26 April 2006
The Gate
I tore through The Gate
, a riveting memoir, three or four years after I first read a review, somewhere. Accused of being a spy, Francois Bizot is the only known Westerner that the Khmer Rouge released from political prison in the chaos of Cambodia’s civil war. The details of his interactions with his Grand Inquisitor are unforgettable. Amazingly, after that ordeal Bizot stayed on in the country long enough to witness the fall of Phnom Penh to the rebels and accompany the remnant caravan from the French Embassy to the Thai border. As always in any ‘humanity at the edges’ experience, Bizot witnessed the best and worst we are all capable of and tells a tale that will haunt its readers.
, a riveting memoir, three or four years after I first read a review, somewhere. Accused of being a spy, Francois Bizot is the only known Westerner that the Khmer Rouge released from political prison in the chaos of Cambodia’s civil war. The details of his interactions with his Grand Inquisitor are unforgettable. Amazingly, after that ordeal Bizot stayed on in the country long enough to witness the fall of Phnom Penh to the rebels and accompany the remnant caravan from the French Embassy to the Thai border. As always in any ‘humanity at the edges’ experience, Bizot witnessed the best and worst we are all capable of and tells a tale that will haunt its readers.
