This is a graphic biography of Vann Nath, a Cambodian painter. Nath used his art to fight against the tyranny of the Khmer Rouge. In 1978, the young painter was arrested by the Khmer Rouge, the violent and totalitarian Communist Party of Kampuchea that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Imprisoned in the infamous Tuol Sleng prison, better known as S-21, painting became synonymous with survival for him. Ordered, like many Cambodian artists and craftsmen, to put his talent to use to glorify his captors, upon his release he continued painting, this time, to remember and pay tribute to the victims of Pol Pot's regime. The only reason that he survived is because the man running the prison needed someone to paint of portrait of their supreme leader, Pol Pot. Nath became the most celebrated survivor of the prison. He died in 2011.

I learned much from this book. I knew that the Khmer Rouge were brutal but had never read about any specifics from their reign of terror. Vann Nath's graphic depictions of the torture he experienced in S21, which he painted after his release, brought it to life. The story is unsavory but sometimes the truth is brutal. At the back of the book are copies of the paintings Nath painted for the regime during his incarceration. I like his style and wonder what subjects he would have painted if his life had not been so difficult.

If you love history, you should read this book. 5 out of 5 stars. ( )

I'm often frustrated by biographies that fail to fully tell you about the subject, and this one is even more vague than usual.

Not a single character even gets named until page 33. The protagonist doesn't get named until page 37, and even then he's actually called "Heng Nath" with no indication ever in the book of when or why he eventually becomes known as Vann Nath. And -- because sexism? -- not a single woman, including the protagonist's wife who appears in several scenes is named even once. My google search says she is Kith Eng, by the way, because I feel someone ought to name her somewhere in connection with this book.

Heng/Vann Nath is swooped up in the mass arrests by the Khmer Rouge and tortured and put in a prison with horrible conditions. But then, without any explanation, he is selected by the prison director to make paintings of Pol Pot. Eventually, and again with no explanation, he is released from the prison even though all but a half dozen of its 20,000 inmates were executed. He goes on to paint pictures about the experience and testify against those who ran the prison when they are brought to justice by the next government.

If you are not familiar with the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian genocide you will be lost here. And that's a shame, because it is a story that needs to be known and Vann Nath obviously played an important role in bringing the details to light. Too bad the creators of this dramtization couldn't be bothered with details.

If you want a graphic novel on the subject, I recommend first trying Year of the Rabbit by Tian Veasna. ( )

graphic nonfiction - history/biography ( )