'In the Shadow of the Banyan is one of the most extraordinary and beautiful acts of storytelling I have ever encountered.... utterly heartbreaking and impossibly beautiful. There are some moments in this story that are among the most powerful in literature' (Chris Cleave, author of The Other Hand)

'In the Shadow of the Banyan is a truly important literary event'--Robert Olen Butler

'This stunning memorial expresses not just the terrors of the Khmer Rouge but also the beauty of what was lost. A hauntingly powerful novel imbued with the richness of old Cambodian lore, the devastation of monumental loss, and the spirit of survival' --Publishers Weekly, starred review

Vaddey Ratner was five years old when the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975. After four years, having endured forced labor, starvation, and near execution, she escaped while many of her family members perished. In 1981, she arrived in the U.S. as a refugee not knowing English and, in 1990, went on to graduate as her high school class valedictorian. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Cornell University, where she specialized in Southeast Asian history and literature. In recent years she traveled and lived in Cambodia and Southeast Asia, writing and researching, which culminated in her debut novel, In the Shadow of the Banyan. She lives in Potomac, Maryland.