Northwest Center for Holocaust, Genocide and Ethnocide Education

Reviews

Lafreniere, Bree (2000). Music Through the Dark. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.

Book Overview by Jamie Daniels

“I cannot tell you how or why I survived; I do not know myself. It is like this: love and music and memory and invisible hands, and something that comes out of the society of the living and the dead, for which there are no words.” -Daran Kravanh

Music through the Dark is an exploration of one man’s experience in Cambodia in the 1970’s when the Khmer Rouge invades and takes over the land and the people. Daran Kravanh reveals his life and his tragic stories to give readers a true and astonishing glance at the murderers who ended over 3 million Cambodian lives; including Daran’s parents and siblings. The book is written by Bree Lafrenier, who beautifully takes Daran’s spoken words and makes them come to life while describing such painful and heartbreaking events.

The book begins by introducing us to Daran and his family; their individual qualities as well as their love for music as a family. Daran eloquently describes his first interaction with an accordion; his parents held a party, and a musician showed Daran what would soon become his survival instrument. He speaks of lovely and pleasant times with his family and neighbors; memories that fade into the distance once the Khmer Rouge begin their reign of terror in Cambodia.

Music through the Dark presents the history of the Khmer Rouge in a biographical way; through the eyes of Daran. But, the book also gives a detailed and historical account of what was going on all over the country. In this reviewers eyes, the Khmer Rouge started very small, but worked their way up to become a frightful army of murderers, willing to kill their own parents for the new government. After gaining independence from France, Cambodia went through several Kings and Generals. Saloth Sar, a previous secretary-general soon lost the trust of the government and took his few followers into the Cambodian forests. Sar, who would later be known as Pol Pot, trained his followers into becoming an army. They envisioned a new Cambodia, one that would take time and more followers. They wanted Cambodia to become self-sufficient, have all people be treated equally as one, as well as have all religions vanish. Soon, similar to the events that occurred during the Holocaust, Cambodians were forced to abolish all property, wear black clothes, and avoid any religious affiliation. People fled to the urban areas of Cambodia, which resulted in a massive loss of rice supply. With little food or water, the Khmer Rouge soon had control over the country, and was relentless in their tactics. If the people didn’t die from starvation, they would die for refusal to follow the Khmer Rouge beliefs.

Daran’s story continues by showing his survival through the harsh times. Daran’s resentment towards the Khmer Rouge convinces him to escape into the forest and hid for over a year with several others. After a failed attempt at an escape to Thailand, they soon realized that in order to survive they must enter a Khmer Rouge camp. However, Daran soon realized his love for music would save him time and time again. A soldier ordered to kill Daran ends up a weeping mess after having Daran play music for him over and over again. Although Daran didn’t know at the time, that soldier would be the last person to threaten his life, for soon the Khmer Rouge had lost control of Cambodia and was under attack by the Vietnamese troops.

Daran’s love for music, and passion for life, helped him survive one of the worst genocides this world has seen. Over 3 million would die by the hands of Khmer Rouge soldiers, and thousands more left homeless and without family. Daran’s story is one of hope and encouragement; the love and joy of music kept his faith and soul alive.

 

For the Educator:

Music Through the Dark would be such a useful resource for a social studies or English classroom.  The book provides readers with a true account of the treacherous pain and suffering that Daran survived in the Cambodia genocide. According to the Fry graph, the reading level is around 9-10 grade level. The sentences and word choice is simple, however the information is in-depth and students may not know historical words or locations. The book is also describing horrific events, events that may not be appropriate for students under the middle school level. Understanding events that happen in the book requires a geographical reference of the location of Cambodia, as well as a historical background of Cambodia. This knowledge may not yet have been reached at a middle school level, so high school grade levels are recommended.

This book would be extremely valuable in a unit plan on geography or memoir writing discussion. The book’s historical account of the genocide that took place is easy to follow and Daran’s experiences directly correlate to the historical information provided in the text. His experience gives the reader a view on the Khmer Rouge that textbooks are unable to provide. For example, to read the restrictions the Khmer Rouge enforced is heartbreaking when understanding Daran’s passion for music:

“Some of the changes in my life under the Khmer Rouge were tolerable and, in fact, better than my life in the forest. The absence of music, however, was hard for me. I missed music intensely. I missed the comfort it gave me and the memories it provided. Once early on in the cooperative, I began unconsciously to whistle a Western song. A an put his hand over my mouth and whispers, “They will kill you for knowing that song!” I felt my spirit sink.” (Lafreniere, Pg 80)

This book would be an excellent source when discussing genocide and ethnocide in schools. The teacher could have the students split into certain groups, (choosing wisely the groups dependent on their individual reading levels) and have them read different books about genocide. Other books on this topic could be The Diary of Anne Frank, The Burning Tigris, Night, or Heart of Darkness. This would be an interesting way to compare and contrast, as well as discuss the key factors of genocide, with students.

 

References:

Lafreniere, Bree (2000). Music Through the Dark. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press

 

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