Sang Ly, Ki Lim, and their children. They touched our lives in ways never expected.
My parents, who always offered shining examples of patience, encouragement, and love.
My amazing children.
Last, but never least, Alicyn. While I am often a skeptic (realist), she is our believer. The combination has worked out pretty well.
Discussion Questions
See www.TheRentCollectorBook.com for more questions and additional information, including author comments on many of the discussion topics.
1. In the opening pages of The Rent Collector, Sang Ly’s grandfather promises that it will be a very lucky day. What role do you think luck plays in our lives? How does the idea of luck reconcile with the novel’s epigraph, the quote from Buddha on the opening page?
2. After reading Sarann (the Cambodian Cinderella), Sopeap and Sang Ly discuss how story plots repeat, reinforcing the same lessons. Sopeap calls resurfacing plots “perplexing” and then asks, “Is our DNA to blame for this inherent desire to hope? Is it simply another survival mechanism? Is that why we love Sarann or Cinderella? Or is there more to it?” How would you answer? What are possible explanations for the phenomenon?
3. Sang Ly says that living at the dump is a life where “the hope of tomorrow is traded to satisfy the hunger of today.” How might this statement also apply to those with modern homes, late-model cars, plentiful food, and general material abundance?
4. Sang Ly mentions that Lucky Fat has an “uncanny knack of finding money lost amongst the garbage.” Do you suppose someone may have been helping him by placing money for him to find? If so, who?
5. Speaking of her clock, Sang Ly says, “Sometimes broken things deserve to be repaired.” What might she be referring to more than the clock?
6. The shelters at Stung Meanchey are built to protect the resting pickers from the sun. What other purposes do they serve? What “shelters” do we build in our own lives? How would you react if the “shelters” in your life were constantly being torn down?
7. At first, Ki is reluctant to welcome change, specifically to see Sang Ly learn to read. He says, “I know that we don’t have a lot here, but at least we know where we stand.” What do you think he means? When have you found it hard to accept change?
8. Sopeap tells Sang Ly: “To understand literature, you read it with your head, but you interpret it with your heart. The two are forced to work together—and, quite frankly, they often don’t get along.” Do you agree? Can you think of examples?
9. Koah Kchol, or scraping, is an ancient remedy Sang Ly says has been practiced in her family for generations. Do you have your own family remedies that have been passed down? What are they, and do they work?
10. Sang Ly and Sopeap discuss dreams. Have you ever had a dream that changed your attitude, decisions, or outlook? Was it a subconscious occurrence or something more?
11. In a moment of reflection, Sang Ly admits that she doesn’t mean to be a skeptic, to lack hope, or to harbor fear. However, she notes that experience has been her diligent teacher. She asks, “Grandfather, where is the balance between humbly accepting our life’s trials and pleading toward heaven for help, begging for a better tomorrow?” How would you answer her question?
12. Sang Ly speaks often to her deceased grandfather, but not to her father, until after her meeting with the Healer. Why did her attitude change? How might the same principle apply to relationships in our own lives?
13. Sopeap always wears thick brown socks, no matter the weather. As Sopeap lies dying, Sang Ly notices that the socks have slipped, exposing scars on Sopeap’s ankles. How would you presume Sopeap got these scars? How might Sopeap’s scars (or rather their source) have influenced her appreciation for the story of the rising Phoenix? In what ways does Sopeap rise from her own ashes, literally and figuratively?
14. The story ends with Sang Ly retelling the myth of Vadavamukha and the coming of Sopeap to Stung Meanchey. By the time you reached the final version in the book’s closing pages, had you remembered the original version in the book’s opening pages? How had the myth changed? How had Sopeap changed? How had Sang Ly changed?
15. When the story closes, Sang Ly and her family are still living at Stung Meanchey. Are you satisfied with the ending, that they remain at the dump? Why or why not?
Author’s Note
Though The Rent Collector is a work of fiction, Stung Meanchey, the setting where it takes place, is real.
In 2009, the capital city’s monstrous municipal waste dump was permanently closed by the Cambodian government. An alternative dump was opened several miles to the west of the city. No homes are allowed at the new dump, so many of those who lived and worked at Stung Meanchey now pick through trash in the city, hoping to find enough to recycle and thereby feed their families and keep them together.
I was first introduced to Stung Meanchey, and the people who live there, through my son’s documentary, River of Victory. (To see what life is actually like living in a garbage dump, please visit www.RiverOfVictory.com.) In the film, he followed the struggle of Sang Ly’s family at the dump and her desperate journey to visit the Healer, a visit she hoped would save her son.
Using the documentary as a starting point, I tried to write a novel that accurately reflected the setting, conditions, character traits, and important historical facts. Then, going beyond that, I wanted to imagine what might happen if the gift of literacy were given to a family in those circumstances. The scenario I envisioned plays out in the fictional elements of The Rent Collector.
I have included photos, taken from the mentioned documentary, to offer the reader a fuller flavor and understanding of Stung Meanchey and its residents. The pictures are not an attempt to portray my characters and their particular story as factual.
I’m reminded that Ernest Hemingway is reported to have said, “All good books have one thing in common, they are truer than if they had really happened.”
I believe he has a point.
Photo Section
Ki Lim, Sang Ly, and Nisay
Picking trash at the dump
Working the trucks
Fires make the task more dangerous
Home
Bathtime
Nisay
Koah Kchol
Foreign doctor
Sang Ly picks alone
Lucky Fat
Teva Mao
Snail hunt
Leach bite
Arriving at the province
Uncle’s house
The old woman
The Healer
The Healer’s treatment
Sang Ly helps
Happy now
Nisay is finally well
The Rent Collector Page 24