Lucky Child: A Daughter of
Cambodia Reunites with the Sister
She Left Behind (P.S.) by Loung Ung
The Tale Of Two Sisters, Worlds Apart
After enduring years of hunger, deprivation, and devastating loss at the
hands of the Khmer Rouge, ten-year-old Loung Ung became the lucky
child, the sibling chosen to accompany her eldest brother to America while
her one surviving sister and two brothers remained behind. In this poignant
and elegiac memoir, Loung recalls her assimilation into an unfamiliar new
culture while struggling to overcome dogged memories of violence and the
deep scars of war. In alternating chapters, she gives voice to Chou, the
beloved older sister whose life in war-torn Cambodia so easily could have
been hers. Highlighting the harsh realities of chance and circumstance in
times of war as well as in times of peace, Lucky Child is ultimately a
testament to the resilience of the human spirit and to the salvaging
strength of family bonds.

Personal Review: Lucky Child: A Daughter of Cambodia
Reunites with the Sister She Left Behind (P.S.) by Loung Ung
Loung Ung's fascinating second book, Lucky Child, picks up the story that
began with her first memoir, First They Killed My Father, and with both
books I found it impossible to put them down once I'd begun reading.
Lucky Child contrasts life for Loung as a refugee in America, with her sister
Chou's life in rural Cambodia, and it's a revealing and moving comparison.
Loung, with lasting feelings of guilt for those she'd left behind, found it
difficult to fit in, whilst Chou, resigned to her fate, displayed the resilience
and inner strength that is apparent in so many of her fellow countrymen
and women.
I found two parts of this remarkable book particularly poignant, the heart-
rending death of three-year-old Kung and the reunion between Chou and
her brother Meng after a separation of eleven years. These passages were
hard to read. Whilst the eventual meeting of Loung and Chou is an
awkward affair, the tale of their brother Kim's escape from Cambodia to
France is enthralling. The book tells a tale that underscores the importance
of the bond between family members, the sheer strength of the human
spirit and will to endure and most of all, it's a story of two sisters who have
survived and flourished against all odds. Loung Ung has a special talent at
storytelling. I recommend this book without hesitation.
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