Troubling the Water: A Dying Lake and a Vanishing World in Cambodia

Troubling the Water is a well-written, heartfelt, and engaging account of hardship in Cambodia. Seiff blends history and first-person narrative to give a 360-degree view of the context in which Cambodians and one particular lake exist. The book is unusual and puts the reader right in the center of the story. Beautifully done.

What a beautiful writer Abby Seiff is! This is a fascinating and troubling book about how our changing planet and culture is effecting so many who live their lives with the changing tides of a single lake in Cambodia. A dive into not only the existing people but also the history of how the river has supported and changed lives over hundreds of years.

As a semi-frequent visitor to Cambodia and the Mekong region of Vietnam, I had always heard talk of the inter-governmental squabbles regarding the Mekong and it's many tributaries. The book provided all of the context, complications, and tragic consequences that I had been wanted to learn more about.The writing was clear and journalistic, and filled with the voices of the Cambodian people most affected by this slowly unfolding tragedy. A quick and extremely informative read. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in Southeast Asia, climate change, or stories of human resilience.

Abby Seiff writes about the great lake and rivers that interconnect Cambodia in a sensitive, fluid style that beautifully mirrors her theme. So many of the problems facing the country today - the impact of climate change, hydropower dams, political corruption, deforestation, government-corporate land grabs, the legacy of colonialism and the Khmer Rouge, foreign aid failure, worker exploitation, and more - come together organically around the Tonle Sap lake in Seiff's short book, giving the reader a sense of the issues' interdependence and intractability.Seiff interweaves scenes of Cambodian fishers and their families, reported with the savvy of someone who has spent years working as a journalist in the country, with detailed research that helps her trace Cambodian aquatic traditions back generations and centuries. The beauty of the writing, her feeling for the people affected, the brilliance of the details - squirming baby crocodiles fated to become purses, a child on a pirogue with toes dipped in devastatingly low water, big fish swimming across the walls of Angkorian temples - and Seiff's comprehensive understanding of the subject matter, make for a highly fulfilling and enjoyable though also very sad read.Worthwhile whether you know little or a lot about Cambodia!