This โaffecting novel filled with sorrow and a tender, poignant optimismโ (USA TODAY) from New York Times bestselling author Vaddey Ratner reveals โthe endless ways that families can be forged and broken hearts heldโ (Chicago Tribune) as a young woman begins an odyssey to discover the truth about her missing father.
Leaving the safety of America, Teera returns to Cambodia for the first time since her harrowing escape as a child refugee. She carries a letter from a man who mysteriously signs himself as โthe Old Musicianโ and claims to have known her father in the Khmer Rouge prison where he disappeared twenty-five years ago.
In Phnom Penh, Teera finds a society still in turmoil, where perpetrators and survivors of unfathomable violence live side by side, striving to mend their still beloved country. She meets a young doctor who begins to open her heart, confronts her long-buried memories, and prepares to learn her fatherโs fate.
Meanwhile, the Old Musician, who earns his modest keep playing ceremonial music at a temple, awaits Teeraโs visit. He will have to confess the bonds he shared with her parents, the passion with which they all embraced the Khmer Rougeโs illusory promise of a democratic society, and the truth about her fatherโs end.
A love story for things lost and restored, a lyrical hymn to the power of forgiveness, Music of the Ghosts is a โsensitive portrait of the inheritance of survivalโ (USA TODAY) and a journey through the embattled geography of the heart where love can be reborn.