Lucky Child
| Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Loung Ung |
| Language | English |
| Subject(s) | Cambodian genocide |
| Genre(s) | Memoir |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Publication date | 2000 |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 288 p. |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-073395-7 |
| Preceded by | First They Killed My Father |
| Followed by | Lulu in the Sky |
Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind (2005) is a memoir written by a Cambodian woman, Loung Ung. Her previous memoir was First They Killed My Father. The memoir chronicles her adjustment to life in the U.S. after escaping the Cambodian genocide. It also tells of the experiences of her surviving family members in Cambodia during the ensuing warfare between Vietnamese troops and the Khmer Rouge. Lucky Child covers the period of 1980 until 2003.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Story
Lucky Child tells the story of Loung Ung and her sister Chou Ung. Each chapter alternates between their stories. Loung lives in Vermont as a refugee with her older brother Meng and his wife Eang. Meng only had enough money to bring one of his siblings with him, so he had to leave the rest of his family. He chose Loung to come with him because she was the youngest, ten years old upon leaving Cambodia; hence, she is the "lucky child."[2][3]
[edit] Characters
- Loung Ung - The author and narrator of the American story arc.
- Chou Ung - Loung's sister. Older by two years, Chou remained in Cambodia with the rest of her family. Chou was closest to Loung and missed her younger sister a lot. She is the central character in the Cambodian story arc.
- Meng and Eang Ung - Loung's caretakers, Meng is her eldest brother and Eang is his wife. They flee Cambodia with Loung for Thailand, there they receive sponsorship by an American church to live in Vermont.
[edit] Author
Loung Ung is a Cambodian-American human-rights activist. Born in Phnom Penh, Ung came from an affluent Cambodian family. Since her father was a senior military official, the Ung family was specifically targeted in a genocide known as The Killing Fields.[4]An orphan, Ung spent time in a labor camp and a child-soldier training camp.[3].
Ung is now an advocate for an international antilandmine organization and is the national spokeswoman for the Vietnam Veterans of America’s Foundation for a Landmine Free World.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ "Books." LoungUng.com (accessed February 21, 2012).
- ^ Loung Ung, Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind. (New York: HarperCollins, 2005), back cover.
- ^ a b Loung Ung, Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind. (New York: HarperCollins, 2005), preface.
- ^ Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (New York: HarperCollins, 2000).
- ^ "Alumni Academic Hall of Fame". 192.80.64.37. http://192.80.64.37/Admin2.asp?SiteAreaID=1830&Level=1. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
