My personal favorite from Kyi Aye. The idea and plot of the author is surprisingly differ from her time, when realism flourished. Among her books, this is the first, written at a tender age of 15 ,and yet most abstract and thought-provoking one of all.
Strangely, most of the things in the book are relatable and gave me many thoughts and introspections.
Indeed, it's a great novel in which the author, Kyi Aye, explored 'existentialism' on the border. In so doing, she invented a character 'Tin May' who encountered lots of psychological scars in her life since young. All she ever wanted was simply a hint of warmth and yet her wish seemed impossibly out of her reach.
Here, I wonder if it is human nature or it's just how people try to cope with various hardship in life. In the case of the main character (Tin May) in the novel, she became hardened along with her mind, never being able to smile again though.
There is a glimpse of paradox I could feel here. I think, the novel is showing us a fragility of the mind, that is, when the mind reaches to the point of “beyond fragility”, it completely becomes the total opposite of all the values a person may have hold. In the novel, Tin May just became a very difficult person to live with.
The author introduced a smart, caring and understanding guy 'the teacher' and a momentary lover 'Ko Kyaw'. I pictured myself in the shoes of Ko Kyaw or the teacher and thought how I could have acted differently (or perhaps I would exactly act like them in the novel)
The author also explored on another great idea, that is, about 'home'. The literal meaning of 'home' gives us the sense of warmth and a place to return to. When 'home' is devoid of its meaning (in other words, when it doesn't provide warmth anymore), one might then feel like he/she has no place to go back to and would just feel lost.
Overall, it’s a great novel that definitely touched my heart !
I can’t believe the author actually wrote this when she was just 15! She was also way ahead of her time. I like how she just expressed some ideas without deciding whether they were right or wrong. She was judging hard on women (might come off as prejudice against women sometimes) but it didn’t make me mad for some really good reasons. Also, I didn’t know living together was a thing before Juu?! Kyi Aye was so cool for that. She also knew exactly how a main character isn’t supposed to be all perfect. I think it’s very hard to find an imperfect main character in 20th century Burmese literature. Most old Burmese novels usually cringed me out with their all perfect little characters and misogynistic female leads. So I think I’ll be reading Kyi Aye’s books every time I want to read Burmese classics.
I cannot believe this came from a 15 year old mind. The story is timeless. The two poems the main character wrote in the story are a bit precarious and impressive. I will not comment on the relationship with the older man. I didn’t suggest anything and I hope the author didn’t too. Anyway, this was totally worth my time. Loved it.
I reread this book today! The first time I read it was when i was around grade 7, and I remember not really understanding or feeling the story back then. But rereading it now, I was in awe of how Sayama Kyi Aye managed to write this at just 15 years old. It was a short read, but surprisingly suffocating and philosophical. I think Tin May's MBTI would be INFP :)
Even though this is a short novel by Kyi Aye and the first book of hers I've read, it feels quite revolutionary for the time it was published. In some ways, it reminds me of The Stranger by Albert Camus. 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️