Customer Reviews

The Angkor Massacre

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The Angkor Massacre plots the fortunes and misfortunes of a french plantation owner in Cambodia in the 1960's and and 1970's. As the vietnam war moves into cambodia old loyalties rearrange. The major players, Khmer Rouge, NVA and Americans are a backdrop for day to day life, set among dense jungle and broodign ruins. Many of the ethnic groups described are unfamiliar. Jarai, the title of the film, refers to the planters giant friend. A hill tribesman from this group he routinely appears dispatching vicious assailants and plucking B52"s from the skies [well almost]. its a great read, a cross between Heart of Darkness, Rambo and Marcel Proust.

this is not just a thriller but a must read for anyone who likes cambodia and cambodian history. Like the author of the Gate, Francois Bizot, Loup Durand was THERE ("I was there, Magnum.")He knows the details, right down to the street names and the backgrounds of historical incidents, the very days they happened and even what the crowds looked like on the streets. The characrtersa are not entirely cardboard, the plot is not simple but fairly complex, and the settings are authentic, at least the ones in Kampuchea. If you have lived there you will love this book.