Customer Reviews

A Blessing over Ashes: The Remarkable Odyssey of My Unlikely Brother

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Adam Fifield's rich prose is a pleasure, and his sense of narrative is elegantly gripping. I gobbled the whole book up in one sitting and wished it could have been even longer. His humane, sympathetic vision is the key to a book that manages to indict and embrace the thorny aspects of cross-culturalization at once. The unfolding of parallel childhoods is even-handed; he lets no one off the hook. There are pockets of unexpected humor and desolate poignancy going off like little landmines throughout the pages. This is a wonderful book abut the power of family and the horrors of our recent past.

Mr. Fifield's memoir was, quite simply, one of the best books I've ever read. Perhaps my effusive praise comes as a result of my reading experience, (I read the book during a vacation to Peru, the huts and villages of the Amazon Rain Forest reflecting the Cambodia Fifield so vividly paints)but his writing is so strong that any environment, even a darkened room, would be transformed by his subtle and gripping prose.

Never lacking the New England wit, Fifield displays an empathy towards humanity that is, unfortunately, all too rare. It's exhilarating to read the differences between Fifield's upbringing (a steady diet of video games and commercialism) and his brother Soueth (who slaved away for Pol Pot) When these two very powerful cultures come together, the reader is picked up and thrown round the room for pages on end. Where I landed was somewhere between exhultation and exhaustion.

Perhaps my favorite part of the book is Fifield's tone. He never takes a reverential perspective, and keeps the humor flowing even in the saddest parts. In a subject that could easily skid into sentimentalism, Fifield's delicate touch steers the prose back on course and the reader is pulled along too,enjoying every turn along the way.

The best critique that I can muster in this very small box Amazon has provided me is to say flat out that Mr. Fifield's book is a must for anyone with a family; traditional, or not; happy or sad; from here or from elsewhere.

As a former refugee who came to the United States at age 8, I understand a few of the main character's experiences, i.e growing up "different" in America. Luckily there are many other experiences in his amazing life which are completely foreign to me, living through the killing fields of Cambodia, adoption into a loving American family, financially supporting his long lost Cambodian family, etc... This is an amazing book for so many different reasons. It gives the reader an honest and intimate look at a unique and rich life very different form their own. I gained insight on some of my contemporaries by reading this book. It is a testimony of one brother's love for another. Finally, this book illustrates a character of the American people that is sometimes forgotten. Americans, as a whole, are a generous people. I've recommended this book to so many friends, especially those with an interest in understanding people with experiences different from their own.

Not being a professional writer or book reviewer, I can only state my experience while reading the book. Simply stated, once I began reading "A Blessing Over Ashes," I didn't want to put it down. Nearly every page bought forth a touching episode, or experience, some humerous, some distressing, but all riveting and memorable.

Soeuth has established himself as a valuable and trusted employee in our company. Reading of his childhood experiences and following his growth to a responsible adult has given me a new appreciation for what he has become.

The book is well written, easy to read, even if disturbing in places. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to be raised in a traditional american home will find it difficult to comprehend the early life of Soeuth. For me, it has created a new appreciation and respect for the Soeuth I know.

If compassion were studied as rigorously as war, this book would be on the mandatory reading list. The author describes how he grew to feel that he was a part of his adopted brother's story, not just an observer. In Cambodia there is a ceremony that people can do to assure that they are together in their next life. The author and his brother have obviously been hanging around together for a long, long time. This book is touching and well written and Adam Fifield is an author with great promise.

I read this book during vacation on Cape Cod-and finished it in about two days. It is so rich, so insightful, I loved it. Loved reading about the author and his brothers growing up in Vermont....what a colorful tapestry. I have never read Adam Fifield before (only read about him in Good Housekeeping Magazine) but am so impressed by his gift for the craft of writing. What a beautiful builder of phrases and sentences. This book should win a Pulitzer prize.

There are dozens upon dozens of books on the killing fields of Cambodia out there...this one is different, because it tells the story of Adam and his Cambodian foster brother, Seouth. I was drawn to this perspective and enjoyed Adam's writing style very much. His descriptions and use of language are effective at getting emotions across without being sentimental and sloppy. At the end of the book, Adam and Seouth travel to Cambodia, and Adam made me feel as though I was there with them, riding a motobike down a dusty road, taking in the sights and sounds of an unfamiliar culture. Many books do not emphasize how poor the people of Cambodia are in a tangible way...Adam does this beautifully. If you are interested in how historical events affect individuals or have brothers or sisters, this book could change how you look at the world and reaffirm your relationships with others. (P.S...you might cry and laugh! I did).

This book gives new meaning to the words tough, strong and determined. The book is about a boy who goes through many different stops to try and get to America after he leaves the work camp that his family sent him to and has now escaped and is unamare of where his parents are and has no choice but to leave. The detail that this book goes into will have you hanging on every word, it's absolutely amazing. After arriving in America a whole new journey begins for this young boy. A new culture, a new language and a new world. The book explains all about Soeuth (the little boy) and how he gets to know people and understand them and some personal experiences he has while he is in America and how different it is from Cambodia. This is a book that everyone should read, it is absolutely heart warming and even brought tears to my eyes while I was reading it. I guarantee you'll love it. I would reccomend this book to anyone who likes a true story of survival.

Adam Fifield charmed me from the very first page with this classic and compelling memoir.

The initial chapters detailing his adopted brother Soeuth's early childhood in the Khmer Rouge camps are stunning, raw, and direct. As a very young boy, Soeuth was handed over by his father to the authorities and transported to the nightmarish world of the Cambodian work camps. Soeuth shows tremendous resourcefulness and courage when forced to fight for his daily survival. The story of his escape from the camps, his journey across the killing fields, and his eventual passage to the United States proves to be a gripping adventure.

But Fifield offers something more than a simple re-telling of his brother's tremendous odyssey. It is through his earnest accounts of his own childhood in Vermont, and his attempts to understand and accept his new "unlikely brother", Soeuth, that Fifield displays much of his considerable wisdom. He writes of the foibles of his awkward youth with a generous and self-effacing wit--which proves to be one of the true gems of A Blessing Over Ashes. It is through several of the more humorous passages, in fact, that the author manages to convey matters of tremendous poignancy.

A Blessing Over Ashes is a rare and delightful find. You won't go wrong with this one.

Biographies written by journalists often offer rare treats. This one is no exception. Adam Fifield takes the extraordinary circumstances that brought a young Cambodian boy into his family and tells us how they became true brothers. This book will open your heart and your mind and stay with you for a long, wonderful time.