Title: In the Shadow of the Banyan

Author: Vaddey Ratner

Publisher: Simon and Schuster 2012

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 310

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar -- About an unfamiliar culture; 52 Books -- W20; Women Author

For seven-year-old Raami, the shattering end of childhood begins with the footsteps of her father returning home in the early dawn hours, bringing details of the civil war that has overwhelmed the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. Soon the family’s world of carefully guarded royal privilege is swept up in the chaos of revolution and forced exodus. Over the next four years, as the Khmer Rouge attempts to strip the population of every shred of individual identity, Raami clings to the only remaining vestige of her childhood—the mythical legends and poems told to her by her father. In a climate of systematic violence where memory is sickness and justification for execution, Raami fights for her improbable survival. Displaying the author’s extraordinary gift for language, In the Shadow of the Banyan is a brilliantly wrought tale of human resilience.

Our book club selection for June. I was intrigued by the setting and historical events. I wanted to fall into this book and come out knowing more about Cambodia. Unfortunately, I got bored with the book. After some thought, I realize that I'm not a huge fan of Ratney's writing style. The narrative meanders here and there, and the meandering just started to annoy me. I don't mind descriptive writing, but her passages about dragonflies dragged me down. I finished the book but can't say that this one was for me...