Reading in Cambodia

In 1975, Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Pehn, capital of Cambodia, forcing the population to abandon town to work in rural communes. During their three years in power they basically bludgeoned to death a quarter of the country's population (2 out of 7 million). A genocide of this brutality and magnitude leaves painful scars that should come up, one way or another, in literature. Americans were introduced to this period mostly by Sydney Schanberg's personal recollection that was converted into the movie The Killing Fields, which in turn became the basis for Spalding Gray's Swimming to Cambodia, as close to a piece of writing as a movie can get. Survivors have written numerous first person accounts (First They Killed My Father, by Loung Ung; When Broken Glass Floats, Charithy Him, etc.) Bios and studies of Pol Pot and several of his generals also abound.

These historical accounts, together with postcard sets of 10 at the price of US $1, are what street peddlers in Phnom Pehn, and curio shops in Siem Reap, push incessantly to the throngs of tourists who are keeping this poor country's economy alive. Sex tourists and the middle class have joined the strings of budget travelers who, for a few decades now, have chosen South East Asia for their leisurely sabbaticals pre-job, marriage, children and divorce, when they come back for the sex.

Siem Reap (stepping stone to Angkor Wat) seems to have more hotels than it has inhabitants. Even in low season, the influx is massive. I can picture a lonely person in Japan, perhaps he was ill, perhaps he didn't get the memo, wondering why all of a sudden his entire prefecture has emptied of people. Wonder no more. They are all here. Though the same phenomenon is probably occurring in towns in Poland, China, Australia, Russia, or The Netherlands and a couple suburbs of Kansas City, Missouri (the state, by the way, commonly used to represent Cambodia's land mass). Tourists of all budgets and from all over the world are perfect targets for regular offers of plastic wrapped books about 'killee fieds' and 'Cambodia geenocy,' while an army of tuk tuks waits in siege at every corner, hoping to transport you to the Irish Pub at the end of the block.

This is a country of contrasts, like so many others, that has adapted its traditional way of life to cater to the needs of the better to do farang (foreigner) with money to spend. And same as I'm happy that next to traditional Khmer cuisine (of which I am quite fond, actually) restaurants also offer iced lattes, nachos supreme, Chilean Sauvignon Blanc and occasional air conditioning, when it comes to reading I wanted something other than a war documentary. I wanted a novel.

Had I done any serious research before I left town, I would have known that the NYT best seller, In The Shadow of the Banyan, tells the fictionalized story of its author, Vaddey Ratner, a survivor of the above-mentioned regime. As a novel, it is a candidate for my reading pile. Serendipity, however, and the catchy title of Phnom Pehn Express brought me to a different and most enjoyable read.

Like most any other novels about the region, it has been written by a farang, Johan Smits. It's fast. It touches on all things I experienced in Phnom Pehn in a thirty-four hour stay: the heat; the smelly food; the crazy traffic with barely a street light (for show), inefficient traffic cops, tuk-tuks, a lot of dust and near suicidal motorcycles carrying up to four people and an assortment of cargo that may include a whole coop of live poultry, wall sized glass panes, any length of tubes, enough bricks for two houses, several full suitcases and infants sitting on the handle bars; the original Happy Pizza a few doors down from my hotel; the independence monument; the love of karaoke; the killing fields memorial; the noise pollution; the deep fried crickets.... There is also a mystery, told in the style of a comedy of errors (channeling Carl Hiaasen in Phnom Pehn) which is very fun to read.

Reading in the pool, Frangipani Villa, Siem Reap

If you are traveling or have traveled to Phnom Pehn recently, and want to be entertained and feel like an insider, this is as good as any summer beach read, perfect for a lazy afternoon poolside in Siem Reap. (I would only recommend that Mr. Smits get a good editor. Style-wise, John LeCarre, or Carl Hiaasen, he is not. A little fine tuning will go a long way.)

It was while at the pool that I found a recent article in the Phnom Pehn Post (click here if interested: Phnom Pehn Post - article re Cambodia and the novel) that answered a number of my questions about other good Cambodian fiction. Options will not take more than a shelf or two at your local B&N, but I would gladly prolong my stay to get through many of them, if only to continue enjoying the beauty and hospitality of this country.

This, by the way, is what you'll get from me in lieu of a proper blog. I won't tell you what I had for dinner (not the crickets) or what time I got up. Unless it fits to tell the story of a book.

Saigon traffic

Independence Monument

The Mekong meets the Tonle Sap

The Mekong, outside my hotel

Royal Palace, Saigon