The King's Last Song [Paperback]

In this novel, Geoff Ryman moves between the 12th century life and times of Cambodia's King Jayavarman VII (c 1120 - c1215) and the 20th/21st century lives of Luc, Map and William. When archaeologists discover an ancient book written on gold leaves at Angkor Wat, everyone wants to be involved.

`The gold leaves have slept for a thousand years.'

The precious artefact is stolen and its guardian, Professor Luc Andrade is kidnapped with it. The search for Luc and the precious book brings together a number of people, including the young motoboy William, and the ex-Khmer Rouge cadre Map both of whom are also victims of Cambodia's recent history. The book itself contains the wisdom of King Jayavarman VII, the Buddhist ruler who, through uniting a war-torn Cambodia in the 12th century, was able to create a kingdom that was a relative haven of prosperity and learning.

This is one of the best novels I have read this year. The mystery surrounding the book, the contrasts and similarities of Cambodia across the centuries and the urgency of the mission to find Luc are brought together very well. The sense of history, the desolation of war and the dislocation of lives is also handled well, and many of the characters are finely drawn.

For me, the love and respect of Professor Luc Andrade and King Jayavarman VII for Cambodia is the central theme that unites the two major threads of the novel. Each of them, by looking to a brighter future, can see a hope for Cambodia that cannot have been apparent to most living through the turmoil in either century. This novel will stay with me a long time, and has awakened a desire to learn more about Cambodia both past and present.

'They walked into night and a different history.'

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

When I first heard about The King's Last Song, I immediately knew that I wanted to read it. I love learning about other cultures and histories through my fiction reading, and Cambodia is a place I don't know much about. Plus, the description of the book lists Angkor Wat as a major locale in the novel - Angkor Wat is one of my top "places to see." It was originally built as a Hindu temple complex in the jungles of Cambodia and was later abandoned. I think it's one of the most beautiful structures I've ever seen on paper and would love to visit it one day.

In order to appreciate the novel, it is necessary to have a very basic understanding of recent Cambodian history. Cambodia was occupied by the French for over a century and was secretly bombed by the United States during the Vietnam War. When it finally achieved its freedom from France, the Khmer Rouge took over under Pol Pot and ended up murdering about 1/5 of the country's population in just four years. It still hasn't recovered from this tragedy.

This is the backdrop for The King's Last Song. It takes the reader through ancient Cambodian history as well as present-day Cambodia, in which we are able to witness the scars left on the country. While the novel is slow, it is full of details and very rich in history. Anyone interested in learning more about Cambodia should pick this novel up immediately.

The most beautiful aspect of the novel is the tribute within it to Cambodia. It is a torn country that still hasn't fully healed from the ghosts of its past. The people are tired of war, though many have known nothing else during their long, exhausted lives. The author obviously has a great affection for Cambodia and The King's Last Song is his attempt to tell its story to the larger world. However, it's not just a tribute to the past; inside the novel is contained hopes for its future, for peace and prosperity.

One of the things I appreciated most about the novel was the extended afterword in the back of the book. In it, Ryman painstakingly takes the reader through the historical accuracies of his novel. As an avid historical fiction reader, I can't help but be very grateful to him for his efforts in this area. It is always frustrating not to be aware of what is true and what is the author's conjecture when reading historical fiction; in this case, that isn't a problem.

I really enjoyed reading The King's Last Song. It is richly layered, comparing past and present day Cambodia and is full of details and tidbits about Cambodian life that any reader will enjoy. It's definitely piqued my interest in the country and I will be trying to find more books about it in the future.

This is a very interesting book: a look at Cambodia past and present, and the repetitive, recurring nature of its troubles. The discovery of King Jayavarman's gold leaf memoirs should be a great thing for Cambodia, but it is stolen and some of the recent conflicts come back to the surface. I especially enjoyed reading about Luc with the texts (some of which are shown in the book) and the historical scenes of Jayavarman's life. All the characters, Kings to moto-boys, are portrayed with a raw, real sympathy that makes understanding easy. Most importantly, Ryman is not a blundering white man writing about an exotic land; he is careful and considerate, and this book is a pleasure (though sometimes difficult, because of its subject) to read. The pace sometimes slows too much, such as the long story of Map's past, but it retained my interest throughout.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in a part of the world that receives little coverage in Western media or literature.

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