This is not a sign, it's a book

"Hand-Painted Signs of Kratie" is a descriptive if not imaginative title — but it's surprisingly interesting.

Anyone who has found himself staring at a unique sign in Cambodia would find something to like about this book. If nothing else, it will stir up memories of the bizarre commerce that has long since left the main streets of the West (hog stud services, anyone?).

Many of the signs are, of course, in Khmer. That's not as much a problem if you're illiterate in the language, because many of the signs are crafted for a populace that unfortunately has limited literacy skills.

That my wife is from Kratie and I have visited the area many times is an added bonus. Perhaps someday I'll be able to go on a sign tour and match the photos in the book with the real things. Assuming any of the originals remain.

It's available on Amazon and directly from the author.

What do you tell a toddler about genocide?

A Path of Stars by Anne Sibley O'Brien is a calm yet heart-wrenching story about a young Cambodian-American girl learning what her grandmother lost during the Khmer Rouge and watching her cope with the pain of losing what little connection she still had to her homeland.

Yet while the story flirts with sorrow and should bring a tear (or more) to the reader's eye, it does avoid any in-depth portrayal of the horrors that racked Cambodia during the 1970s. How can one tell a child about unbridled civil war and genocide and starvation? How can one tell a child what it means to never see a beloved brother again?

The illustrations are nebulous and warm, comforting almost, as the grandmother tells of her childhood and then the escape from her war-torn homeland.

The are a few minor caveats. The gender of the children's names seems confused. (Dara is traditionally a boy's name.) And the story is only in English and doesn't include Khmer. But the details are spot-on, down to the parents picking up Thai takeout when they don't want to cook.

Overall, this is an excellent storybook for parents who want to gently remind children that many people suffer from wounds that are not visible. Or perhaps to try to explain why their elders will forever be caught between two worlds.

In short, buy it.

Understanding the Khmer Rouge

Journalist Elizabeth Becker is in Phnom Penh to testify at the Khmer Rouge tribunal. She sat down with AFP reporter Michelle Fitzpatrick to talk about her brief and bizarre 1978 visit to Cambodia and interview with Pol Pot, just days before the regime was toppled by invading Vietnamese forces.

That Becker was granted a visa is somewhat remarkable since she had already published several critical pieces about the Khmer Rouge, based on the horror stories that were trickling in from Cambodian refugees.

“Do not presume they were all-seeing and all-wise,” Becker said about the Khmer Rouge leadership. “The one thing people keep forgetting is how incompetent these people were. They were cruel and ruthless and incompetent.”

The interview is on Andy Brouwer's blog and is well worth the read. Becker's book on the Khmer Rouge and the aftermath of the regime is required reading.