Vaddey Ratner was five years old when the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975. In 1981 she arrived in the United States as a refugee not knowing English and ultimately went on to graduate summa cum laude from Cornell University. She lives in Potomac, Maryland.
"An emotionally moving story . . . This tale of physical and
emotional adversity grips readers without delving into the graphic
nature of the violence that occurred at the time . . . Ratner's
contemplative treatment of her protagonist and the love shared
among the family stands in stark contrast to the severe reality
they faced each day to survive. Knowing that the story was culled
from Ratner's experiences as a child brings a sense of immediacy to
this heartrending novel likely to be appreciated by many
readers."--Library Journal
"In the Shadow of the Banyan is one of the most extraordinary and
beautiful acts of storytelling I have ever encountered. . . . This
book pulls off the unsettling feat of being--at the same
time--utterly heartbreaking and impossibly beautiful. There are
some moments in this story that are among the most powerful in
literature. This is a masterpiece that takes us to the highs and
lows of what human beings can do in this life, and it leaves us,
correspondingly, both humbled and ennobled."--Chris Cleave, author
of Little Bee
"Evocative, lyrical. . . . Accessible and profoundly moving, In the
Shadow of the Banyan is destined to become a classic."--School
Library Journal
"For all the atrocities witnessed and hardships experienced,
Ratner's story is filled to an even larger extent with opportunism
and beauty. Ratner's gift is her exquisite descriptions of the
careful details of daily life . . . Ratner describes her desire to
memorialize the loved ones she lost with an enduring work of art.
She has done just that; hers is a beautiful tale with considerable
poetry and restraint. In the Shadow of the Banyan is an important
novel, written by a survivor with unexpected grace and
eloquence."--Audrey Magazine
"One of those brave novels of resilience and the power of love that
surface once or twice in a generation, like Khaled Hosseini's The
Kite Runner."--Buffalo News
"Ratner's touching and beautifully written In the Shadow of the
Banyan celebrates the human spirit, the power of story and
imagination and the triumph of good over
evil."--ShelfAwareness.com
"Vaddey Ratner's novel is ravishing in its ability to humanize and
personalize the Cambodian genocide of the 1970's. She makes us look
unflinchingly at the evil that humankind is capable of, but she
gives us a child to hold our hand--an achingly believable child--so
that we won't be overwhelmed. As we have passed from one century of
horrors and been plunged into a new century giving us more of the
same, In the Shadow of the Banyan is a truly important literary
event."--Robert Olen Butler, author of A Good Scent from a Strange
Mountain
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