by Camron Wright
*Young Readers Edition*
Libby audiobook 7 hours
Read by: Emily Woo Zeller
Published: 2012 (this version 2022)
Genre: realistic fiction (Based on a true story!)
Oh my! Too bad this was an audiobook, because there were many, many, many places that I would have put down post-it notes if it were print! This book is amazing and definitely worth a re-read.
Sang Ly, her husband, and their ill toddler live in the garbage dump called Stung Meachey in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Right away, it reminded me of the YA book Trash by Andy Mulligan. Sometimes I need to get out of my comfort zone. People around the globe live in garbage dumps because they need to!
This entry will be short, because I didn't jot notes while I drove. The themes of literacy, hope, kindness, community . . . there's so much here!
One note I jotted is that "Hope died at the dump." It struck me that hope is more crucial for life than food or shelter. Hope makes all the difference!
Oh! The Khmer Rouge and the cultural revolution . . . there are too many parts of human history that I need to learn more about. This book is amazing.
<The above was written on 10.5.22. I just finished reading the print book on 2.22.23 . . . and when I checked my blog, I realized I had already read the print book in 2015! And blogged about it then.>
Furthermore, I was going to highly recommend this book to Ann for her book club. Funny! When I read it in 2015, it was a book had obtained from the library FOR Ann for her book club. I really, really, really like this book. I thought about putting it on my wish list so I could own a copy, but I'm working hard at decreasing my possessions, so that doesn't really make sense.
I put sixteen different post-it notes in the book this time around. Based on what I just read in that 2015 blog entry, I may work on being a bit more concise.
Page 3 - "'Remember, Sang Ly. When you find your purpose - and you will find your purpose - never let go. Peace is a product of both patience and persistence.'"
Grandfather is a huge part of Sang Ly's life and thought processes. I liked this line.
Page 47 - "In Cambodia, when parents get old, they move in with their children, who offer shelter, food, and happy grandchildren. It's the perfect retirement plan - as long as your children don't live at the city's municipal dump."
As I think about retirement and options, I sincerely hope to not be a burden to our children. It's interesting that in other cultures, it's an expectation that younger generations will care for their elders. I don't know what the future will bring, but I hope that my children don't have to take care of me.
Page 53 - The scene where Sang Ly is looking for letters on wrappers and such at the dump, then sounds out her first word ("samnang" = "luck") makes me smile. Her triumphant joy at realizing she has read her first word all by herself is exhilarating.
Page 67 - This is where Sang Ly hears her cousin Narin's recitation of the night time poem her mother used to say to her. Beautiful. And I love when Narin asks her to write down a copy that she can keep, even though she cannot read. So sweet!
Page 78 - "As the boy's words sink in, I comprehend the trembling, the fear, the child's tears. This stunningly innocent and beautiful girl of no more than twelve is going to be taken by her brother to the city's red-light district and be sold to a brothel as a child prostitute."
The fact that this is fiction, but also painfully true bothers me. I live in a world where young girls are sold and bought for sex. For some men, the younger the better. That disgusts me. And it makes me so sad for the girls whose lives are permanently affected by the greed and lust of others. I'm so glad that in this story, Maly is rescued by Lucky Fat, Sang Ly, her mother Lena, Sopeap Sin, and others.
Page 93 - "'Education is almost always good, especially when it brings us to an understanding of our place in the world."
Sopeap Sin is a very good teacher, even if there were some rough spots in their relationship.
Page 107 - "Words provide a voice to our deepest feelings. I tell you, words have started and stopped wars. Words have built and lost fortunes. Words have saved and taken lives. Words have won and lost great kingdoms."
Yes! Words are powerful. There are some great Scriptures about that, too.
Page 125 - As in my 2015 blog entry, I noted the variety of Cinderella story versions throughout the world. I love this! It fascinates me to see the similarities and differences in these stories. The story of Sarann is told in chapter 15 (pages 110-124 for the actual story). Sang Ly and Sopeap Sin talk about hope and the meaning of the story. "I believe the message of the story that we have just read anchors deeper than our doubts." Sopeap responds when Sang Ly asks if she still has hope. Their conversation after this gets even deeper. On page 127, Sopeap says, "We all want to be Sarann, to have hope for our future. While I also want to have my story end happily, there's a problem that keeps getting in my way - I wake up most days to find I'm just another ugly stepsister."
Page 130 - The leech. This whole scene. I'm 100% with Sang Ly on the reaction to a leech that she cannot pull off her ankle. I, too, would have freaked out and screamed bloody murder. She makes the observation, "In this life we all have our own phobias and fears." Yep. Spiders don't really bother me. But leeches? Cringe!
Page 161 - "'Besides,' she adds, 'I can't die yet. I'm just starting to like you.'"
Even though it's sad, it made me laugh. The transformation of Sopeap Sin and her occasional humor are delightful aspects of this story!
Page 174 - "Because I distance myself from heaven and then complain that heaven is distant."
Most people who are contradictory do not seem to recognize this, but Sopeap Sin is perfectly aware of what is holding her back. Sang Ly has asked her about what will happen when she dies and if she believes the ancestors are waiting for her.
Chapter 25 includes "The Epilogue" by Sopeap Sin. This tells her story during the revolution and how she became Sopeap Sin. It is beautiful and painful and powerful.
Page 220 - "Only later would I realize that there are no words harsh enough, no paragraphs wide enough, no books deep enough to convey the weight of true human sorrow."
I know I quoted this in my 2015 entry, but those words carry so much impact. For those of us who love words, to acknowledge that something is beyond expression is saying a lot. She mentions the horrors of the Holocaust and genocide during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, but her experiences during the Khmer Rouge brought home the horrors of suffering personally.
Page 260 - "As I near the base of the steps, adjacent to the front door, I find Ki asleep in a chair, still waiting. Of all the stories I have read about heroes, and all that I could ever read, of one thing I'm now certain - he is mine."
I love that she sees him as her hero! I love that she worked through her thoughts about Moby Dick, good and evil, right and wrong, throughout the story.
I enjoyed this story so much (again!) that I'm requesting other Camron Wright books from the library. Amazing author!
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