For Sang Ly, a woman who lives in a dump in Cambodia with her small son and husband, the truth is what she is must discover. Will her boy Nisay ever get better? Will her husband always have to pick trash for a living? Is there hope in this world where garbage as tall as mountains loom before you and toxic rivers stain your feet?
The answer is yes.
The discovery of hope is different for Sang Ly than she anticipated, though, because she must look for it in the neighborhood rent collector, Sopeap Sin, a woman despised and otherwise known as "the Cow."
This story is glorious on so many levels, following the journey of individuals who have true strength and courage. These people are "swimming in literature," and not because there are discarded books at the dump, but because each one of them have a story ... as long as they are willing to read them in one another.
I didn't tear through this book in a single night, though there were moments when I was gripped to the words on the page. Instead, reading this book is like eating a bowl of rice and taking it one grain at a time, enjoying the people, the places, and the stories that are so perfect on their own, but that are even better as a whole.
There are stories that excite, and stories that make you laugh. There are stories that make you cry and stories that make you feel fear. And then there are stories that change your life.
This is one of those stories.
Appropriate for ages 18+
This one's next. I can't wait to read it!
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