First They Killed My Father Summary

The critics, Soneath Hor, Sody Lay, and Grantham Quinn, allegedly have found faults in the national bestseller, First They Killed My Father, by Loung Ung. First They Killed My Father, is a book about young Loung Ung’s life before, during, and after the Cambodian Genocide. In the critics’ articles, they state that “[their] objections to this book rests on three points: first, it contains too many inaccuracies and fabrication to be considered credible; secondly, it misrepresents and distorts Khmer culture and history; and thirdly, it generally misleads the reader about Cambodia in the 1970s and life under Khmer Rouge”(Hor, Lay, & Quinn). Although the critics have made many strong points, this essay will focus mainly on the three fairly weak …show more content…
The problem with the claim is that other accounts have stated that it is possible. The Khmer Rouge at first “seemed disciplined. And at first, there was general jubilation among the city’s terrified, exhausted and bewildered inhabitants. After all, the civil war seemed finally over, the Americans had gone, and order, everyone seemed to assume, would soon be graciously restored. Then came the shock. After a few hours, the black-uniformed troops began firing into the air” (Rothman). This would explain why Ung had the time to play. Phnom Penh did not have to succumb to war on a daily basis. Also, other survivors such as Sarah P. Tun said that her family was heading to her grandmother's until the Khmer Rouge started to force people out (Pran).
While attacking Ung’s book, First They Killed My Father, the critics make some strong points and some “hogwash”. They claim that Ung’s book is full of misrepresentations and distortion. These claim mostly boil down into three topics: distortion of the1970s, misrepresentation of Khmer culture and history, and the existence of racism. Of the three, the critics’ claim that Ung has misrepresented Khmer culture and history is the