Book Report: The Rent Collector

I was asked by Deseret Book if I would be interested in reading and reviewing some of their current best-sellers.  Being a huge book nerd, I jumped at the chance.  They sent me copies, but the reviews and opinions are my own.

 

From the publisher:  

Survival for Ki Lim and Sang Ly is a daily battle at Stung Meanchey, the largest municipal waste dump in all of Cambodia. They make their living scavenging recyclables from the trash. Life would be hard enough without the worry for their chronically ill child, Nisay, and the added expense of medicines that are not working. Just when things seem worst, Sang Ly learns a secret about the ill-tempered rent collector who comes demanding money--a secret that sets in motion a tide that will change the life of everyone it sweeps past. The Rent Collector is a story of hope, of one woman’s journey to save her son and another woman’s chance at redemption. It demonstrates that even in a dump in Cambodia--perhaps especially in a dump in Cambodia--everyone deserves a second chance.

Holy.  Gravy.

The Rent Collector was amazingly good.

I wish I had words to  describe the levels of emotion and joy and thoughtfulness that I experienced while reading this book. 

Let me back up--

I currently suffer from "Pregnant Brain" and it takes A LOT for me to be able to get into a novel, lately.  I can't be bothered with precious tropes, I get really irritable with too much exposition, and I want a plot that hooks me from the beginning.  The Rent  Collector had me reeled in from page one.  The story of Sang Ly and her desire to help her family could have gone maudlin and manipulative, but Cameron Wright's straight-forward voice really set me at ease; I saw the world through her eyes, experienced her choices as earnestly and urgently as she did.  (The setting of the Cambodian dump where families live touched my heart, as we recently participated in a Craft Hope service project for such a neighborhood in Nicaragua, and I was really interested in the details of how people lived.) 
As Sang Ly progresses throughout her journey we learn as she learns--through stories.  I loved the motif of interspersing traditional tales throughout the story, adding different layers to the novel.  

In short--I loved this book.  It was fabulous.  It captivated my imagination and left me feeling inspired.  It is a rare novel that can break through my crabby shell to touch me, lately, and The Rent Collector did that many times over.  I highly recommend it to anyone who loves literature--this would be great for your book club, too. 

I 'd lend it to you, but I think I am going to go read it again after Thanksgiving dinner.