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Rating:  Summary: There's Just Something Missing... Review: "The Gate" is a true life tale of someone with a close-up view on the precursor to one of the world's most horrific events, the assumption of power by the Khmer Rouge Party in Cambodia in 1975. The author, Frenchman Francois Bizot, lived in Cambodia in the early 1970's and was briefly detained by the Khmer Rouge before being released - purportedly the only westerner to receieve such a release. After his release, Bizot relates how he became a major player in the negotiations between the Khmer Rouge and the French diplomatic mission in Phnom Penh for essentially safe conduct out of Cambodia for most of the westerners remaining in the country at that time.
Ordinarily, this is the type of story that would just be amazing; indeed, two of the three stars I give in my rating are mostly for the story alone. In a setting where just to survive was exceedingly rare, rarer still is the kind of picture Bizot has the potential to paint -- a close look at the captor and captive, doomed and fated to be freed, side by side. If you are looking for a general history of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, this book isn't it. But if you are looking for a more intimate portrait of what happened under the Khmer Rouge (at least at the ascendency of their power), then "The Gate" will intrigue you.
At the end of the day, however, "The Gate" is lacking in both heart and serious reflection. It would seem silly to say this about a book in which a person describes what might have been the most horrific time in his life. Unfortunately, Bizot's descriptions simply don't go far enough. The absence of introspection in this book -- to go along with a measure of self-aggrandizement and political pontificiation -- turns what could have been a seminal read into a merely interesting one.
One example that bears repeating throughout these reviews that Bizot provides little detail about the unnamed person ambiguously and variously described as his "wife", "the mother of [his] daugher", and "the mother of the blond girl." One would think that such a person deserves at least a name, if not at least a single paragraph as to her fate; this woman gets neither. Interestingly, Bizot mentions the fact that several married French men living in Cambodia sometimes took and even married Cambodian lovers; he even goes so far as to detail the scene of one Frechman giving his Cambodian wife over to certain death for the simple reason that the the Frenchman would not tell the Khmer Rouge authorities that he was married to the Cambodian woman, the man's French wife back in France notwithstanding. It would not be far-fetched to read into the text that this scene was about Bizot himself, which would provide an explanation about what happened to his "wife" and why he does not (or perhaps cannot) even refer to her by name.
Bizot heaps scorn on the U.S. for the "naivete" of its foreign policy in Southeast Asia, yet he has no such contempt for his own naivete when leaving his friend and a co-worker in a prison camp to die after his own release is won. Rather than take any concrete action, Bizot simply requests that the Khmer Rouge leaders promise him that his friend and co-worker will eventually be released. Despite having first-hand knowledge of the Khmer Rouge's brutal practices, Bizot walks out on his friends satisfied that the Khmer Rouge will honor the Frenchman's request. Many years later, it is a shock only to Bizot -- not to the reader -- that the friend and co-worker were executed shortly after Bizot left the camp. What more could Bizot have done, I don't know. But to leave happy with what was essentially a "pinkie promise" with the Khmer Rouge is nothing about which to be pleased.
Bizot also notably leaves out any discussion of France's own culpability in bringing the Khmer Rouge to power. Bizot makes no mention about the abuses suffered by southeast asians at the hands of their French colonial masters in French Indochina, or how the French essentially abandoned the entire region after being defeated by the Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu. Rather, the entirety of the problems in the region are once again set at the feet of the Americans, although Bizot is thoughtful enough to note that his native servants are overjoyed to see him upon his return from the prison camp. I know this isn't supposed to be a comprehensive history of southeast asia, but if you're going to talk about the causes of the problem -- as Bizot does -- then let's talk about all of them.
And that, perhaps, is the greatest failing of this book -- it is simply inconsistent. There is not enough detail where the reader wants it the most, which is in how Bizot's experiences affected him personally. I'm not going to even describe the "cold soup incident", which is so shallow as to be laughable. Where there is great detail -- such as in some of the conversations that Bizot allegedly had with his captor and later the Khmer Rouge leadership -- there is so much as to strain credibility. Bizot himself admits that these dialogues are not verbatim but, rather, designed to give the reader the "gist" of what was said. Bizot, however, simply goes overboard and often ends up detracting from the power of the what is being said through sheer verbosity.
I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for something in this book - a lesson, a moral, a feeling, I don't know - something. It never comes. I hope it did for Bizot.
Rating:  Summary: Le Carre may have exaggerated, however... Review: ....there is certainly much to admire and enjoy in this front-row seat to a time of unspeakable barbarism too often forgotten.
Bizot's obeservations of life among his captors offers a rare look into the psyche of figures like Douche (the Tuol Sleng prison director). This perspective is much more intimate than a broad historical perspective some felt his narrative lacked. Indeed this is exactly how many of us would have seen or experienced such history had we been as unfortunate as Bizot.
Bizot also offers the reader a romantic view of the land and people of Cambodia. At times the words almost rise to level of prose (translation issues aside). Any who have visited this beautiful country will certainly appreciate the deserved praise for its beauty.
It must be noted however, that the quality of writing seems to fluctuate as (perhaps) Bizot's own interest in the story changed. The title image of the Gate was discarded entirely after the first chapter; a missed opportunity to tie together the books loose ends (where was the editor?). And the curious relationship with his daughter's mother (his wife?) begs for explanation.
Le Carre exaggerated in calling this book a classic. Yet despite its failings, a reader with some knowledge of the period, and an appreciation of a romantic and decidedly French point of view, will not be dissapointed.
Rating:  Summary: Classic, but.. Review: As LeCare said: "a rare thing, a new classic. A fascinating view into the psyche of the victims of an absolutely totalitarian regime. My problem: the translation is so poor, you can see or feel the French original behind English sentences so convoluted that you have to reread them to decipher the meaning. The translator's French is probably impecable but not his/her English. A pitty as it obscures the message that should be as clear as it is important.
Rating:  Summary: Pathetic and Self-Serving Review: Francois Bizot's "The Gate" is more a story of Bizot's inaccurate and self-serving portrait of himself as a selfless hero than a story of the true tragedy that was the Cambodian Holocaust ... of which he was involved in only a small and insignificant way. The story revolves around two encounters he experienced with leaders of the Khmer Rouge during his initial capture and later during the evacuation of the French embassy in Phnom Penh.In his interactions with his captors, he portrays himself as a skillful manipulator and negotiator, when in fact he was merely a fortunate foreign survivor in the path of a tragic era in Cambodian history. Bizot, in fact, seemed to have little or no control over any of the events surrounding him or even his own destiny ... and was more a patsy of the Cambodians than the master manipulator he purports to be in this work. While innocent Cambodians were being murdered, worked to death, and betrayed by their own family and friends ... Bizot complains about his own trivial personal deprivations, such as being forced to eat cold soup. His narrative evokes very little sympathy for his plight ... and he ultimately comes across in the work as an arrogant French colonial who suffered through a shortage of cognac while his idyllic colonial lifestyle came to a sudden end. The irony of the story is that Bizot saves noone but himself and then bemoans the suffering of the Cambodian people that he did so little to alleviate. This book says little of value in regards to the triumph of the human spirit, the bravery of an individual through adversity, or the depths of the human soul. It is a story of a victim, like so many other victims of the Cambodian Holocaust, who was swept forward in the tides of the bloody revolution of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. Spare yourself the agony of suffering through this text ... there are many other books written by or about the Cambodian people who truly lived through this tragedy and deserve to be heard, as opposed to a Westerner's self-serving reflections on his loss of a Cambodia that better suited his fancy.
Rating:  Summary: Outstanding, yet terrifying Review: In 1971, on a routine outing Francois Bizot, a young French ethnologist, was captured by the Khmer Rouge.
Founded during the 1950s, the Khmer Rouge became infamous for their ruthless guerilla fight against the Lon Nol regime and their murder of more than two million people during their 1975-79 rule. Forced out of power in 1979 by the Vietnamese invasion the Khmer Rouge survived the 1980s with the help of Thailand and the USA - that other `victim' of a Vietnamese war. Following the Paris Agreement in 1991, it began to fade and following the death of Pol Pot in 1998 it collapsed.
The guerilla war was in full swing when Bizot was captured in 1971. By (perhaps) speaking Khmer and sheer luck he survived his captor, Douch, and the camp. His survival is virtually unique. If you feel that his description at times sounds surprisingly human, I suggest you refer to the Epilogue, which describes the fight within the Khmer leadership over Bizot and the price paid for his release.
In 1975, Bizot became the Gate between the French Embassy and the Khmer Rouge leadership. Through his eyes you will witness the final days of the inhabitants of Phnom Penh, the evacuation of the Cambodians from the French Embassy and the tragedies of the overland trip to the Thai border.
Re-visiting Douch in 2000 and the places of his capture helped Bizot to finally shut the Gate.
I picked up this book by chance. Once I started reading I never put it down again until I finished. The way the story is told will force you to read right to the very end. I have never read a more gripping yet terrifying account of the final days of Phnom Penh. You won't be able to put it down either once you start reading it.
Rating:  Summary: Pathetic and Self-Serving Review: In many instances, I found Bizot's narrative compelling, and there are some very stirring moments throughout the book. However, as a story on a whole, I felt that there were too many gaps. For starters, there was not a beginning. We jump straight into Bizot's first encounter with the Viet Cong, without a peep on the background of who he was, why he was there, or even who he was with. He seemed totally infatuated with 'Douche', to the point where the book lost crediblity. He must have a great memory to recall those long dialogues thirty years later. Then as sudden it is five years later. More holes. His description of his time in the capital is intriguing, but again there are too many loose ends that were not wrapped up. Even after the convoy to Thailand, there was only mention in passing of what happened to just a few of the characters we meet in the book. Kampuchea in the Khmer period can fill a thousand books with engrossing material, and that is the strength of this book as well. I would nonetheless state that this book is worth reading. Still, when I finished the last page, I couldn't help but feel that the story was not completed.
Rating:  Summary: No more sunsets...PLEASE Review: The bottom line is Francois Bizot's book is certainly no classic, as Le Carre would like us to believe. First of all, Bizot makes the gross faux pas of assuming the reader understands the complexities of the politics of Cambodia and neighboring countries during the late 60's and throughout the seventies. He passes up a great opportunity to give his story some historical meat by not explaining more to us. I was hoping to glean insight as I don't know much about Cambodia. He doesn't teach us much and he jumps around a lot. For someone who cares so much about his daughter he ships her off to France, passing on his own chance to step up to the plate and be personally responsible for her after having already been through a personal hell with the Khmer Rouge. Unfortunately he seems to be using her as a muse...an innocent face in the wind...almost poetic....Shameful. If he is going to use her this way he should have given us more. His wife...girlfriend...shack-up Cambodian woman(??) doesn't even get a name for crying out loud! She has to go marching off seperately to some other place. Where? Who was she?? But why is Bizot still there?! Well, I'll tell you.....Bizot actually has the audacity to stick around for more action! Give me a break. He is a scholar of pottery and religion, not a politician or journalist. Was he to stay behind to pack up the sacred history books? After what he had been through he would have been telling his contemporaries to go take a flying leap--or packed them more efficiently. He is, in a word, arrogant. For example: Why does he spend several paragraphs ranting about cold soup? Who cares?! He might as well be telling the world the ambassador and his wife were a-holes. More shame. I was convinced by the book flap that this would be quite a read....Le Carre practically made me weep in his introduction. But what a let down! Bizot didn't "escape"....he was only a prisoner for three months, after which he was freed with all of his belongings, including money, intact. The Khmer Rouge also did his bidding for him and gave him special requests! Hey, that can't be fun being a prisoner, but at least the guy got to bathe, intimidate the gaurds, walk around shackle-free after whining about it, got two meals of rice a day...and they had a couple of small feasts to celebrate --with his captors--his freedom. Hardly horrific. Terry Andersen's ordeal by comparison makes this seem like a trip to Disney Land! Bizot seems to be taking a lot of credit for, well...not much. It was like..."Hey, look at me! Look what I got to be a part of!," and rather than come across as enlightening during the psuedo-philosophical dialogue between Douch and himself, (remembered so vividly thirty years later--as if!!) he comes across as pretentious and condescending. Sounded like a fairy-tale to me. More like a memoir to remind himself he was both lucky enough AND unlucky enough to directly experience a gruesome part of history--to get special attention from his peers?. If I ever read as many poetic descriptions of the sun setting over Cambodia again I'm going to barf.
Rating:  Summary: Beautiful first half - second half wasn't as engrossing Review: The story of Bizot's internment in the camp, and his conversation's with Douch, are incredibly vivid and take one as far as it probably possible to go into the mind of a committed revolutionary, to try to understand how it's possible for a man who is by no means sadistic or insane to commit acts of torture and genocide. The other reviews are right: this is not the book to read if one wants an overview of the Khmer Rouge years - other than a timeline and some assorted details, you don't get much - but it is valuable for shedding a great deal of light on the ideological foundations of the revolutionaries and the ensuing massacres. I'm not sure why some people seem to praise Le Carre's introduction independent of the book: unless he has some other motive, it seems strange that a man would have the intelligence to write a good introduction but lack the acuity to actually know what a good book is. Le Carre mentions Bizot remoteness in real life, and this distancing really extended to the memoir as well - although the book is filled with a great deal of conviction and sadness, I always got the feeling that the author was holding his cards close to his chest. His then-wife keeps getting mentioned sporadically, but despite his repeated desire to see her again, we never get to know her or understand her importance to his life: the same for his daughter Helene. We find out more about random holdouts in the embassy than we do about them, which is strange for two people who are supposedly such a huge part of his life. You never really feel like the writer is telling you everything. The second part of the book is still well-written, but something of a mess. Lacking the twin poles of the narrator and Douch, his captor in the camp, which anchor the first part of the memoir, the book starts getting spread too thin. Hundreds of characters seem to emerge and disappear - too many horrific events take place for any of them to have the necessary impact, which is of course part of the impossibility of doing justice to any mass tragedy.
Rating:  Summary: Truthful and Insightful Review: This historical autobiography offers a truthful and insightful view into the development of the Khmer ROuge in CAmbodia during the early 1970s. Having spent 2 years researching the American influence on CAmbodia during this time, i can conclude that the book is accurate as far as history is concerned. The criticisms on the US invasion are correct, as without US intervention the Khmer ROuge would have been unable to come to power. The continued air bombardments alienated the peasants, whilst the indiscipline of the US backed Lon Nol army turned the all important peasants (making up 90% of the population) against the Lon Nol government and for the Khmer Rouge. Bizot accurately displays Douch as saying that "Sihanouk is just a symbol" as indeed this was the case. Through this historically accurate autobiography, a compelling experience is revealed. To which degree this experience is accurate, i cannot answer. Yet historically, this book offers a lot to the reader and is worth a read.
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