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Music of the Ghosts
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
16 posts | 4 read | 25 to read
From the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of In the Shadow of the Banyan comes a novel about a young woman who returns to her homeland after receiving a letter from a mysterious man who claims to have known her father before he disappeared in the Cambodian holocaust. Teera, a thirty-seven-year-old American, returns to Cambodia for the first time after her harrowing escape as a child refugee more than two decades earlier. She carries back with her the ashes of her recently deceased aunt and a letter from a stranger who claims he knew her father in Slak Daek, the notorious Pol Pot security prison where her father disappeared. When she arrives, Teera finds a country of survivors, where perpetrators and victims of recent atrocities are finding a way to live side by side. She reacquaints herself with places that ignite long-buried memories, meets a young doctor who begins to open her heart to a new Cambodia, and prepares herself to learn her fathers fate from the author of the letter, known as the Old Musician. Now a half-blind elderly man who earns his keep by playing music at a temple, the Old Musician waits for Teeras visit, anticipating the confession he must make. He remembers his love for her mother, his admiration for her father, and the passion with which they all embraced the Khmer Rouges promise of a democratic society, embarking on a journey that ended in the horror chamber only he survived. Who can we forgive? What is justice? How do we atone? Together Teera and the Old Musician confront the truth of their intertwined past, weaving a redemptive melody that will leave both transformed, and freeing Teera to find a new home and a new love in the places she least expects.
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Trismegistus
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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I loved Ratner‘s first novel, In The Shadow of the Banyan. Such a poetic and beautifully written novel about a truly ugly period in Cambodia's history. I am expecting this novel to be just as moving.

2 likes1 stack add
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BiblioNyan
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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Today‘s book mail was a surprise present from Sir Betrothed!! These two have been on my #OwnVoices wish list since they came out last year. SO excited to finally have them!!

Music of the Ghosts is #OwnVoices Cambodian Literature & Salt Houses is #OwnVoices Palestinian Literature.

#diversebooks #asianlit #musicoftheghosts #salthouses #litsygram

JamieArc Ratner‘s previous novel was excellent. I hope this one is too! 6y
BiblioNyan @JamieArc I haven‘t read anything by her, but I‘ve heard phenomenal things about her writing! 6y
14 likes1 stack add2 comments
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BiblioNyan
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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Hey guys! Check out my mid-month diverse book haul for May! Most of these are new releases for 2017 that have been on my most anticipated book list. There's #OwnVoices Cambodian lit, Chinese lit, Korean lit, South Asian lit, & (my fav) Japanese lit.!! ❤️💛❤️

#bookhaul #litsygram #diversebooks #japaneselit #chineselit #indianlit #koreanlit #cambodianlit #sciencefiction #fantasy #fiction #yacontemporary

dylanisreading I'm curious to hear what you think of Ninefox and Battlemage! 7y
23 likes1 stack add1 comment
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MicheleinPhilly
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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Cinfhen Oh wow!!! So cool 😎 7y
AlaMich This sound awesome! 7y
61 likes5 stack adds2 comments
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Penny_LiteraryHoarders
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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What I'm "currently" reading - but distracted by 6 other books ? - is a book #setinsoutheastasia

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Rhondareads
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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An intriguing book by this wonderful author.The cover art is gorgeous drew me right in. @TouchstoneBooks

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Penny_LiteraryHoarders
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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The title of the book comes very early on. Fleeing Cambodia through the jungle, for the Thailand border, "Out here....there's only music of the ghosts."

Penny_LiteraryHoarders Oh boy that gets cropped too close eh? 🙁 Anyway, this quote appears at the ending of the Prelude. 7y
zsuzsanna_reads No matter, I added it to my TBR stack anyway. Thanks! 7y
Penny_LiteraryHoarders @zsuzsanna_reads great!! The writing is already sweeping me away and I'm on page 7. 😄 7y
28 likes3 comments
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Penny_LiteraryHoarders
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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What I'm reading now.

44 likes1 stack add
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Canadian.Reads
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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My first win from Good Reads I'm so excited!! Do not judge the Christmas tree still peaking out from around the corner. 😩😩😩... He swears it will be gone this weekend.

Suet624 I'm so happy you still have your tree up! 7y
sherryvdh Mine's still up too. I took all the decorations off, but I keep forgetting to fetch the box from the basement. At this point, I may as well make a Valentine's tree. Lol! 7y
Canadian.Reads @Suet624 I'm so ready to have it gone... It's shedding dead needles everywhere! 7y
Canadian.Reads @sherryvdh mine has also been decoration-less since new years but we are both avoiding making a dead needle mess which is only getting worse with time! 7y
12 likes4 comments
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Redjewel_7734
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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Pickpick

A story that broke my heart & rebuilt it with hope at the same time, it breathes with a beautiful lyricism that took my breath away & brought me fully into the brutality & despair that we humans inflict upon one another; it also helped me see & share in the hope & healing that we share & bring to one another. If you love a book that makes you walk that edge & sings to you of dreams & nightmares that are 2 sides of the same coin, read this.

55 likes2 stack adds
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Redjewel_7734
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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You know a book is good when it has you crying at work...

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Redjewel_7734
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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The things life is built on...in the face of current events and the weight of history, they can seem like such flimsy things, and yet if we pull together they are strong enough to be the foundation of the world...

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Redjewel_7734
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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Now that's a great description of writing!

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Redjewel_7734
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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Gorgeous little song from a father to his daughter! 💜💜💜

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MicheleinPhilly
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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My ARC haul from the hotel. It was such a lovely and unexpected gift! Seriously folks, the staff at the Library Hotel are 👌🏼.

Reviewsbylola Library Hotel?! 😳 7y
MicheleinPhilly @Reviewsbylola AKA The Most Magical Hotel on the Planet!!!! 7y
rachellayown Whoa, where is this magical place? 7y
See All 12 Comments
Emiller Library Hotel?? 😮😮 7y
saresmoore Very cool! 7y
Lynnsoprano Razzle Dazzle is excellent! And Library Hotel? Do tell. 😄 7y
ReadingEnvy So it was worth it? I've dreamed of staying there. Which room did you get? 7y
MicheleinPhilly @ReadingEnvy Completely worth it! The restaurant is fantastic. The Reading Room is open 24/7 and offers coffee, tea, and snacks. They also have a continental breakfast every morning and wine and cheese from 5-8 each night. All included in the price of your stay. For the non-readers😱there is a pretty extensive DVD selection for borrowing. 7y
ReadingEnvy @MicheleinPhilly sounds amaaaaazing 7y
Cinfhen What? This sounds like my version of THE MAGIC KINGDOM 😀where is this wonderful place??? 7y
MicheleinPhilly @Cinfhen New York! It is seriously the happiest place on Earth! IMO, anyway. ☺ 7y
LeahBergen Gah!! I want to stay there, too! 7y
58 likes12 comments
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Redjewel_7734
Music of the Ghosts | Vaddey Ratner
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Who among us does not bear the burden of survival? This quote made me think of this image that I always found haunting.

Well-ReadNeck ❤️ 7y
8 likes1 comment