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Flüchtige Seelen (2011)

by Madeleine Thien(Favorite Author)

3.8 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Luchterhand

review 1: I should start by admitting that I rarely read books with this kind of harrowing subject matter because I find them too distressing. But there is a gentle beauty to Madeleine's writing that enables you to keep reading, despite the atrocities being described.Like Elliot Perlman's The Street Sweeper, and Kim Scott's That Deadman Dance, this feels like one of those stories that absolutely needs to be told. I had no idea of the scope of the genocide committed at the hands of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge, nor of the tortures endured by those who survived.While reading of Janie and her family's exile from Phnom Penh, the cruelty, deprivation and terror they experienced, the atrocities her brother, still a child, was forced to commit in order to survive, I felt a physical pain in my ch... moreest. The sense of loss for the victims was immense.Madeleien Thien writes with great compassion and understanding about the impact such events have on a person's identity, weaving a compelling and heartbreaking story, written in exquisite prose.
review 2: There is only one opening line that I remember from all the books I have read. It is this: "There is a simple recipe for making rice." It comes from the title story of Madeleine Thien's short story collection, SIMPLE RECIPES. I love the simplicity of the sentence, its precision, and its rhythm.March 30, 2013:I'm about 1/3 of the way through Dogs at the Perimeter and again I find myself marveling at the simplicity, precision and rhythm of Thien's writing. If only there were a simple recipe for writing so elegantly. less

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