Never Fall Down: A Novel (edition 2012)

This book, written in broken English, was very hard to get through. It is based on the real-life experiences of Arn Chorn-Pond and is very depressing to read. It does give a good depiction of what war can and will do to the development of children. The choice in writing in broken English helps to set the reader apart from the actual events, but it still allows for developing compassion for Arn and the other children. ( )

Very sad book. It was hard for me to read... depressing.

A vivid, harrowing, and profoundly moving story based on the real-life experience of Arn Charn, whose family is forced to relocate to the infamous "Killing Fields" when the Khmer Rouge comes to power in Cambodia. A superbly written, memorable novel. ( )

Arn's story is a hard one to read, but enormously powerful and an important one to know. What's interesting is that I felt like McCormick's choice to have the voice use broken English worked to remove me from the story somewhat. I can't decide if that's a good thing or not - did I need the distance in order to be able to read the story at all? Or would I have been more involved and even more moved if the language was fluent? I did think it was an excellent choice to extend Arn's story into his time in the US in order to make it clear his ordeal was far from over. ( )

McCormick did an amazing job bringing Arn's voice to the page... I wonder how much this book is influenced by the talks he gives, as well as all the interviews they had together. I'd love to hear him speak. Arn survived the genocide in Cambodia and lived as a prisoner in the farming camps of the Khmer Rouge from when he was 11 till he was 15 (I think that's right) - in the last while he was forced to be a soldier and fight on the side of his captors against the Vietnamese. Most of this book is a nauseating, haunting account of his ordeals as he was forced to do anything he could to survive, and saw other kids and adults doing the same. His worries through the last half of becoming like the enemy are a powerful reflection of the damage war can do - especially to kids who are still trying to just grow up. ( )