Comments on: Kim Echlin: The Disappeared

By: The Disappeared by Kim Echlin | Page247

The Disappeared by Kim Echlin | Page247 — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 00:25:36 +0000

[...] Other reviews: Fizzy Thoughts, My Friend Amy, The Mooske and the Gripes [...]

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:43:24 +0000

Sorry, I can’t help on The Lover as I haven’t read it.

By: tolmsted

tolmsted — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:06:46 +0000

Trevor – yes, I did mean to address the question to you (I’d just finished reading the comments on The Golden Mean and threw myself off!). Sorry about that!

By: Trevor

Trevor — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:52:10 +0000

Hi tolmsted, this is not Kevin, but Trevor — I assume that you are asking me these questions, though. Am I right? I’m sure Kevin will respond to if he happens by.

I have not read The Lover — haven’t even heard of it, to be honest (so hopefully Kevin will drop by and answer this :) ).

However, I don’t think this book is a mystery or even mainly a love story. We know what’s going on with Serey, even if the author is seeking him. In fact, that search is probably the main idea in the book, but I haven’t talked about it here because it might spoil the book. The love story is incidental — if not the literary springboard — to this larger theme.

By: tolmsted

tolmsted — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:38:29 +0000

Kevin, wonderful review. But this books reminds me a lot of Duras’ The Lover from your description… particularly from the excerpts you included. The Killing Fields of Cambodia are not French Colonial Vietnam… but are you familiar with The Lover? And if so, did you get the feeling the Echlin may have been influenced by Duras’? Is this a mystery about what happened to Serey or mainly a love story? I’m definitely going to have to find a copy.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:34:54 +0000

If you’ve never read a book set in Cambodia then I think this is a great place to start, kimbofo. A major goal in writing this book appears to have been to educate us on recent Cambodian history. I’ve never been to Cambodia to know if Echlin gets te flavors right, but I definitely enjoyed the descriptions.

By: kimbofo

kimbofo — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:09:27 +0000

Excellent review. This sounds like something that would appeal to me, if only because I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set in Cambodia.

By: Trevor reviews The Disappeared « KevinfromCanada

Trevor reviews The Disappeared « KevinfromCanada — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:31:09 +0000

[...] juror Trevor Berrett has now passed the shortlist halfway mark. Here are the opening paragraphs (find the full review here) to his excellent review of Kim Echlin’s The Disappeared: The Killing Fields of Cambodia, the [...]