyrical and breathtaking prose, Ratner plunges us into the midst of the nightmare that was thrust upon her, and yet, even amidst the darkness of starvation and violence, she never abandons us to despair. She always offers us the glimmering thread of hope and of love. She offers us wings. In a book rich with Buddhist teachings, the mythology of Cambodia, and the natural beauty of her world, Ratner weaves a moving tribute not only to her father and family but to victims of all genocides—past, present, and future.”

  — Naomi Benaron, Bellwether Prize–winning author of Running the Rift

• “The horrors committed by Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, as experienced by one extremely resilient girl. A brutal novel, lyrically told.”

  — O, The Oprah Magazine

• “The struggle for survival is relayed with elegance and humility in Ratner’s debut…This stunning memorial expresses not just the terrors of the Khmer Rouge but also the beauty of what was lost. A hauntingly powerful novel imbued with…the devastation of monumental loss and the spirit of survival.”

  — Publishers Weekly (starred)

• “For all the atrocities witnessed and hardships experienced, Ratner’s story is filled to an even larger extent with opportunism and beauty. Ratner’s gift is her exquisite descriptions of the careful details of daily life…Ratner describes her desire to memorialize the loved ones she lost with an enduring work of art. She has done just that; hers is a beautiful tale with considerable poetry and restraint. In the Shadow of the Banyan is an important novel, written by a survivor with unexpected grace and eloquence.”

  — Audrey

• “Her heartrending, mournful tale depicts the horrors of the killing fields and the senselessness of the violence there while still managing to capture small, beautiful moments…By countering the stark and abject reality of her experience with lyrical descriptions of the natural beauty of Cambodia and its people, Ratner has crafted an elegiac tribute to the Cambodia she knew and loved.”

  — Booklist

• “An emotionally moving story…This tale of physical and emotional adversity grips readers without delving into the graphic nature of the violence that occurred at the time…Ratner’s contemplative treatment of her protagonist and the love shared among the family stands in stark contrast to the severe reality they faced each day to survive. Knowing that the story was culled from Ratner’s experiences as a child brings a sense of immediacy to this heartrending novel likely to be appreciated by many readers.”

  — Library Journal

• “Often lyrical, sometimes a bit ponderous: a painful, personal record of Cambodia’s holocaust.”

  — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

• “Vividly told…A message of hope and [a] reminder of the depth of human spirit. Stories like this reach deep inside us and are, dare I say, life-changing?”

  — Bookreporter.com

• “The horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime are still only known on the surface for most who did not experience those years of revolution. Ratner’s unique perspective makes the horrors and the struggles come to life in this fictionalized memoir. She conveys the seriousness of the subject, and immerses readers in the experience in an empathetic manner. Her tale is distinct from the few others of its sort because of the presence of her father, whose recitation of Cambodian poetry and legends weaves its way through the entire novel.”

  — RT Book Reviews (4½ stars, Top Pick!)