TUE 20 | Cambodia and the United Nations finally agreed to a framework to try those most responsible for Khmer Rouge crimes after more than a decade of political negotiations. The first case was as obvious as it was easy: Kaing Guek Eav, aka Duch, the notorious torturer behind the Tuol Sleng security centre. French author Thierry Cruvellier spent every day of Duch’s trial at the Extraordinary Chambers watching the case unfold. His resulting book, The Master of Confessions: The Making of a Khmer Rouge Torturer, is among the best tombs ever written on the subject. Wayne McCallum, writing in the Advisor, gave this description of Cruvellier’s account: “Eloquently written, artful and insightful – sometimes even amusing – Cruvellier’s volume does a persuasive job of bringing the many threads of Duch’s past, his trial and the tales of countless others (victims, survivors, colleagues, expert witnesses, legal counsels) together, keeping the reader mesmerised. The result is a book that reads like a novel, but never compromises the memories of the people captured between its pages.”
WHO: Thierry Cruvellier, author of The Master of Confessions
WHAT: Book signing and author discussion
WHERE: Meta House, #37 Sothearos
WHEN: January 20, 8pm
WHY: Everything you ever wanted to know about a Khmer Rouge executioner