Customer Reviews

The Depths of the Sea

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a great and surprising book. It flies by like a thriller, yet it's incredibly literary and filled with great insights into the human condition and life in refugee camps. I can't imagine why this hasn't been made into a movie yet.

I couldn't put this book down. The action was so fast-paced that I didn't realize how much I was learning until I'd put the book down for a day and realized how much I'd entered a new and fascinating world.

I was amazed by this book. It's not only a suspenceful thriller, but it's also beautifully written, with fascinating characters, and I learned a lot about the chellenges of the Thai-Cambodian border. This is a book that really changed the way I see the world - a real gem.

Jamie Metzl's The Depths of the Sea is a powerful novel set during the years of war in Cambodia, depicting the struggle to survive and thrive in refugee camps at the Thai Cambodia border. Each chapter delves deeply into the life of a different protagonist, brilliantly and honestly characterized, until they all come together in the end. Reading this book is at once gripping and frightening -- Metzl's depiction of the violence of life in the camps, and of the people experience it, is so honest and true and real that the reader feels a part of it, for better and for worse. This book is worth every moment, as historical fiction that educates about Cambodia, and as an intimate insight into the lives humanitarian workers in refugee camps.

An awesome book. I couldn't put it down. The characters were believable and endearing, the plot real to life. The best read I've had all summer. The description of the Khmer Rouge refugee camp and the duping of a naive protagonist were perfect. For anyone who wants their fiction to reflect the reality of the world, Metzl's book is a gem.

My taste usually runs to literary rather than genre fiction, but The Depths of the Sea held my interest and attention. A complete dearth of knowledge regarding the history of the area and era won't impact your enjoyment of it (at least it didn't for me).

Ingemar from Toronto is totally correct. She is an insightful lady. Simply stated, this book is a master work of fiction. Like she did, I highly recommend it!