ความสุขของกะทิ

ความสุขของกะทิ #1

by งามพรรณ เวชชาชีวะ

Nine-year-old Kati has always lived with her grandparents in the house by the river. Every day she goes to school, brings offerings to the monks, and plays with Tong, the abbot's nephew. She is happy enough, but something -- someone -- is missing.

Kati has not seen her mother for nearly five years, and no one will tell her where she is, until the day she receives some shocking news from Grandmother: Her mother is very ill with Lou Gehrig's disease and has suffered from it for many years. Would Kati like to go see her?

And so Kati travels to the house by the sea to spend the last weeks of her mother's life with her. There she learns the reason why her mother gave her up and also finds that she has a decision...to meet the father she's never known.

A singular story of love, hope, and renewal, set against the lushly exotic background of Thailand, The Happiness of Kati is a profoundly touching novel that reminds us of how very brave, and very wise, children can be.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary, Asia, Middle Grade, Literature, School

Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

งามพรรณ เวชชาชีวะ เป็นบุตรของ ศาสตราจารย์ นายแพทย์อรรถสิทธิ์ และ ศาสตราจารย์ แพทย์หญิงสดใส เวชชาชีวะ เริ่มการศึกษาระดับอนุบาลที่โรงเรียนอนุบาลยุคลธร และศึกษาต่อระดับประถมที่โรงเรียนกุมารีการุณย์ และโรงเรียนสามมิตร จบการศึกษาะดับมัธยมต้นและมัธยมปลายจากโรงเรียนสตรีจุลนาคและโรงเรียนศรีวิกรมตามลำดับ

เมื่อ พ.ศ. 2524 สอบเข้าศึกษาในคณะศิลปศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์เป็นที่หนึ่งของคณะและได้รับทุนภูมิพล จบการศึกษาระดับปริญญาตรี เอกวิชาภาษาฝรั่งเศส (เกียรตินิยมอันดับหนึ่ง) พ.ศ. 2528 ก่อนไปศึกษาต่อที่โรงเรียนล่ามและแปลของรัฐบาลเบลเยี่ยม ณ กรุงบรัสเซลล์ พ.ศ. 2530 ได้รับประกาศนียบัตรการแปลชั้นสูง (ฝรั่งเศส – อังกฤษ – อิตาเลียน) จากโรงเรียนล่ามและการแปลของรัฐบาลเบลเยียม กรุงบรัสเซลส์

การ ทำงาน เริ่มการทำงานในตำแหน่งเจ้าหน้าที่การแปล ของบริษัท มีเดียโฟกัส ก่อนจะมาเป็นเจ้าของและบรรณาธิการนิตยสารเพื่อนใหม่ นิตยสารสำหรับเด็กก่อนวัยรุ่น ปัจจุบันเป็นกรรมการผู้จัดการบริษัท ซิลค์โรด พับลิเชอร์ เอเยนซี จำกัด ซึ่งเป็นบริษัทตัวแทนลิขสิทธิ์วรรณกรรมให้กับนักเขียนและสำนักพิมพ์ทั่วโลก เป็นผู้บรรยายพิเศษด้านการแปลและเรื่องลิขสิทธิ์ ให้กับมหาวิทยาลัยต่างๆ และเป็นกรรมการตัดสินการประกวดนิทานและเรื่องแต่งสำหรับเยาวชน

เป็น ที่รู้จักดีในฐานะนักแปล มีผลงานแปลต่อเนื่องมานานทั้งจากภาษาอังกฤษ ภาษาฝรั่งเศส และภาษาอิตาเลียน ตีพิมพ์มาแล้วมากกว่า 20 เรื่อง อาทิ ภิกษุกับนักปรัชญา, คู่มือธุรกิจลิขสิทธิ์, ด้วยรักและช็อกโกแลต, แฮร์รี่ พอตเตอร์กับถ้วยอัคนี, หนึ่งปีแสนสุขในโปรวองซ์, แสนสุขเสมอในโปรวองซ์, มาตาปารี เด็กชายจ

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually originally read Jane Vejjajiva's 2003 middle grade novel The Happiness of Kati in May 2010 (and I of course was reading Prudence Borthwick's English translation of Vejjaiva's Thai original). But I unfortunately never managed to write a review in 2010 (and then I in fact totally forgot about the book until a few weeks ago when I came across a copy of The Happiness of Kati while sorting through a few of my over-filled bookshelves). And yes indeed, the one main reason why I did not write a review for The Happiness of Kati upon my first perusal is that Jane Vejjajiva's (and by extension bien sûr also Prudence Borthwick's) presented text, that The Happiness of Kati leaves me as a reader (both my adult self and also my so-called inner child) rather majorly conflicted with regard to personal reading pleasure and accepting Kati's story as something to not find a bit overly depressing and also rather infuriating in some and yes even many story places.

For while I definitely appreciate that The Happiness of Kati has as its main theme ALS and how devastating and far-reaching a diagnosis of ALS is, and that Jane Vejjajiva's (Prudence Borthwick’s) poetic words and her descriptions of Thai culture, food and geography totally do shine (and yes, even though there also is quite a bit of textual distancing taking place in The Happiness of Kati, a distancing that as an adult, I find unproblematic and even intriguing, but which my inner child kind of resents a trifle due to its lack of emotional intensity), I certainly do remember feeling both anger and frustration at Kati's mother's decision to basically totally abandon the care of her daughter to her parents due to her diagnosis of ALS. But actually, it is not so much that Kati’s mother asks the grandparents to take her daughter in and become her main caregivers when her ALS symptoms become a possible danger to her young daughter which makes me so very furious (as this actually makes common sense), but rather that Kati is in fact (and in my humble opinion) totally being cast aside by her mother (and with no chance of input on her part), that in the grandparents’ house, no one talks about Kati’s mother, there are no pictures of her present and that even though it is clearly shown in The Happiness of Kati that Kati hugely misses her mother, she is obviously not really allowed to ever openly voice this, to ask questions about her mother and why she is absent.

And no, that Kati is in fact able to visit with her mother and spend time with her before she dies of ALS, well, this does not change the fact that I really have a huge amount of issues that for and to me, the mother’s choice to totally remove herself from her daughter, from Kati is depicted with no criticism whatsoever, that The Happiness of Kati shows no censure whatsoever regarding the mother, and that sorry, even though I do understand why the mother has decided to completely stay away from her daughter, I do not accept that such a total and all encompassing cutting of ties is acceptable and even appropriate.

Finally, I also have to say that while I appreciate the ending of The Happiness of Kati and Kati being given the personal choice (by her dying mother but textually of course by the author) whether or not to contact her biological father in England, considering that Kati is only nine years old, I do wonder if she is in fact mature enough to make the choice she decides upon and that she might in fact regret her decision later (when she is older).

Three stars for The Happiness of Kati, and for me, there is definitely a bit of a conflict between the lyrical descriptiveness of Jane Vejjajiva’s/Prudence Borthwick’s text and the actual thematics and contents of Kati’s story.

[Stephanie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kati is a little girl being raised by her grandparents. She has vague memories of her mother, who left when Kati was four. Life with her grandparents is pretty idyllic, even when they pretend to be cross with each other! Until one day, Kati is asked, “Would you like to go see your Mummy?” And events begin to happen that Kati never imagined, some pleasant, others very sad…
A short, rather sparsely written story, intended for younger readers.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nine year old Kati lives with her Grandma and Grandpa in a house on the water. Quite unexpectedly Grandma asked Kati one day if she would like to see her Mother. They travel to a house on the sea where her Mother is sick, dying from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig's disease. As her mother gets sicker Kati learns about her mother, about why she left her when she was young. Kati finds strength in her mother's life and her family as she copes with the loss of the person she loves most in the world.

This is a moving story originally published in Thai and set in Thailand. It deals with the real emotions of losing a parent to a disease and the grace which which Kati deal with the loss it haunting. This would be a wonderful book for any child who has lost a parent.

[Paul Ataua · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but touching story beautifully written. Maybe living here in Thailand helped me appreciate the simplicity and warmth of the everyday life of the story, and having a friend presently undergoing the later stages of ALS allowed me some insight into the feelings displayed. I also loved the drawings. Sweet!

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very hard for me to rate. I could have just as easily given it 3 stars as 4, so I guess that means 3 ½ stars, or thereabouts.

This is the story of Kati, 9 years old, who lives with relatives and who hasn’t seen her mother for several years, but hasn’t been told why. As the story progresses, circumstances change and Kati finds out a lot of information. The events take place in 3 locations in Thailand.

The writing style is very poetic, but it also sort of distanced me from the emotions in the story, and some of the feelings rang slightly false. I don’t want to say which because I don’t want to give away too much about the story. There are some wonderful and amazingly vivid descriptions of food and flowers and living by the water.

Each chapter has subtitles that don’t reflect the content of the chapters but tell their own back-story.

I loved how Kati’s decision was revealed; I would have really appreciated it when I was young. Kati’s mother’s original decision angered me because in my mind there was a far superior and better choice, but a couple of things Kati’s mother did (the room, the letter) I just loved. I really adored grandpa for the way he relates to Kati, and in giving her some control (other family members do too actually) and particularly for his sly sense of humor. Most of the characters are interesting.

In the author’s bio section on the inside back cover, the reader is told that the author’s father is a doctor who researches ALS and that he asked his daughter, who lives in Bangkok, Thailand, to write about Asian people suffering from the illness. In this book she did that.

This book could be read in one sitting and I think I’d have appreciated it more if I had done that, or if I’d done it in just 3 sittings, as there are 3 parts to the book. To pick up and put down as frequently as I did isn’t ideal. It’s a very short novel and a very quick read.

[Srisurang · Rating 3 out of 5]

อ่านไปก็น้ำตาซึมไปด้วย ภาษาสวยงาม บรรยากาศละเมียดละไมดี แต่อ่านจบแล้วรู้สึกอยากเปลี่ยนชื่อเรื่อง เป็นความทุกข์ของกะทิอะ เพราะโทนเศร้ามากกว่าสุข 555

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's probably not all that surprising that those oft-quoted lines from Wordsworth's My Lost Youth kept running through my mind as I read this slender children's novel from Thailand: "There are things of which I may not speak; / There are dreams that cannot die; / There are thoughts that make the strong heart weak, / And bring a pallor into the cheek, / And a mist before the eye." This is, after all, the story of a young girl, the eponymous Kati, who lives surrounded by unasked questions, unspoken realities, and a longing that is all the fiercer for its silence.

"Mother never promised to return." / "Kati waited every day for Mother." / "In the house there were no photos of Mother." / "No one ever spoke of Mother." So read the first four chapter sub-titles in this understated, quietly powerful story, subtitles which provide a textual guide to Kati's (initially) unvoiced but all-consuming concern: why had her mother left her with her grandparents, five years before, never to return? Why did no one in the house speak of her, of what she was doing, and where she had gone? Most of all, when would she be coming back...?

The answers to these questions, and the process whereby Kati comes to accept them, form the crux of this lovely story, which I found both poignant and peaceful. In a speech given by the author at the 2008 IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Congress, the book's explicitly Buddhist approach to grieving is mentioned, something that, given my lack of insight into the Buddhist worldview, I feel unequal to analyzing. That said, the story itself was beautifully written, and felt completely believable to me. Clearly Vejjajiva, herself afflicted with cerebral palsy, understands illness: the limitations it imposes, the choices it necessitates.

Those choices - specifically, the choices made by Kati's mother - have been hotly debated over in The International Children's Book Club to which I belong, where The Happiness of Kati is the January selection. But whatever one thinks of them, their effect is powerful, forcing the reader (if she is honest) to consider how she might handle such misfortune. Well worth reading, for young readers (and old) who have known a loved one who suffered from ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), or any other debilitating disease; as well as for readers interested in Thailand, and Thai culture.

[Fee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the book because the sentences are lyrical and poetic. It makes me really hope that I could read Thai proficiently so that I could have read the original version in Thai Language instead. My favourite sentence from the book is "Grandpa said Grandma's smiles were so rare they should be preserved and canned for export overseas, like top-quality produce."

Kati's grandpa is such a lovable old man and I love Kati for having the innocence and maturity when it comes to dealing with life's painful experiences. She also finds happiness in the simplest of things, and I think that this is something good to be reminded of.

The story may be simple, but if you view it as a whole, it actually is a very beautiful book with many great lessons.

[bubblemustard · Rating 4 out of 5]

งดงาม เรียบง่าย อ่านแล้วรู้สึกสงบ อบอุ่นหัวใจแบบ 100% เราชอบมากๆ อินกับบรรยากาศ ฉากหลัง การดำเนินเรื่อง ครอบครัว การเล่าเรื่องที่ตัวเอกเป็นเด็ก ทำให้นึกถึงตัวเองในวัยนั้น เป็นหนังสือที่ดี เรายืมอ่านมาก่อนแต่แล้วก็ไปซื้อเก็บไว้เป็นของตัวเองทั้งสามเล่มเลย

พวกหนังสือที่แค่มองเห็นปก แล้วภาพตัวเองตอนเด็กๆ ที่มีความสุขกับอะไรเล็กๆน้อยๆ ง่ายเหลือเกินลอยขึ้นมา เป็นหนังสือที่เรารักมากจริงๆ ;-;

อยากให้เด็กหลา���ๆ คนได้อ่าน รวมถึงผู้ใหญ่ก็ด้วยนะ

[Pairash Pleanmalai · Rating 4 out of 5]

อ่านๆไปทำไมนึกถึง "เรไรรายวัน" ตลอดเวลาที่อ่านเลย

แนวเศร้าที่แปลเปลี่ยนเป็นสุขได้อย่างน่าชื่นชม

อ่านแล้วสุขใจกับความช่างสังเกตสิ่งรอบตัวให้ดีต่อใจ

[Joana Marques · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sabem aquelas alturas em que não sabemos o que nos apetece ler? Em que corremos as estantes com os olhos e vemos as possibilidades mas parece que nenhuma nos chama?
Eu andava assim. E, pelo canto do olho, um livro sorriu-me. Um pequeno livro que na capa tem uma árvore que solta corações.
E dei-lhe uma chance.
E foi a melhor decisão que tomei!
A Felicidade de Kati é um pequeno livro com uma grande história. A sua escrita doce e fluída faz-me lembrar livros de crianças. Talvez porque a história é contada do ponto de vista de Kati, uma menina de nove anos, e por isso é descrita de maneira simples, da maneira que as crianças falam e compreendem.
Kati é uma criança tailandesa que vive com os avós. Em pequenos capítulos vai descrevendo o seu dia-a-dia. A escola, a comida que a avó faz, as conversas com o avô, a visita diária dos monges que vêm buscar as oferendas. Compreendemos que Kati nas suas descrições não fala do que mais a inquieta: onde está a mãe?
Kati recebe dos avós todo o amor, mas falta a mãe. E aos poucos percebemos que os avós não são gente do campo. Percebemos que existe uma história por trás. E essa história chega com notícias da mãe.
E Kati viaja em busca da mãe, em busca de parte da sua história perdida. E com isso tem de tomar decisões que lhe afectarão da vida. Caminhos que terá de escolher.
Tudo isto numa linguagem fluída, simples, quase poética, e ao mesmo tempo com pinceladas da inocência de uma criança.
Um livro que recomendo. Que se lê de um sopro e que nos deixa com uma lágrima no olho e ao mesmo tempo um sorriso nos lábios.

Uma agradável surpresa!

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gazing into the sky made one feel humble. It made your proudest ambitions dissolve into the ether, leaving only a little heart beating in a breast that tried its best to protect itself and find happiness where it could, not craving the impossible, not wanting things beyond its reach.

[Sandrina Martins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro delicioso. Uma menina muito amada pelos avós e por uma mãe que faleceu com uma doença degenerativa. Mesmo muito debilitada, a mãe fez tudo para preparar uma partida com serenidade e transmitir à filha que com o amor dos nossos familiares, com união e coragem, podemos ser muito felizes.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, but great!
It has great descriptions...descriptions that I think when I was younger I might not have appreciated (I tended to skip a lot of descriptions to get back to the action) but that I really enjoyed in this book. It made Thailand seem so vibrant and beautiful.

This is about Kati. Kati's mother has ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease and is dying. Kati has not seen her mother in years and gets to go visit her and spend time with her before her death. As she does, she learns her mother's story and thereby learns her own. I appreciated that Kati is given the choice to contact her dad or not... I loved the feeling of peacefulness and happiness that this ends on. Kati knows who she is and knows that she is loved.

While it does have some sad parts, I really felt like overall it's a hope filled book.

[LauraW · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a quick read and I did read the whole thing - two things that are not always true lately. I did enjoy the book and the view of Thailand from it, but there are a couple of things that bothered me. I think Kati should have been told all along why her mother was gone from her life. And I think that, before she died, the mother should have talked to her about her father. It was unfair to the father and to Kati to not give her more complete background about the father. Sure, at 9 years old, she didn't feel the need to meet him, but what if she should change her mind? She has very little to go on to make that decision.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story, taking place in contemporary Thailand, is about a 9-year-old girl living with her grandparents who must confront the impending death of her mother from Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS). The description of her mother's slow decline from ALS is moving and sad. Vejjajiva writes beautifully--I loved the description of the landscape, and especially all the beautiful flowers. Recommended for its unusual, interesting setting and for its informative look at an incurable disease.

[Karen Arendt · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful, sad, uplifting story set in Thailand. Katie has not seen her mother in five years and does not know why. Through the story, she comes to understand shy and have to make a decision about her future as well. I love the chapter titles; they could serve as little daily reminders of how to look on the bright side. I found the Thai culture very interesting as well.

[Taweepong Santipattanakul · Rating 3 out of 5]

เด็กหญิงกะทิเกิดจากความจริงที่ซับซ้อน เติบโตจากความรักและความเข้าใจ เป็นคนที่มีความสุขเรียบง่าย ปล่อยวางและเข้มแข็ง คำว่าครอบครัวอาจไม่ใช่แค่นามสกุลเหมือนกัน ใครยังอยู่หรือจากไปแล้วแต่อยู่ที่ความรัก ความผูกพันธ์ เป็นหลักและที่พึ่งให้กัน เล่มนี้เหมาะสำหรับทุกคนจริงๆ

[Akarapon Srivorakul · Rating 4 out of 5]

ชื่อเรื่องว่า “ความสุขของกะทิ” ดูเหมือนว่าจะเป็นชื่อที่เหมาะที่สุดแล้วสำหรับวรรณกรรมเด็กเรื่องนี้ แม้ว่าเนื้อหาข้างในจะเป็นเรื่องน่าเศร้าเกี่ยวกับการพลัดพรากจากคนที่รักไปอย่างไม่มีวันหวนกลับ แต่เมื่ออ่านไปเรื่อย ๆ จะสัมผัสถึงความสุขลึก ๆ ของสิ่งที่เรียกว่า “ครอบครัว” อันเต็มไปด้วยความรักต่อเด็กหญิงที่ชื่อว่ากะทิ
...การได้รางวัลซีไรต์ดูเหมือนจะไม่ใช่สิ่งที่ไม่สมควรแต่อย่างใด

[Sharmeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but heart touching story. Quite suited for young readers grappling with grief.
The descriptions of thai cuisine and practices made me smile, and the simplistic view and acceptance of events with grace, and even maturity of Kati at a young age will stay with me.

[Saranya · Rating 4 out of 5]

เรียบ ง่าย อุ่น กรุ่น
ประเด็นที่เรื่องนี้สื่อสารออกมาไม่ได้ลึกล้ำเข้าใจยากเหมือนวรรณกรรมซีไรต์เรื่องอื่นๆ ค่อนข้างแปลกใจด้วยซ้ำที่ประเด็นเรียบง่ายแบบนี้ชนะรางวัลซีไรต์ซึ่งปกติมักจะมีเนื้อหาค่อนไปทางหนักและลึกซึ้ง แต่ในอีกแง่ ดีใจที่มีหนังสือรางวัลวรรณกรรมที่อ่านง่าย เข้าถึงง่าย มีวิธีถ่ายทอดเรื่องให้ชวนติดตามและบรรยากาศอุ่นๆชวนยิ้มตลอดเรื่อง (รวมทั้งแทรกวิถีชีวิตไทยๆเข้าไปในเนื้อหาบางส่วนด้วย) ส่วนตัวคิดว่าสิ่งที่ทำให้ ความสุขของกะทิ สมควรได้รับการยกย่อง ไม่ใช่เนื้อหา(ที่แม้ต้องยอมรับว่าผู้เขียนสามารถสอดแทรกหลากหลายประเด็นรวมไว้ในหนังสือเล่มบางเช่นนี้) แต่เป็นความเรียบง่ายของภาษาและพล็อตเรื่อง ที่สั้นกระชับแต่ไม่ถึงกับห้วน และบรรยากาศอบอุ่นตลอดเรื่อง สิ่งเหล่านี้รวมกันเชื้อเชิญให้คนหันมาอ่านหนังสือเล่มนี้ โดยเฉพาะในเมื่อเราต่างรู้กันดีว่าคนไทยไม่ค่อยชอบอ่านหนังสือเท่าไหร่ ความสุขของกะทิ น่าจะเป็นจุดเริ่มต้นที่ดีของการอ่านหนังสือระดับวรรณกรรมที่จะช่วยให้คนที่เพิ่งเริ่มอ่านวรรณกรรมนั้นรู้สึกว่า วรรณกรรมไม่ใช่หนังสือหนักเสมอไป แต่สามารถเข้าถึงง่ายและเกิดความรู้สึกอยากอ่านหนังสือมากขึ้น และน่าจะหวังให้ได้เป็นจุดเริ่มต้นของการอ่านเล่มอื่นๆต่อไป

[Pearl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this short and beautifully written story one late night and finished it in one sitting, plus I read it in its original language: Thai.

'The Happiness of Kati' (ความสุขของกะทิ) is a simple, yet lovely story, bound to be a Thai classic. And written in the most pure and in a way 'innocent' every little detail about each place, emotion or Thai culture is clear as day. Not much dialog though and could test the patience of the reader (I hear that the movie was the same and hence it wasn't that successful here)

I can see what the writer is trying to get across about how the way Thai society should be, loving, caring, compassion and various other good deeds. Or I could just be insane for seeing this, depends on the reader at this point.

Good book, I liked it, not a totally fantastic book, if you didn't read it you wouldn't be missing anything, but if you do get the chance, give it a shot, we do in fact have good literature here in Thailand.

[Chanida · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Thai (original) version of this book a few years ago. I love it. The story is sad (for me) but it made me smile with tear. The story is beautiful to show the love, seperation and hard time of the little girl and also caring within the family. Sorry if if my review doesn't help. I don't know how to express my idea in English.

[PM · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book because it is fresh, clean, and simple. it is not cheesy and it gives you the feeling that yes life sometimes suck but it is not the end of the world. i like its take on moving forward. very refreshing. here is my full review: http://prinsesamusang.wordpress.com/2...

[Ian Tymms · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book about life and death and living well. Short, poetic, accessible to Middle School students. About a Thai girl although wealth means that her experiences of life often sound as much generically global as they do specifically cultural.

[J F · Rating 4 out of 5]

This well-written look at Lou Gerig's Disease also proves to be a sensitive treatment of grief and loss, for the young. In the story's fabric one even learns some specific facts about the flora and fauna of Asia. A quick, satisfying read.

[Daniela Maciel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A história é contada do ponto de vista de Kati, numa narrativa suave e fluida, algo poética e encantadora, quase como se fosse uma criança a falar.

Opinião completa: http://quandoseabreumlivro.blogspot.p...

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

WHY DID SHE NOT POST THE LETTER?!?!

[Nina ( picturetalk321 ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet little tale whose plot creeps up on you. Part 1 is about the 9-year-old girl nicknamed Kati (ka-ti means sweet coconut flesh in Thai) who lives with her grandparents by the water. There are evocative descriptions of food (it stirred my appetite!), flowers and the jars her grandmother keeps water and rice in. Nothing much happens here and I was lulled (almost bored) into thinking that this was going to be that sort of slice-of-life book. But then Part 2 reveals things hinted at in Part 1: the resonance behind the little shelter, the absence of the mother, the grandparents' sadness. Part 3 is very sad but tempered by hope and the understated resilience and agency of our heroine. She is embedded in love. There is a surprising and satisfying plot twist right at the end.

I chose this because of my personal challenge to read two books by disabled authors this year. Jane Vejjajiva has cerebral palsy. I liked a lot that the book is not about disability. Too often disabled authors get pigeonholed or it is expectes that they write about themselves. I specifically wanted to uncouple amplification of a person's voice from representation. The book does treat a disease, motor neurone disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Content warnings: parental death. Fatal illness.

Beautifully translated from the Thai by Prudence Borthwick. The author is also known as Ngarmpun Vejjajiva. The original title is Khwān sukh khxng kathi or ความสุขของกะทิ, 2003.

Format: handsomely produced with crisp white paper and allusive and whimsical little drawings by Mongkol Sopapinitnon. Not sure about the cover photo which has a girl (glazed) with a strangely stumpy foot.

[♡ venus ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for the 2024 Asian Readathon. Prompt 3: Read an underrated book.

This book was a touching, bittersweet exploration on the nature of life, love, and loss, from the perspective of our little protagonist, Kati.

Kati is a wonderful protagonist. She's a child, awfully mature for her age, but she still remains positive despite all the things that her family is going through. She has a wonderful support system in the form of her family and loved ones, but she still manages to stay strong and is allowed the agency to make her own decisions. She understands so many of life's nuances in ways that most people take decades to understand, or never fully do. It was interesting.

This book makes it clear that the aforementioned support system is why Kati takes everything so well. It was so wonderful and refreshing to see the adults in her life allowing her to make her own choices, and recognising that she deserved some agency of her own. She may be just a child, but she's mature enough to understand what is happening, and the adults around her recognise this. I really appreciated it.

The plot of the story itself is bittersweet and tender. We follow snippets of Kati's life during a particulary painful period of time, and we se how not only Kati but also the people around her deal with loss and change. Each snippet was small, but the writing and pacing made it so that each chapter had its own purpose and packed an emotional punch.

And at the end, even after everything has happened and the character's lives have changed, we can rest easy knowing that this story does not have a sad ending. It tells us: life goes on. You will be okay.