What do you think?
Rate this book
Bright
Honorable mention in the Global Humanities Translation Prize
When five-year-old Kampol is told by his father to wait for him in front of some run-down apartment buildings, the confused boy does as told—he waits, and waits, and waits, until he realizes his father isn’t coming back anytime soon. Adopted by the community, Kampol is soon being raised by figures like Chong the shopkeeper, who rents out calls on his telephone and goes into debt while extending his customers endless credit. Kampol also plays with local kids like Noi, whose shirt is so worn that it rips right in half, and the sweet, deceptively cute toddler Penporn.
Dueling flea markets, a search for a ten-baht coin lost in the sands of a beach, pet crickets that get eaten for dinner, bouncy ball fads in school, and loneliness so merciless that it kills a boy’s appetite all combine into Bright, the first-ever novel by a Thai woman to appear in English translation. Duanwad Pimwana’s urban, and at times gritty, vignettes are balanced with a folk-tale-like feel and a charmingly wry sense of humor. Together, these intensely concentrated, minimalist gems combine into an off-beat, highly satisfying coming-of-age story of a very memorable young boy and the age-old legends, practices, and personalities that raise him.
When five-year-old Kampol is told by his father to wait for him in front of some run-down apartment buildings, the confused boy does as told—he waits, and waits, and waits, until he realizes his father isn’t coming back anytime soon. Adopted by the community, Kampol is soon being raised by figures like Chong the shopkeeper, who rents out calls on his telephone and goes into debt while extending his customers endless credit. Kampol also plays with local kids like Noi, whose shirt is so worn that it rips right in half, and the sweet, deceptively cute toddler Penporn.
Dueling flea markets, a search for a ten-baht coin lost in the sands of a beach, pet crickets that get eaten for dinner, bouncy ball fads in school, and loneliness so merciless that it kills a boy’s appetite all combine into Bright, the first-ever novel by a Thai woman to appear in English translation. Duanwad Pimwana’s urban, and at times gritty, vignettes are balanced with a folk-tale-like feel and a charmingly wry sense of humor. Together, these intensely concentrated, minimalist gems combine into an off-beat, highly satisfying coming-of-age story of a very memorable young boy and the age-old legends, practices, and personalities that raise him.
184 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2003
33 people are currently reading
2072 people want to read
About the author
Duanwad Pimwana
3 books30 followersAuthor's profile in original language is เดือนวาด พิมวนา
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
May 16, 2019
I met the author, Duanwad Pimwana, and her translator, Mui Poopoksakul, at the Bay Area Book festival and knew I wanted to buy her book right away.
Pimwana is a major voice in Thai literature. She’s written nine novels, poetry, short stories, is a recipient of awards PEN International, and other book awards.
“Bright”, is the first translated novel to be translated in English.
“Bright” is a story about the working class in Thailand.
Before the story begins, we get a list of the primary characters... 18 Thai characters listed.
...There’s a mortician,
...a Chinese descent grocer,
a tire patcher and Bicycle repair man who likes to drink.
...neighbors, friends,family, grandparents, school mates, a fisherman, a landlady and a water-truck driver.
“A sign - clearly visible during the day and brightly lit at night - grabs the attention of passersby. But it doesn’t bear the name of the housing project;
it’s a sign for the bungalows”.
Mrs. Tongjan’s housing development is hardly seen.
Kampol Changsamran is a 5-year old boy who was hanging out in front of Mrs. Tongjan’s tenement houses.
His father told him to wait:
“You stay here. I’m taking your brother over to grandmas. I’ll be back in a bit”.
Adults in the community were talking about his parents. Kampol grew frustrated by all the questions and assumptions.
Did your father take your little brother since your mom walked out on him?
Shouldn’t your mom come get you, Kampol? Was your mother breastfeeding your baby brother?
Kampol had been waiting for so long, sitting sadly, that one lady brought him something to eat. Before you knew it - many in the community were offering him a place to sleep at their house... and tried different ways to console him.
The poor kid - crying as it became dark, he overheard the adults say hurtful things...
“His mother shouldn’t have had an affair. His father shouldn’t have hit her. His mother shouldn’t have run off just to save her own skin. Why would his father leave with just the baby?”
Eventually his father comes back - but says he must leave again. He might be gone a couple of days.
Kampol didn’t understand. Who would?
Kampol became the neighbor kid that became everyone’s burden. The father asked everyone to pitch in and share the responsibility with food and sleep. He drifted from one home to another without any regular place to eat or sleep. He often went without lunch - and frequently lost track of time playing.
The adults forgot about him too. They assumed another neighbor had him covered for the day.
Mrs. Tongjan’s neighborhood was a play area where kids played hide and seek. There were other children without parents like Kampol. Many children went to school. Kampol never went again after his father abandoned him.
Food was scarce. Often Kampol ate rice with fish sauce. Sometimes he had rice with papaya salad. Most people ate vegetables with chili paste - but little Kampol hated chili paste.
The only phone in town was in Chong’s grocery store.( newly purchased).
Suddenly it was urgent that everyone needed to make a call. Eventually... The novelty of the phone begin to wear off. Only the mortician continued to need the phone the most. There was a death: everyone - kids and adults attended the funeral....
They also attended a wedding... again everyone in the community attended.
We get an authentic sense of the culture, poverty, but community loyalty to one another in the housing development.
We can picture the streets where the kids play. Adults join in with them too.
This is a slim book. One that warms your heart.
For me - meeting the author added extra enjoyment.
I remember she said ...
That her purpose in writing this story wasn’t because she had a deep personal experience as if this was ‘her’ specific life - but she wanted the world to understand and appreciation how society really is in Thailand for working class communities.
Pimwana succeeded with her purpose. This little story was like an IV infusion. ..
My bones feel stronger and more dense just from reading this story.
Sweet - tender - a quick read - filled with heart!!!!
Pimwana is a major voice in Thai literature. She’s written nine novels, poetry, short stories, is a recipient of awards PEN International, and other book awards.
“Bright”, is the first translated novel to be translated in English.
“Bright” is a story about the working class in Thailand.
Before the story begins, we get a list of the primary characters... 18 Thai characters listed.
...There’s a mortician,
...a Chinese descent grocer,
a tire patcher and Bicycle repair man who likes to drink.
...neighbors, friends,family, grandparents, school mates, a fisherman, a landlady and a water-truck driver.
“A sign - clearly visible during the day and brightly lit at night - grabs the attention of passersby. But it doesn’t bear the name of the housing project;
it’s a sign for the bungalows”.
Mrs. Tongjan’s housing development is hardly seen.
Kampol Changsamran is a 5-year old boy who was hanging out in front of Mrs. Tongjan’s tenement houses.
His father told him to wait:
“You stay here. I’m taking your brother over to grandmas. I’ll be back in a bit”.
Adults in the community were talking about his parents. Kampol grew frustrated by all the questions and assumptions.
Did your father take your little brother since your mom walked out on him?
Shouldn’t your mom come get you, Kampol? Was your mother breastfeeding your baby brother?
Kampol had been waiting for so long, sitting sadly, that one lady brought him something to eat. Before you knew it - many in the community were offering him a place to sleep at their house... and tried different ways to console him.
The poor kid - crying as it became dark, he overheard the adults say hurtful things...
“His mother shouldn’t have had an affair. His father shouldn’t have hit her. His mother shouldn’t have run off just to save her own skin. Why would his father leave with just the baby?”
Eventually his father comes back - but says he must leave again. He might be gone a couple of days.
Kampol didn’t understand. Who would?
Kampol became the neighbor kid that became everyone’s burden. The father asked everyone to pitch in and share the responsibility with food and sleep. He drifted from one home to another without any regular place to eat or sleep. He often went without lunch - and frequently lost track of time playing.
The adults forgot about him too. They assumed another neighbor had him covered for the day.
Mrs. Tongjan’s neighborhood was a play area where kids played hide and seek. There were other children without parents like Kampol. Many children went to school. Kampol never went again after his father abandoned him.
Food was scarce. Often Kampol ate rice with fish sauce. Sometimes he had rice with papaya salad. Most people ate vegetables with chili paste - but little Kampol hated chili paste.
The only phone in town was in Chong’s grocery store.( newly purchased).
Suddenly it was urgent that everyone needed to make a call. Eventually... The novelty of the phone begin to wear off. Only the mortician continued to need the phone the most. There was a death: everyone - kids and adults attended the funeral....
They also attended a wedding... again everyone in the community attended.
We get an authentic sense of the culture, poverty, but community loyalty to one another in the housing development.
We can picture the streets where the kids play. Adults join in with them too.
This is a slim book. One that warms your heart.
For me - meeting the author added extra enjoyment.
I remember she said ...
That her purpose in writing this story wasn’t because she had a deep personal experience as if this was ‘her’ specific life - but she wanted the world to understand and appreciation how society really is in Thailand for working class communities.
Pimwana succeeded with her purpose. This little story was like an IV infusion. ..
My bones feel stronger and more dense just from reading this story.
Sweet - tender - a quick read - filled with heart!!!!
May 12, 2019
Kampol Changsamran (aka Boy) sat in front of a tenement house, his sole possessions, two bags of clothing by his side. He was five years old. His mother abandoned the family and took, with her, the contents of the household. His father told him to wait outside the tenement while he took "baby Jon" to grandma. Kampol waited and waited. One neighbor fed Kampol lunchtime rice, another gave him a place to sleep, thinking it was just for one night. Poor Kampol was abandoned by both of his parents. A tenement house community, reluctant at first, adopted him.
Kampol's life experiences varied from the melancholic to the fun filled adventures of youth. Two especially caring adults were Chong, the grocer and Mon, the mother of best friend Oan. The novel was presented in vignettes, snippets of life, in a small insular community in Thailand.
In order to have pocket money for snacks, Kampol was able to occasionally find odd jobs. He earned money relieving neighbor Dang's backache by walking on his back. For a while, Kampol was Dang's regular masseur! Another opportunity arose when Chong, the grocer, purchased a red pay phone and had it installed in front of his shop. Soon, the phone rang off the hook with callers wanting to speak to various neighbors. Kampol "became the pony express, sprinting off to get people for their calls, and as soon as they hung up, he was right there to demand the service fee. Kampol became so rich he had to buy a piggy bank."
Two very poignant episodes included "Meant to Be" and "Crickets". "Meant to Be" displayed Kampol's compassion for a six year old girl selling her grandparents' home-grilled sticky rice. In "Crickets" Kampol was offered "breeding crickets" to farm until it was time to sell them. By "pouring his heart and soul" into watching each cricket he had lovingly named, he was unprepared for what followed.
"Bright" by Duanwad Pinwana is a wonderful work of literary fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the quirky community invested in Kampol's upbringing. I highly recommend this tome published by Two Lines Press.
Kampol's life experiences varied from the melancholic to the fun filled adventures of youth. Two especially caring adults were Chong, the grocer and Mon, the mother of best friend Oan. The novel was presented in vignettes, snippets of life, in a small insular community in Thailand.
In order to have pocket money for snacks, Kampol was able to occasionally find odd jobs. He earned money relieving neighbor Dang's backache by walking on his back. For a while, Kampol was Dang's regular masseur! Another opportunity arose when Chong, the grocer, purchased a red pay phone and had it installed in front of his shop. Soon, the phone rang off the hook with callers wanting to speak to various neighbors. Kampol "became the pony express, sprinting off to get people for their calls, and as soon as they hung up, he was right there to demand the service fee. Kampol became so rich he had to buy a piggy bank."
Two very poignant episodes included "Meant to Be" and "Crickets". "Meant to Be" displayed Kampol's compassion for a six year old girl selling her grandparents' home-grilled sticky rice. In "Crickets" Kampol was offered "breeding crickets" to farm until it was time to sell them. By "pouring his heart and soul" into watching each cricket he had lovingly named, he was unprepared for what followed.
"Bright" by Duanwad Pinwana is a wonderful work of literary fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the quirky community invested in Kampol's upbringing. I highly recommend this tome published by Two Lines Press.
April 29, 2019
Kampol is a child left behind by his parents at a young age and has to fend for himself with the help of various friends and characters in his community. This is the first novel by a Thai female author to be translated into English and it was a delight to read. Where other authors would craft this story as a trauma narrative, this is much more about his daily life and the people he interacts with along the way.
In the same month I read Bright, I finally read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. Early on the author mentions a Hmong folktale:
In the same month I read Bright, I finally read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. Early on the author mentions a Hmong folktale:
"One of the recurring characters in Hmong folktales is the Orphan, a young man whose parents have died, leaving him alone to live by his wits... he is clever, energetic, brave, persistent.... "Sounds familiar, right? I couldn't find any evidence of the author being anything other than Thai, but folktales do travel. It puts it in a different light if this might be a modern day telling of a traditional myth, at least for me. It would be a reference that local audiences would get immediately while those of us reading it in translation may not. If you've read this one, do you think I'm on to something?
April 23, 2019
Bright has been translated by Mui Poopoksakul from Duanwad Pimwana's debut novel ชางสำราญ (Changsamran, meaning Bright, the surname of the main protagonist) and published by the excellent Two Lines Press (notably publishers of Wolfgang Hilbig and Marie NDiaye) near simultaneously with a short-story collection from the same author-translator pair, Arid Dreams from Feminist Press.
Poopoksakul was also the translator, for Titled Axis, of two short story collections in the last couple of years from Prabda Yoon. Claims that these were the first modern Thai literature to be brought into English - or that Duanwad Pimwana's books are the first from a Thai female author are apt to be met with counterexamples, but there is little doubt that these books are amongst only a few example of modern Thai fiction in the US and UK markets and that Mui Poopoksakul has done us an important service.
The novel opens:
Kampol Changsamran, a boy of five, was hanging around in front of Mrs. Tongjan’s tenement houses. His father had told him to wait: “You stay here. I’m taking your brother to Grandma’s. I’ll be back to get you in a bit.” Hearing these last three words, Kampol didn’t dare to wander far, worried his father wouldn’t spot him upon his return, so he paced back and forth, keeping a watch on the entrance to the community.
Something had gone down at his house a few days ago. His parents got into a nasty fight, and everyone knew it from all the yelling. His mother hurled the fan, breaking its neck. His father flung the kettle over her head, launching it outside the house. When night fell, his mother rolled up in a pickup truck, had it parked in front of the house, and loaded it with belongings until the house was bare. She left on a motorbike, riding ahead as the pickup truck crawled behind her. His father watched, arms akimbo, head slightly nodding. Kampol’s brother, two months shy of a year old, was screaming inside the house.
Kampol waited for his father in front of their unit, which they had already surrendered to the landlady.
But his father does not return that day. Kampol and his working class family lived in some small tenement houses in the courtyard of their landlady, Mrs. Tongjan. Their neighbours and the local grocery shop largely marking the boundaries of Kampol's life, together with the school which he temporarily drops out of.
Kampol is essentially adopted by the rest of his community, neither his father not his mother's new partners keen to take on the responsibility of the boy, and the story of the next 2 years of Kampol's life unfolds in a series of vignettes. My favourite was a description of the different and simple fads that sweep the school when Kampol eventually returns - elastic bands, modelling clay, yoyos etc - and the kindly shopkeeper trying to persuade him to take up the one hobby that never drops out of fashion - reading.
Overall, an interesting and well-written novel and a excellent introduction to Thai literature and to working class life, although ultimately a relatively straightforward story. I notice the first two reviews on Goodreads use the word heartwarming - and that was exactly my reaction as well.
3.5 stars.
Interviews with the translator:
https://booksandbao.com/2019/02/28/tr...
https://brooklynrail.org/2019/04/book...
Extracts:
https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/a... (which includes an audio of the author reading the book in Thai)
https://aaww.org/ตลาดนัด-the-flea-mar... (which includes the Thai original text)
Poopoksakul was also the translator, for Titled Axis, of two short story collections in the last couple of years from Prabda Yoon. Claims that these were the first modern Thai literature to be brought into English - or that Duanwad Pimwana's books are the first from a Thai female author are apt to be met with counterexamples, but there is little doubt that these books are amongst only a few example of modern Thai fiction in the US and UK markets and that Mui Poopoksakul has done us an important service.
The novel opens:
Kampol Changsamran, a boy of five, was hanging around in front of Mrs. Tongjan’s tenement houses. His father had told him to wait: “You stay here. I’m taking your brother to Grandma’s. I’ll be back to get you in a bit.” Hearing these last three words, Kampol didn’t dare to wander far, worried his father wouldn’t spot him upon his return, so he paced back and forth, keeping a watch on the entrance to the community.
Something had gone down at his house a few days ago. His parents got into a nasty fight, and everyone knew it from all the yelling. His mother hurled the fan, breaking its neck. His father flung the kettle over her head, launching it outside the house. When night fell, his mother rolled up in a pickup truck, had it parked in front of the house, and loaded it with belongings until the house was bare. She left on a motorbike, riding ahead as the pickup truck crawled behind her. His father watched, arms akimbo, head slightly nodding. Kampol’s brother, two months shy of a year old, was screaming inside the house.
Kampol waited for his father in front of their unit, which they had already surrendered to the landlady.
But his father does not return that day. Kampol and his working class family lived in some small tenement houses in the courtyard of their landlady, Mrs. Tongjan. Their neighbours and the local grocery shop largely marking the boundaries of Kampol's life, together with the school which he temporarily drops out of.
Kampol is essentially adopted by the rest of his community, neither his father not his mother's new partners keen to take on the responsibility of the boy, and the story of the next 2 years of Kampol's life unfolds in a series of vignettes. My favourite was a description of the different and simple fads that sweep the school when Kampol eventually returns - elastic bands, modelling clay, yoyos etc - and the kindly shopkeeper trying to persuade him to take up the one hobby that never drops out of fashion - reading.
Overall, an interesting and well-written novel and a excellent introduction to Thai literature and to working class life, although ultimately a relatively straightforward story. I notice the first two reviews on Goodreads use the word heartwarming - and that was exactly my reaction as well.
3.5 stars.
Interviews with the translator:
https://booksandbao.com/2019/02/28/tr...
https://brooklynrail.org/2019/04/book...
Extracts:
https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/a... (which includes an audio of the author reading the book in Thai)
https://aaww.org/ตลาดนัด-the-flea-mar... (which includes the Thai original text)
May 27, 2019
An exceptional rendering of an impoverished community in which human beings find a way to survive and to care for one another.
In the novel's first pages, five-year-old Kampol is abandoned by his parents. The rest of the novel is made up of brilliant episodic gems, as Kampol survives and adapts, and as the people around him learn to care for him.
We're transported to a place where helping others means you won't have enough for yourself...and yet, people help Kampol to the best of their limited means. Their level of concern for the abandoned boy waxes and wanes as their own situations become more or less dire. Sometimes they forget all about him for a few days--these times are heartbreaking.
Pimwana does such a good job bringing to life Kampol's loneliness and near-starvation in the early days of his abandonment. It feels natural in this community, where everyone is living at the bitter edge of poverty and disaster, that characters will be both empathetic to Kampol's situation, and also a bit reluctant to get involved.
This novel floats along in a place of remarkably sweet melancholy that never falls into sentimentality. The skill with which Pimwana succeeds in telling a complex and mature story through the eyes of a child reminded me of Carson McCullers's achievement in The Member of the Wedding.
In the novel's first pages, five-year-old Kampol is abandoned by his parents. The rest of the novel is made up of brilliant episodic gems, as Kampol survives and adapts, and as the people around him learn to care for him.
We're transported to a place where helping others means you won't have enough for yourself...and yet, people help Kampol to the best of their limited means. Their level of concern for the abandoned boy waxes and wanes as their own situations become more or less dire. Sometimes they forget all about him for a few days--these times are heartbreaking.
Pimwana does such a good job bringing to life Kampol's loneliness and near-starvation in the early days of his abandonment. It feels natural in this community, where everyone is living at the bitter edge of poverty and disaster, that characters will be both empathetic to Kampol's situation, and also a bit reluctant to get involved.
This novel floats along in a place of remarkably sweet melancholy that never falls into sentimentality. The skill with which Pimwana succeeds in telling a complex and mature story through the eyes of a child reminded me of Carson McCullers's achievement in The Member of the Wedding.
April 14, 2020
For a few hours, I was immersed in another world, a world where nothing was familiar and nothing spectacular happened, but where I lived an unpredictable life, piggy-backing on a young boy's experiences, feeling his hunger, crying his tears of disappointment and sadness, curling up with his fear, and relishing moments of complete abandon and joy. I learned a bit--about the kindness of others, the ways our parents can let us down, the stealthy creep of resilience, and the blurry path to understanding and trusting others. Kampol stole my heart, especially when he grew up too fast, because he had to be both Kampol and Kampol's parent.
Read
September 2, 2020Bright is the first novel written by a Thai woman to have been translated into English and if you don't think that's cool then I'm not really sure why you're reading this review! Not only is it a landmark book, it's also a bloody good one! I hope Pimwana is helping pave the way for other Thai women writers to have their work translated, because I'm greedy and want more of this. She does have another book in English, the short story collection Arid Dreams, which is published by Tilted Axis Press so I'll definitely need to get my hands on that!
.
Told in a series of vignettes, Bright is the story of Kampol, a five-year-old boy who is collectively adopted by his community after his mother and father separate. Despite his father's reassurances, he does not come back for Kampol, and the boy is looked after by various adults in his housing estate. Chong, who runs the shop, and Mon, his friend Oan's mother, become his two primary caregivers, but all the adults do chip in, even if they were resentful of the additional responsibility at first. I particularly loved Chong, who is quiet, serious, bookish and often exasperated by his customers, but loving and generous overall.
.
When you hear what the book is about, essentially a child being abandoned by his parents, you automatically think you're in for a bleak read. And while there are some sad parts, I was surprised by how often I found myself smiling and even laughing while reading. Kampol and his friends in the estate get up to all the usual childhood mischief: trying to befriend stray dogs, spying on the neighbours, running riot at funfairs. Pimwana depicts a portrait of working class Thailand, yes, but she also gives us a joyous depiction of childhood, finding fun and games wherever they can.
.
Bright is translated by Mui Poopoksakul and she does a brilliant job. It reads so smoothly, the speech reads naturally, and all of the emotion shines through, whether it's humour and joy or melancholy and frustration. The vignette style works so well, and although we see Kampol's life only in flashes and episodes, it feels like you really get to know him and the rest of the neighbourhood.
.
I recommend this to anyone and everyone honestly, but especially people who enjoy sweet and sad stories, or found family stories!
.
Told in a series of vignettes, Bright is the story of Kampol, a five-year-old boy who is collectively adopted by his community after his mother and father separate. Despite his father's reassurances, he does not come back for Kampol, and the boy is looked after by various adults in his housing estate. Chong, who runs the shop, and Mon, his friend Oan's mother, become his two primary caregivers, but all the adults do chip in, even if they were resentful of the additional responsibility at first. I particularly loved Chong, who is quiet, serious, bookish and often exasperated by his customers, but loving and generous overall.
.
When you hear what the book is about, essentially a child being abandoned by his parents, you automatically think you're in for a bleak read. And while there are some sad parts, I was surprised by how often I found myself smiling and even laughing while reading. Kampol and his friends in the estate get up to all the usual childhood mischief: trying to befriend stray dogs, spying on the neighbours, running riot at funfairs. Pimwana depicts a portrait of working class Thailand, yes, but she also gives us a joyous depiction of childhood, finding fun and games wherever they can.
.
Bright is translated by Mui Poopoksakul and she does a brilliant job. It reads so smoothly, the speech reads naturally, and all of the emotion shines through, whether it's humour and joy or melancholy and frustration. The vignette style works so well, and although we see Kampol's life only in flashes and episodes, it feels like you really get to know him and the rest of the neighbourhood.
.
I recommend this to anyone and everyone honestly, but especially people who enjoy sweet and sad stories, or found family stories!
June 5, 2019
Glean a little of urban Thai life by stepping into landlady Mrs. Tongjan’s cluster of forgotten tenement houses. There, Pimwana has created a world where the mundane fascinates.
Five-year-old Kampol’s mother and father abandon him in a small community of tenement houses after they have a nasty fight and split up. The residents come together to care for Kampol, taking turns housing and feeding him. Kampol is overcome with sadness by his parents’ abandonment. But he needs to carry on.
He learns to make money by seizing unlikely opportunities. His first job is walking on Dang’s back, a man who sells curries all day from his pick-up truck. Kampol’s sadness over his parent’s desertion abates as he pockets his first baht. Next, Kampol and his friends make money selling lists of the winning lottery numbers to community residents. Throughout the novel, Kampol has numerous jobs, including breeding crickets. Just as he forgets about his parents and is absorbed into the community, his mother or his father show up, only to leave and desert Kampol once more. Kampol vacillates between happiness being with his friends, and intense sadness.
Pimwana tells the story of Kampol’s growth in a series of short paragraphs. Each chapter is itself a story, almost a fable. The short stories portray messages about life. In one, Kampol states:
To prove his freedom to his friends, he boards a bus for a beach town. However, once there, he feels more alone than ever before.
In this seemingly typical urban Thai neighborhood, people have affairs, get married, attend plays, and mourn at funerals. A sense of desperation, hope, and a tinge of magic permeate the residents’ lives in this small community. Like the woman in the prologue who is standing on her roof so she can see over the wall separating her fancy neighborhood from the tenements, one will find the ordinary lives of Kampol and his friends fascinating. Life is so rich in this poor development that, like the woman on the roof, one would trade neighborhoods to experience the joie de vivre in Mrs. Tongjan’s slum.
Pimwana gives us a glimpse of modern urban Thai life never before read in an English novel. It’s unforgettable.
Five-year-old Kampol’s mother and father abandon him in a small community of tenement houses after they have a nasty fight and split up. The residents come together to care for Kampol, taking turns housing and feeding him. Kampol is overcome with sadness by his parents’ abandonment. But he needs to carry on.
He learns to make money by seizing unlikely opportunities. His first job is walking on Dang’s back, a man who sells curries all day from his pick-up truck. Kampol’s sadness over his parent’s desertion abates as he pockets his first baht. Next, Kampol and his friends make money selling lists of the winning lottery numbers to community residents. Throughout the novel, Kampol has numerous jobs, including breeding crickets. Just as he forgets about his parents and is absorbed into the community, his mother or his father show up, only to leave and desert Kampol once more. Kampol vacillates between happiness being with his friends, and intense sadness.
Pimwana tells the story of Kampol’s growth in a series of short paragraphs. Each chapter is itself a story, almost a fable. The short stories portray messages about life. In one, Kampol states:
Not having parents isn’t all bad…I have more freedom than other people….I don’t have to keep asking my mama for money. I can buy all the snacks I want, I can play wherever I want; I don’t have to ask permission from anybody.
To prove his freedom to his friends, he boards a bus for a beach town. However, once there, he feels more alone than ever before.
He had felt lonesome before, many times in fact. But in those moments, even if he didn’t have anyone in the world, he had his familiar neighborhood, with its familiar crevices and corners that he knew so well, which provided comfort.
In this seemingly typical urban Thai neighborhood, people have affairs, get married, attend plays, and mourn at funerals. A sense of desperation, hope, and a tinge of magic permeate the residents’ lives in this small community. Like the woman in the prologue who is standing on her roof so she can see over the wall separating her fancy neighborhood from the tenements, one will find the ordinary lives of Kampol and his friends fascinating. Life is so rich in this poor development that, like the woman on the roof, one would trade neighborhoods to experience the joie de vivre in Mrs. Tongjan’s slum.
Pimwana gives us a glimpse of modern urban Thai life never before read in an English novel. It’s unforgettable.
August 27, 2021
Each chapter is almost like a stand-alone short story (but interconnected as a book because of characters & location), focused on Kampol, a five-year-old boy in a lower-income, working-class Thai neighborhood who is basically abandoned by his parents. The various people in the neighborhood keep watch over him, sometimes well, sometimes not so well, but generally managing to help provide food & shelter. Obviously, he's a child who is forced to grow up too quickly, but there's a mix of the seriousness of the situation with the joys kids find in playing & doing normal kid things. (For example, I laughed at how the group of neighborhood kids were repeatedly trying to peek into/spy on the mortician's house, as they were convinced that he wrestled ghosts.) And while you see the adult world (including his parents & their various problems which led to them abandoning Kampol), you're getting the viewpoint from a child's eye.
It was both charming & immensely bittersweet.
(And now, I have the old Sesame Street staple "The People in Your Neighborhood" running through my head.)
It was both charming & immensely bittersweet.
(And now, I have the old Sesame Street staple "The People in Your Neighborhood" running through my head.)
February 10, 2021
เด็กชายวัยห้าขวบนามว่า ‘กำพล ช่างสำราญ’ ผู้มีชีวิตสุดแสนเศร้าโศก ความทุกข์ที่เขาไม่ได้ก่อ แต่กลับต้องมาแบกรับไว้
เด็กน้อย พ่อแม่แยกทาง พ่อไปทาง แม่ไปทาง ทิ้งกำพลไว้กับชุมชนแออัด ตระเวนนอนบ้านคนนั้นที คนนี้ที เพื่อนบ้านคอยให้ข้าวปลาอาหาร แต่ความอบอุ่นใดเล่าจะเทียบได้กับการมีบ้านเป็นของตัวเอง แม้ชีวิตจะรันทด แต่โชคดีที่กำพลเป็นเด็กใฝ่ดี มีเพื่อนบ้านที่ดีคอยช่วยเหลือ มีเพื่อนรอบข้างที่ไม่บุลลี่ ชีวิตนี้จึงไม่โหดร้ายเกินไปนัก
เรื่องนี้สะท้อนสังคมไทยหลายๆอย่าง การมีลูกไม่พร้อม ความเหลื่อมล้ำในสังคม ความยากจนข้นแค้น น้ำใจไมตรีของผู้คนแม้อดๆอยากๆก็ยังช่วยเหลือเกื้อกูลกัน อาจจะเป็นความงดงามแต่ก็มาพร้อมกับความสะเทือนใจ แม้เรื่องจะเขียนมา 20 ปีแล้ว แต่หลายๆอย่างไม่ได้เปลี่ยนแปลงเลย
เด็กน้อย พ่อแม่แยกทาง พ่อไปทาง แม่ไปทาง ทิ้งกำพลไว้กับชุมชนแออัด ตระเวนนอนบ้านคนนั้นที คนนี้ที เพื่อนบ้านคอยให้ข้าวปลาอาหาร แต่ความอบอุ่นใดเล่าจะเทียบได้กับการมีบ้านเป็นของตัวเอง แม้ชีวิตจะรันทด แต่โชคดีที่กำพลเป็นเด็กใฝ่ดี มีเพื่อนบ้านที่ดีคอยช่วยเหลือ มีเพื่อนรอบข้างที่ไม่บุลลี่ ชีวิตนี้จึงไม่โหดร้ายเกินไปนัก
เรื่องนี้สะท้อนสังคมไทยหลายๆอย่าง การมีลูกไม่พร้อม ความเหลื่อมล้ำในสังคม ความยากจนข้นแค้น น้ำใจไมตรีของผู้คนแม้อดๆอยากๆก็ยังช่วยเหลือเกื้อกูลกัน อาจจะเป็นความงดงามแต่ก็มาพร้อมกับความสะเทือนใจ แม้เรื่องจะเขียนมา 20 ปีแล้ว แต่หลายๆอย่างไม่ได้เปลี่ยนแปลงเลย
June 28, 2019
Pimwana is a well-known author in Thailand, but this is the first novel by a female Thai writer to be translated into english. Like its main character, 6 year old Kampol (aka 'Boy'), the book is charming, disarming, and scrappy. It's structured into very short chapters that are vignettes of Kampol's life - his observations, experiences and adventures. He's a kind of tiny Thai Tom Sawyer, running around with his buddies, going to school, scraping up cash doing odd jobs, and watching adults do the darndest things.
When Kampol is first abandoned, the people in his poor, working class neighborhood vie amongst each other to do the right thing and give him food and shelter; after a few days though, their enthusiasm wanes and Kampol bounces between a few stalwarts who keep a general eye on him, but don't fully parent him. It puts in real-life perspective the saying "it takes a village to raise a child"- the 'villagers' are living hand-to-mouth and, like humans everywhere, are a mixture of the good and the petty. Pimwana brings this corner of working class Thailand to life with honesty and humor.
When Kampol is first abandoned, the people in his poor, working class neighborhood vie amongst each other to do the right thing and give him food and shelter; after a few days though, their enthusiasm wanes and Kampol bounces between a few stalwarts who keep a general eye on him, but don't fully parent him. It puts in real-life perspective the saying "it takes a village to raise a child"- the 'villagers' are living hand-to-mouth and, like humans everywhere, are a mixture of the good and the petty. Pimwana brings this corner of working class Thailand to life with honesty and humor.
December 18, 2020
เป็น light reading ที่ให้มอบความรู้สึกดี ๆ กับมาเล่มหนึ่งเลย
“ช่างสำราญ” เป็นเรื่องราวเกี่ยวกับเด็กชายวัยห้าขวบ – กำพล ช่างสำราญ – ที่ถูกพ่อแม่ทิ้งไว้ให้อยู่กับชุมชนขนาดเล็ก เปลือยภาพสังคมที่ชาวบ้านมีการไปมาหาสู่สร้างสัมพันธ์แก่กันในชุมชน เห็นได้จากการที่ได้รับอุปถัมภ์จากผู้หลักผู้ใหญ่ที่อยู่ ๆ ก็พร้อมใจเข้ากันมายื่นไมตรีให้ หลายครั้งมาด้วยความเต็มใจบ้าง ไม่เต็มใจบ้าง แต่ฉายให้เห็นถึงมิตรภาพและความใกล้ชิดที่มีต่อกันในสังคมชุมชนได้อบอุ่นดี ส่วนมากในเรื่องเต็มไปด้วยฉากที่ “ขบขัน” ที่พอให้ขยับมุมปากได้บ้าง (ทั้งนี้ทั้งนั้น เพราะความไร้เดียงสาผ่านสายตาเด็กชายวัยห้าขวบ)
“ช่างสำราญ” เป็นเรื่องราวเกี่ยวกับเด็กชายวัยห้าขวบ – กำพล ช่างสำราญ – ที่ถูกพ่อแม่ทิ้งไว้ให้อยู่กับชุมชนขนาดเล็ก เปลือยภาพสังคมที่ชาวบ้านมีการไปมาหาสู่สร้างสัมพันธ์แก่กันในชุมชน เห็นได้จากการที่ได้รับอุปถัมภ์จากผู้หลักผู้ใหญ่ที่อยู่ ๆ ก็พร้อมใจเข้ากันมายื่นไมตรีให้ หลายครั้งมาด้วยความเต็มใจบ้าง ไม่เต็มใจบ้าง แต่ฉายให้เห็นถึงมิตรภาพและความใกล้ชิดที่มีต่อกันในสังคมชุมชนได้อบอุ่นดี ส่วนมากในเรื่องเต็มไปด้วยฉากที่ “ขบขัน” ที่พอให้ขยับมุมปากได้บ้าง (ทั้งนี้ทั้งนั้น เพราะความไร้เดียงสาผ่านสายตาเด็กชายวัยห้าขวบ)
February 13, 2020
I have looked and looked and looked for a book written by a Thai woman that has been translated to English with no success for a few years now. Thankfully, a group challenge to read women in translation proffered me this book on a groupmate's list (thank you Lark). I immediately ordered out from the library, I know, I was stunned that it was an option - along with the author's other available book of short stories.
Bright is touted as "first-ever novel by a Thai woman to appear internationally in English translation."
Does this mean that it is the first ever novel by Thai woman to be translated, or the first ever novel by a Thai woman to appear internationally, or both? That might explain my difficulties in tracking one down. Either way, I'm grateful that this work is available to me, and I hope this is just the first of a great flood of Thai women authors available to be read in English.
Bright is the story of Kampol, or Boy, who is abandoned in the courtyard of Mrs. Tongjan's community one fateful day. The night before, he slept in one of the apartments with his father and baby brother even after his parents fought and his mother left. This day, his mother returned in a truck, loaded up and moved away. His father turned in the keys to Mrs. Tongjan, told Kampol that he would return after dropping off the baby at Granny's, and left him there with two bags. He is five.
What follows is a story - or rather, many stories - of a boy who has neither parents, yet an entire community to look after him. No place to call home, yet many roofs to sleep under. One day he goes hungry, but soon he is earning money for extra snacks by walking on Dang's back, or running messages from Chong's market phone to the residents. These names, their food, the mannerisms make this story of a Thai community like a piece of home for me. I used to walk on my mom's back. I love papaya salad and rice and larp and eggs; these are comfort foods. Mama noodles are the best! Seriously try the Tom Yum flavor!
Somehow this horrible story of an abandoned boy also becomes the stories of the village who is raising its children together, and many stories of all the people who are orbiting Boy - Hia Chong the single shopkeeper who loves to read, Dang and his wife who rose at 3am to start their workday at a food stand, his best friends Oan and Jua and their families, all the neighborhood kids, the landlady and her dog Momo who bit a girl on her butt, and even the monks who make their morning treks around for alms. A community of stories that are lessons imparted and meals shared.
Bright is a story about the lives of Thai people, and it was heartbreaking and heart filling at the same time because at the center of this universe is the innocent Boy, Kampol.
Bright is touted as "first-ever novel by a Thai woman to appear internationally in English translation."
Does this mean that it is the first ever novel by Thai woman to be translated, or the first ever novel by a Thai woman to appear internationally, or both? That might explain my difficulties in tracking one down. Either way, I'm grateful that this work is available to me, and I hope this is just the first of a great flood of Thai women authors available to be read in English.
Bright is the story of Kampol, or Boy, who is abandoned in the courtyard of Mrs. Tongjan's community one fateful day. The night before, he slept in one of the apartments with his father and baby brother even after his parents fought and his mother left. This day, his mother returned in a truck, loaded up and moved away. His father turned in the keys to Mrs. Tongjan, told Kampol that he would return after dropping off the baby at Granny's, and left him there with two bags. He is five.
What follows is a story - or rather, many stories - of a boy who has neither parents, yet an entire community to look after him. No place to call home, yet many roofs to sleep under. One day he goes hungry, but soon he is earning money for extra snacks by walking on Dang's back, or running messages from Chong's market phone to the residents. These names, their food, the mannerisms make this story of a Thai community like a piece of home for me. I used to walk on my mom's back. I love papaya salad and rice and larp and eggs; these are comfort foods. Mama noodles are the best! Seriously try the Tom Yum flavor!
Somehow this horrible story of an abandoned boy also becomes the stories of the village who is raising its children together, and many stories of all the people who are orbiting Boy - Hia Chong the single shopkeeper who loves to read, Dang and his wife who rose at 3am to start their workday at a food stand, his best friends Oan and Jua and their families, all the neighborhood kids, the landlady and her dog Momo who bit a girl on her butt, and even the monks who make their morning treks around for alms. A community of stories that are lessons imparted and meals shared.
Bright is a story about the lives of Thai people, and it was heartbreaking and heart filling at the same time because at the center of this universe is the innocent Boy, Kampol.
December 9, 2021
Quote “You stay here. I’m taking your brother over to Grandma’s. I’ll be back in a bit.” Hearing these last three words, Kampol didn’t dare wander, worried that his father wouldn’t spot him when he got back, so he just paced back and forth, keeping an eye on the curve where the road came into the neighborhood.
This book taught me about community.
Bright by Duanwad Pimwana is a drama, emotional and often sad, with a very surprising ending, which totally threw me and broke my heart. The ending was amazing, it was actually the best part of the book. It is an easy to read book, short and gives an insight into a working class Thai community.
There is a great sense of community as the neighbourhood takes him in and gives him a place to sleep and eat. He goes from family to family, sometimes in one home and sometimes in another. But nobody gives him money, they have none to spare, so here is where you learn how resilient and determined Kampol is under the circumstances learning to earn money and survive.
It reads more like short stories, each chapter was a totally different story but with the same characters in each story, from the community where Kampol lives, and there are a lot of characters, with a list at the beginning of the book. Although there are so many of them, you never get confused who is who.
Lots of interesting characters just going on with the day to day stuff. They are all good people, trying to get by day to day, with their jobs, raising their children and of course, plenty of gossip from the neighbourhood.
Best chapter or short story? possibly the crickets chapter, I liked the idea of how Kampol could earn money.
The author describes another world, a world where the government does next to nothing to help abandoned children, but the worst was that his father and mother would appear once in a while and then disappear again without warning. But, don’t forget the ending, this book is worth reading just for this.
I give this book 3 stars, The next country we are visiting in Ethiopia.
This book taught me about community.
Bright by Duanwad Pimwana is a drama, emotional and often sad, with a very surprising ending, which totally threw me and broke my heart. The ending was amazing, it was actually the best part of the book. It is an easy to read book, short and gives an insight into a working class Thai community.
There is a great sense of community as the neighbourhood takes him in and gives him a place to sleep and eat. He goes from family to family, sometimes in one home and sometimes in another. But nobody gives him money, they have none to spare, so here is where you learn how resilient and determined Kampol is under the circumstances learning to earn money and survive.
It reads more like short stories, each chapter was a totally different story but with the same characters in each story, from the community where Kampol lives, and there are a lot of characters, with a list at the beginning of the book. Although there are so many of them, you never get confused who is who.
Lots of interesting characters just going on with the day to day stuff. They are all good people, trying to get by day to day, with their jobs, raising their children and of course, plenty of gossip from the neighbourhood.
Best chapter or short story? possibly the crickets chapter, I liked the idea of how Kampol could earn money.
The author describes another world, a world where the government does next to nothing to help abandoned children, but the worst was that his father and mother would appear once in a while and then disappear again without warning. But, don’t forget the ending, this book is worth reading just for this.
I give this book 3 stars, The next country we are visiting in Ethiopia.
November 17, 2020
It's four and a half stars, really, but not because it's not a great book, more than it's not really a novel, more a collection of very short stories. I think I read somewhere that these stories were originally published as one-offs in a Thai newspaper. That would make sense. I found I enjoyed them more when I read the book in bites - a chapter or two a night.
The stories are pithy and different, some very touching, some profound, some snapshots, some sad, some funny but they are all good. They all centre around Kampol, a young, five year old boy abandoned by his parents to be looked after by a group of neighbours in an unnamed Thai town. This is a brilliant narrative device as the author has our full attention right from the word go and we look out for Kampol almost by instinct, worrying for him as he is passed about by the neighbours and grows up before our eyes.
Pimwana offers a very fair take on humanity, not judging so much as showing us what we are like in all our guises. I chose it as I lived in Thailand for a bit and found that with a very light touch, she took me back there. At root this a series of human stories, not restricted to any single place or time. It's a nice, warming read - although it's nowhere near being sickly sweet or worthy (thankfully).
The stories are pithy and different, some very touching, some profound, some snapshots, some sad, some funny but they are all good. They all centre around Kampol, a young, five year old boy abandoned by his parents to be looked after by a group of neighbours in an unnamed Thai town. This is a brilliant narrative device as the author has our full attention right from the word go and we look out for Kampol almost by instinct, worrying for him as he is passed about by the neighbours and grows up before our eyes.
Pimwana offers a very fair take on humanity, not judging so much as showing us what we are like in all our guises. I chose it as I lived in Thailand for a bit and found that with a very light touch, she took me back there. At root this a series of human stories, not restricted to any single place or time. It's a nice, warming read - although it's nowhere near being sickly sweet or worthy (thankfully).
May 18, 2019
I just adored this book!
Told in a series of vignettes, we follow Kampol - a five year old boy who has been abandoned by his family. The community comes together to help raise Kampol, while he also learns to fend for himself. This is very much a coming of age story but the way it was presented is unlike anything I’ve read before. In the BEST way!
I found myself laughing out loud several times which sounds bizarre since the book touches on so much sadness. However, hearing this from the perspective of a five year old brings a light-heartedness/quirkiness to the story. We see Kampol mature before our eyes and the stories that touch on him having to grow up quicker than he should resonated with me the most.
Fun fact: Bright is the first novel written by a Thai woman to be translated and published in English.
Told in a series of vignettes, we follow Kampol - a five year old boy who has been abandoned by his family. The community comes together to help raise Kampol, while he also learns to fend for himself. This is very much a coming of age story but the way it was presented is unlike anything I’ve read before. In the BEST way!
I found myself laughing out loud several times which sounds bizarre since the book touches on so much sadness. However, hearing this from the perspective of a five year old brings a light-heartedness/quirkiness to the story. We see Kampol mature before our eyes and the stories that touch on him having to grow up quicker than he should resonated with me the most.
Fun fact: Bright is the first novel written by a Thai woman to be translated and published in English.
August 25, 2025
this was so beautiful. a community/village through the eyes and innocent perspective of a lost child they collectively decide to raise - sort of the inverse of that famous proverb of the child being abandoned by the village who wants to burn it down. I loved the style of vignettes too
August 6, 2023
One of the main reasons I like reading - and think it’s important - is the ability to have insight into lives you’ve never led. This series of vignettes in the life of Kampol, a five year old boy functionally abandoned by his parents and raised communally by his village, is sweet, thoughtful, and more than a little sad. The book chronicles his hardships (his abandonment, his forced fast growing up) and his joys (his many adventures with the other children and the adults in his village). Writing from the perspective of a child without writing childishly is a challenge and one that I think is masterfully achieved here.
Edit 6/8/23: just coming in to say I’ve read three books since I finished this and I still think about it a lot. In so many ways a quiet book but one that has echoes.
Edit 6/8/23: just coming in to say I’ve read three books since I finished this and I still think about it a lot. In so many ways a quiet book but one that has echoes.
June 4, 2019
Bright is the story of a 6 year old boy who has to mature quickly and wise up to his life in a working class Thai tenement housing community. After a violent episode involving extra-marital relations his parents split up and leave the community, abandoning the boy. The novel is in short chapters, with an anecdotal format that makes it an easy read. As the story progresses and the boy becomes more street-wise it’s easy to forget how young he is, he shows a sense of responsibility and resourcefulness beyond his years.
It’s an intentionally simple, original and entertaining piece of writing with a thought provoking ending.
It’s an intentionally simple, original and entertaining piece of writing with a thought provoking ending.
March 29, 2022
3.5 stars
this is the first thai novel written by a woman to be translated into english, and i can't help but be proud of my nationality. however, i feel like if you don't have enough knowledge and familiarity with thai culture, it will be very difficult to understand the context and how special these tiny moments are to the characters. the thing i liked about this book was how the author portrayed the lives of working class people in thailand, and how they could find joy in the smallest of things. i felt connected so much to these stories because these little memories were also part of my childhood back in bangkok, so they were super special to me. if you are looking for a happy and super heartwarming book, read this.
but the cast was so big that it was hard to keep track of each character, and each chapter didn't really have a narrative connection to the last. i felt more like a set of vignettes throughout the protagonist's life. and the writing style was so simple and straightforward that it was sometimes too direct.
i wish i could have read this in thai (i am fluent in thai) but i couldn't find the original version anywhere so i had to read it in english instead.
this is the first thai novel written by a woman to be translated into english, and i can't help but be proud of my nationality. however, i feel like if you don't have enough knowledge and familiarity with thai culture, it will be very difficult to understand the context and how special these tiny moments are to the characters. the thing i liked about this book was how the author portrayed the lives of working class people in thailand, and how they could find joy in the smallest of things. i felt connected so much to these stories because these little memories were also part of my childhood back in bangkok, so they were super special to me. if you are looking for a happy and super heartwarming book, read this.
but the cast was so big that it was hard to keep track of each character, and each chapter didn't really have a narrative connection to the last. i felt more like a set of vignettes throughout the protagonist's life. and the writing style was so simple and straightforward that it was sometimes too direct.
i wish i could have read this in thai (i am fluent in thai) but i couldn't find the original version anywhere so i had to read it in english instead.
April 24, 2023
Me recordó muchísimo a La casa en Mango Street en el sentido de que esta contada desde el punto de vista de un niño y es la descripción de su vecindario, del lugar donde vive, de las personas que viven en su barrio y las múltiples particularidades de su vida. De las alegrías y tristezas, de la pobreza y el trabajo arduo, de la inocencia de ser niño pero también de las tristezas tan profundas que viven en un mundo tan cruel, de las personas que no tienen la habilidad de ser padres y madres y de los que si. Cada capitulo es una mini viñeta de alguna aventura que vive Boy y sus amigos en su vecindad en Tailandia, pero perfectamente me pude imaginar a un niñito mexicano y sus aventuras en una unidad habitacional, con la comunidad ayudándolo, con ese espíritu solidario aun dentro de la propia desgracia, el pensamiento de donde comen dos comen tres, aún cuando la comida no abunde para nada. Es sorprendente las similitudes culturales y el darnos cuenta que al final de todo, somos humanos, similares y cercanos. Muy enternecedor.
August 2, 2020
Brilliant writing
Bright is the story of a young boy who is abandoned by his family to the mercy of his neighbors. It is shocking in its origins but it quietly grows to show the tenement community and the heartwarming spirit of neighbors who are willing to help even from their own desperate lack.
The short chapters are written as third person narratives following the adventures that the boy gets up to as he exists with minimal supervision and the anecdotal style brings a sort of comic relief to a hard knock story. Cultural references are mentioned throughout the novel riveting the story in time and place.
Bright is the story of a young boy who is abandoned by his family to the mercy of his neighbors. It is shocking in its origins but it quietly grows to show the tenement community and the heartwarming spirit of neighbors who are willing to help even from their own desperate lack.
The short chapters are written as third person narratives following the adventures that the boy gets up to as he exists with minimal supervision and the anecdotal style brings a sort of comic relief to a hard knock story. Cultural references are mentioned throughout the novel riveting the story in time and place.
April 10, 2020
This is an interesting little book! A young boy is abandoned by his selfish parents - and it's not horrible! The community steps in to take care of him as best they can. The writing is very matter-of-fact so the story never gets overly dramatic, instead we get the story for little Kampol's point of view as he soldiers on. A nice change from the usual way of telling what could/should be a disturbing tale!
July 24, 2019
Kampol is a 5 year old boy whose parents abandoned him. The community took him in, and took turns caring for him. The community made sure that he had food and a place to sleep.
This was really a delightful book (I found myself really angry at his parents for their neglect), and I really liked all the characters that became surrogate parents.
This was really a delightful book (I found myself really angry at his parents for their neglect), and I really liked all the characters that became surrogate parents.
September 29, 2023
A sad, very touching novel in the form of short vignettes. It follows a five-year-old boy abandoned by his parents, but also shows different aspects of a poor but tight-knit community at an indeterminate time in South Korea's history.
Although the town comes alive in scenes and characters, the writing style is flat and fairly colorless.
Although the town comes alive in scenes and characters, the writing style is flat and fairly colorless.
July 24, 2023
It’s similar to Malgudi Days — episodic chapters, no sweeping story arcs for most side characters that run through the book, not a traditional novel. Once I understood that, it was an enjoyable read.
May 9, 2019
Strangely (to me at least because the circumstances led me to expect something heavier) the itch this most scratched was the same one satisfied by James Herriot memoirs. Chapters were largely charming anecdotes with some (sometimes tragic) through lines.
March 30, 2023
A connected series of short stories/vignettes about a young boy whose parents abandon him and who is taken in by his little working class community. It's sad, funny at times, and very slice of life. It reminds me of Cannery Row by John Steinbeck.
There isn't a ton of plot and some of it started to feel repetitive by the end, I'm sure there were subtleties I was missing but it didn't 100% hold my interest.
There isn't a ton of plot and some of it started to feel repetitive by the end, I'm sure there were subtleties I was missing but it didn't 100% hold my interest.
April 11, 2019
The publisher hand sold this book to me when I asked her for something to read on the plane, and it was a delight. And every day Thai village seen through the eyes of a child, manages to be both realistic-feeling and heartwarming.
August 10, 2021
3.5 stars
This book is not exactly a novel, but it's not really short stories either. There is no plot, per se. it's more a series of vignettes about Kampol, a 5-year-old who is abandoned by his parents--they just leave him to fend for himself in their old neighborhood. Both come by, but expect the neighbors to work it out.
This book is sad, but it is also very sweet. Very much an "It takes a village..." kind of story. This is a working class neighborhood. No one can take in another child--but everyone shares the burden of feeding Kampol, hosting him overnight, and doing his laundry. Others give him odd jobs and support.
Of course, Kampol is only 5-6 in this book, so he is sad and confused by not angry yet. It's just a snapshot in a year of one young boy's life.
This book is not exactly a novel, but it's not really short stories either. There is no plot, per se. it's more a series of vignettes about Kampol, a 5-year-old who is abandoned by his parents--they just leave him to fend for himself in their old neighborhood. Both come by, but expect the neighbors to work it out.
This book is sad, but it is also very sweet. Very much an "It takes a village..." kind of story. This is a working class neighborhood. No one can take in another child--but everyone shares the burden of feeding Kampol, hosting him overnight, and doing his laundry. Others give him odd jobs and support.
Of course, Kampol is only 5-6 in this book, so he is sad and confused by not angry yet. It's just a snapshot in a year of one young boy's life.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews