by Kim Green
Twelve years ago, I went to Cambodia for the first time to work with Chantha on her memoir. We'd already met in Nashville and begun corresponding about her life history. But communicating from afar wasn't enough. I needed to absorb the sights, sounds, aromas, and flavors of the places Chantha was describing.
As we traveled around Cambodia, the echoes of history were everywhere: vine-choked temples lived side-by-side with craters made by American B-52s. Mass graves and land mines stayed hidden but breathed a silent warning.
We also tasted Chantha's heritage in the meals we shared: a tasty s'gnao sach mouan made from a freshly-caught chicken, steaming kuy teav breakfasts, and Chantha's unforgettable fish amok. In her kitchen or at the table, Chantha's memories came unstuck: a fiery green papaya pickle carried her back to a grandmother's house. Instant noodles tasted like make-do refugee-camp meals.
Chantha had the hardest job: to cook and remember. My job was to listen, and on my own time, to read and learn. And so, read I did — from Cambodian histories and memoirs to books about war and exile to stories of food and connection. I've included some of these on the list below.
If you read Slow Noodles and want to learn more about Southeast Asia and the refugee experience, read on:
History:
When the War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution, by Elizabeth Becker
Read this to understand what befell Cambodia in the 1970s, including context from before (the French colonial era, U.S. bombing campaigns, and the 1970 coup) to "Pol Pot Time" and the aftermath: Vietnam’s occupation, refugee camps, and Cambodia’s first postwar elections.
"Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot," a 2024 film by Rithy Panh, is based on Becker's trip to Cambodia in 1978 to interview Pol Pot.
See also: A History of Cambodia, Brother Number One, and Voices from S-21, all by David Chandler
Memoir:
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, by Loung Ung
If you know little or nothing about the Khmer Rouge regime, start here. This harrowing account is probably the most widely-read memoir of "Pol Pot Time," and it's been adapted into a Netflix film, directed by Angelina Jolie. The author, Loung Ung, channels her own childhood voice to devastating effect as she recalls her family’s destruction at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.
The Best We Could Do, by Thi Bui
Read this gorgeous graphic memoir for a broader perspective on war and displacement, by a talented artist whose family fled Vietnam after the fall of South Vietnam.
My Vietnam, Your Vietnam: A father flees. A daughter returns. A dual memoir., by Christina Vo and Nghia M. Vo
A father flees Vietnam with nothing in April, 1975. Decades later, a curious daughter moves to Hanoi in search of her heritage. In this dual memoir, father and daughter weave their stories together to tell a story of exile, intergenerational trauma, and reconciliation.
See also: When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge, by Chanrithy Him
Survival in the Killing Fields, by Haing Ngor
Ma and Me: A Memoir, by Putsata Reang
"Death in Cambodia, Life in America" Podcast - Conversations betweeen a father who survived the Khmer Rouge and a daughter seeking to understand his experience, grow closer to him, and perhaps help him begin to heal.
Fiction & Poetry
In the Shadow of the Banyan, by Vaddey Ratner
This debut novel offers another heart-shattering child’s-eye view of life under the Khmer Rouge. Ratner, a Khmer Rouge survivor, writes beautifully of endurance, survival, and hope amidst horror.
Afterparties, by Anthony Veasna So
The late Cambodian-American author chronicled the Cambodian diaspora experience with wit and humanity, tackling the big questions — of how to build a new life after genocide, and how the next generation can ever truly grasp what their elders endured. Read this story collection to find out how the Year Zero generation fared in America after the camps and resettlement — and how trauma is passed down to the next generation.
The Mountains Sing, by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
A multigenerational family saga set amidst occpation, revolution, and war in 20th-century Vietnam, beautifully told by Vietnamese poet Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai.
See also: Apsara in New York, by Sokunthary Svay
A Nail the Evening Hangs On, by Monica Sok
Cookbooks & Food Memoirs
Nhum: Recipes from a Cambodian Kitchen, by Rotanak Ros & Nataly Lee
Nhum is a beautifully photographed and researched cookbook that also serves as a vital historical document. Rotanak Ros — known to her fans as "Chef Nak" — has made it her mission to help preserve Cambodian foodways. Don't miss her social media video series, featuring her traveling the Cambodian countryside, asking elders to share their recipes.
Tastes Like War, by Grace M. Cho
Sociologist Grace M. Cho investigates the violent historical origins of her Korean mother's mental illness through "the redemtive power of food." This book was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award.
See also: Crying in H Mart, by Michelle ZaunerClimbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India, by Madhur Jaffrey
