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Little Daughter: A Memoir Of Survival In Burma And The West (2009)

by Zoya Phan(Favorite Author)

3.92 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

067006968X (ISBN13: 9780670069682)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Viking Canada

review 1: A harrowing account of life under Burmese rule as told by Zoya, the daughter of a prominent resistance fighter assassinated by government forces. The author who is herself now residing in the UK as a political refugee writes of the brutality inflicted on the Karen people of Burma in what is called ethnic cleansing.The book at various times evokes different emotions - sadness, horror, happiness and guilt - sadness for loss of innocence, horror for the brutality and deprivation these people endure, happiness for the simple childhood and guilt because the world basically ignored the plight of these forgotten people.
review 2: Undaunted tells the easily ignored story of Burma, a country ruled by a military junta for about 50 years that performed ethnic cleansing of... more every smaller cultural group. This book specifically tells the story from the Karen perspective, an ethnic group that was promised their own independent state by the British after World War II but quickly forgotten as Burma gained independence as a whole.As someone who works with refugees, the ease with which struggles for simple freedoms and the right to live can be ignored is readily apparent. This story allowed me to fully appreciate the hardships that Zoya and her people faced at the hands of the military regime, to the point where I was nearly in tears at several points towards the end.It's hard for me to judge the book on its writing merits as a result, especially since English is Zoya's third language. That said, the beginning of this book was hard to get into as much of the time is devoted to setting a foundation for what was normal in Burma before the widespread oppression finally leaked into Zoya's life. The mundane yet peaceful setting is important, as the suffering in the later parts makes even the most simple pleasures seem meaningful. I'd encourage anyone who isn't aware of plight of the Karen people (and really, most anyone in Burma) to spend some time with this book. less

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