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Year of the Rabbit

Drawn and Quarterly

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ISBN10: 1770463763
ISBN13: 9781770463769

Paperback

380 Pages

$29.95

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Year of the Rabbit tells the true story of one family’s desperate struggle to survive the murderous reign of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge seized power in the capital city of Phnom Penh. Immediately after declaring victory in the war, they set about evacuating the country’s major cities with the brutal ruthlessness and disregard for humanity that characterized the regime ultimately responsible for the deaths of one million citizens.

Cartoonist Tian Veasna was born just three days after the Khmer Rouge takeover, as his family set forth on the chaotic mass exodus from Phnom Penh. Year of the Rabbit is based on firsthand accounts, all told from the perspective of his parents and other close relatives. Stripped of any money or material possessions, Veasna’s family found themselves exiled to the barren countryside along with thousands of others, where food was scarce and brutal violence a constant threat.

Year of the Rabbit shows the reality of life in the work camps, where Veasna’s family bartered for goods, where children were instructed to spy on their parents, and where reading was proof positive of being a class traitor. Constantly on the edge of annihilation, they realized there was only one choice—they had to escape Cambodia and become refugees. Veasna has created a harrowing, deeply personal account of one of the twentieth century’s greatest tragedies.

Reviews

Praise for Year of the Rabbit

“A sense of dread pervades almost every panel.”Phnom Penh Post

“Tian shows how horror can become everyday . . . [Year of the Rabbit] vibrates with a thousand details that show the dogmatic absurdity of the executioners and the hope that can still survive in victims on the edge of the abyss.”Telerama

"Written and drawn with documentary precision, but also great sensitivity and tenderness. A triumph."Le Figaro