the book was harshly criticized by sody lay, co-founder of the khmer institute website, for historical inaccuracies and cultural inauthenticity. reflecting on this negative review in an article for the society for the study of the multi-ethnic literature of the united states, dr. bunkong tuon acknowledged the criticisms of sody lay's review, but defended ung's work. instead of dismissing ung's text outright, the article argued that scholars should read "first they killed my father" not to garner historical facts about the khmer rouge, but rather to experience its emotional truth and to consider its subjective, narrative gaps and fissures as a signifier of trauma and a testament to the destruction perpetrated by the khmer rouge.