When Broken Glass Floats

Proverbs and wise sayings appear throughout the text. The central proverb is the book’s title, which comes from a Cambodian saying about “what happens when good and evil are thrown together in the river of life” (19). In this saying, good is represented by a type of squash, klok, and evil by armbaeg, broken glass. Chea explains that while it may appear as if evil is winning, eventually good always triumphs: “The good will win over the evil. Now, klok sinks, and broken glass floats. But armbaeg will not float long. Soon klok will float instead, and then the good will prevail” (19).

Athy relies on this proverb to survive the darkest days of the Khmer Rouge’s regime, the loss of her parents and siblings, and starvation and illness. It previews the text’s content, which describes this period of broken glass floating, the Khmer Rouge regime, and also previews Athy’s basic optimism. She believes that injustice cannot prevail, at least not for long, and is eventually proven right.

Other proverbs guide the story as well. Before the Khmer Rouge come to power, Athy’s parents warn her that there “comes a time when a grain of rice sticks on a dog’s tail, and everyone will fight for it” (51).