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Ho, Minfong. 2003. THE STONE GODDESS. New York: Orchard Books. ISBN 9780439381970.
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Even though I was born in the mid-sixties, I have to admit that I know hardly anything about the Asian Wars that have been fought during my lifetime. I don't remember watching the news about it, or movies, or even TV shows. In school, I never got past WWII, so I completely missed it. Reading this book was a real learning experience for me, because I vaguely remember hearing the term "Khmer Rouge," but I had no idea what it was all about. My husband is a real history student, and when I completed this story, I shared with him what I had learned. He told me that I needed to educate myself on this aspect of history and perhaps even watch some movies about Cambodia. I am feeling very ignorant about this subject, but I believe that this little book has provided me with an interesting introduction.
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The Sokha family are as normal as any Cambodian family can be prior to the invasion of the Khmer Rouge. The father is university educated, the mother is a dance teacher to her two daughters as well as other girls inside the palace. There is an older brother who is on his way to becoming a Buddhist monk, and a very young pre-school age brother. One day soldiers come by and tell everyone in the city that they must evacuate, and the capital city of Phnom Penh will be attacked very soon. The family packs a few belongings and slowly makes their way to one of the sets of grandparents living in the countryside. It doesn't take long for the Khmer Rouge to round up their father and send him for "reeducation," and he is never heard from again. The main character of this book, Nakri, along with her older sister and brother, Teeda and Boran, are sent to a work camp for several years. When the war finally ends, and the Khmer Rouge are forced out of Cambodia, Nakri and Boran return to reunite with their mother and brother, and to also tell them that Teeda died in the camp. The struggling family is finally able to immigrate to the United States, where they begin the very slow transition beginning a new life.
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I really enjoyed this story of hardship, loss, courage, and perseverance. Nakri had so many obstacles to overcome and she had to deal with some truly horrific circumstances. As stated earlier, I was not familiar with the warfare and oppressive conditions in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge regime. This book was teaching me, as well as drawing me into the story. I like that it was written with a lot of the history woven into the story. It helped me to understand something so much better than if it had been just casually mentioned. The story is geared toward young readers, and so the brutality of this story is there, but not as graphic as it could be. It allows the reader to learn at an introductory level, without being forced to suffer through the gruesomeness of the subject that is obviously a very real part of this part of history.
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The story has a lot to do with the traditional Cambodian dancing, done by young girls in representing the goddesses, or apsaras of old. The bookcover illustrates the very beautiful costume that the young dancers wear as they perform. Teeda and Nakri were both being trained by their mother to perform the apsara dance. They were both very talented and practiced for many hours each day, putting in the years of disciplined training that it took to do it properly. This beautiful dancing actually helped the girls as they were in the work camps, as they would imagine the movements and music, and talk each other through it as they suffered the harsh working conditions. When Nakri finally immigrates to the U.S., the music and dancing once again are the therapy that she needs to make the difficult transition to a new country and culture. It ties her to the past, helping her maintain her cultural identify, while giving her the courage to conquer a new language and way of life.
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Minfong Ho was born in Burma and grew up in Thailand. When refugees from Cambodia started pouring into Thailand, she was a relief worker in the refugee camps. Ms. Ho is the child of Chinese immigrants and she and her family were forced to move several times due to political turmoil. She is an "insider" and writes about what she knows well, and has had in an interesting position to observe and research very closely.
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This book is full of cultural markers to assist the reader in learning about the Cambodian culture. One of my favorites is when the family gets up early to see Boran walking to the temple with the other monks:
" Lifting aside the mosquito netting around my bed, Ma reached in and shook me gently. 'Get up,' she whispered, 'if you want to see Boran.'
Boran! My brother had just recently been ordained as a novice monk at the temple, and would be walking barefoot down our street with the other monks, ready to accept our offerings of food this morning. I had not seen him for weeks. Quickly, I got out of bed, and followed my mother downstairs.
In the kitchen she bustled about slicing vegetables, her cleaver deft and rhythmic against the wooden chopping board. I helped her ladle out fresh-steamed rice onto squares of banana leaves, as she folded the leaves into neat little pyramids."
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I like this part because it feels like a happy family scene, but with the uniqueness of the Cambodian culture. Later, as the family is forced to leave, the reader is able to feel the "new culture" of oppression, with everyone dressed in black, the lack of conversation and music, the slave labor, the beatings of the workers, the lack of food, the amputees laying in make-shift hospitals after having stepping on landmines left by the Khmer Rouge, etc. Cambodia was basically destroyed during this wartime, but the survivors are resilient and determined to work toward a better life for themselves and their families. Some made the choice to remain in Cambodia and rebuild, and others sought out opportunities to relocated to other countries, including the United States.
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I am anxious to discuss this book with history and social studies teachers in my school district and to seek out a way to use this book in the classroom. Currently, our school has an extremely small number of Asian American students, and I don't think any are from Cambodia, but this is a story that students need to be made aware of. This little novel is an excellent introduction of this overlooked part of our world history, and I think that it can easily be integrated into a classroom lesson on Asia. The story is very interesting and engaging, and I really believe that students will want to know more as they read this book. Sometimes it takes the librarian bringing it to the attention of a teacher, to get them to use it in a classroom setting and to create interest on a subject.
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I like this book very much and I will place a copy of it in my school library. I am now anxious to read other books by Minfong Ho.
Booklist
Gr. 6-9. When the Khmer Rouge takes over Cambodia, the Sokha family flees Phnom Penh along with thousands of other city dwellers. Nakri, almost 13, winds up in a brutal labor camp along with older siblings Teeda and Boran. Trained as a classical dancer, Teeda nurses Nakri through an illness and inspires her with her dedication to dance. Only Nakri and Boran survive the camp, rejoining the remnants of their family who journey to a refugee camp on Thailand's border. Eventually they immigrate to the U.S., where Nakri begins a confusing new life. It is dance that ties the story together, as Nakri prepares to follow in her sister's footsteps in her new country. Nakri's first-person account includes a great deal of cultural information that American readers need, but this slows the narrative and diminishes the emotional impact. Although it lacks suspense, this is a compassionate portrait of a young Cambodian refugee that will also supplement social studies units.
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