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Rent collector book review free
This book is a work of fiction inspired by real stories. I have not watched it and I wonder how much of the testimonies were translated into fiction. Aug 10, Kathy rated it it was amazing Shelves: read-in Absolutely wonderful. This is one of my favorite reads this year. I chose The Rent Collector as my pick for my local book group. Every single person who read it loved it. That hasn’t happened before at book group. If you are part of a book group this should definitely make your list of books to read.
I had 2 copies of this book. One is literally falling apart because it has been read by so many people and the other was claimed by middle school teacher who wanted to share it with teachers at her school. One would think it would be a depressing story Sang Ly lives in a Cambodian dump along with her husband and ailing son where they scavenge for anything of value to survive. So not the case! The Rent Collector has such a great message about hope and happiness amid struggles and trials.
It is a truly inspiring story and one that made me grateful for all that I have been blessed with. Get yourself a copy of this one. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Rating: 5 Stars – I loved it!
Content: Clean Source: Review copy from Publisher View all 11 comments. Oct 28, Rachelle rated it it was amazing. When I received this book in the mail, I stared at the cover for several minutes trying to wrap my brain around the truth behind this fictionalized account of Sang Ly’s life. My nine-year-old daughter saw the cover of the book and I explained to her that it was a large dump where people put all of their garbage and that those shacks were houses where people lived.
It was very hard for her to comprehend what I was telling her. Why would they live in the dump? Why can’t they just come and live here When I received this book in the mail, I stared at the cover for several minutes trying to wrap my brain around the truth behind this fictionalized account of Sang Ly’s life. Why can’t they just come and live here in the U. It was a priceless opportunity for her to see how blessed we truly are. I loved this book! Amazing storyline, characters that I feel I know, heart-wrenching anguish as well as joy in simple things–these are all feelings I experienced while reading The Rent Collector.
Sang Ly’s story is an incredible gift that will open your eyes and help you see just how much one person can change the world. It was so neat to witness Sang Ly learning to read and how that changed everything for her and her family.
Being able to peek into a part of the world so foreign to my imagination is something that I feel has enriched my life and broadened my perspective yet a little more.
Sep 29, Danielle rated it liked it Shelves: fab-book-club-books. Bookclub pick I. Dec 10, Jennifer Hughes rated it liked it Shelves: nostrano. And if you have a happy experience reading this book, I am truly glad for you. I thought the book had a lot of great things going for it, but in the end, it didn’t win me over. I think the best parts of the book were the pictures and the factual details of life in a garbage dump.
I was simultaneously horrified and entranced by these poor characters’ plight. But the further I got into the story, t 2. But the further I got into the story, the less interesting and believable it was, sadly. I do want to look into the documentary the author mentions, though. You’d think I of all people would resonate with the theme of literature having the power to transform lives, but it just felt like a false setup to me.
The characters went from having lots of potential to seeming really two-dimensional, especially the Rent Collector herself, who turned from a fascinating, mysterious, complex woman into someone kind of pitiful and maudlin.
My overall takeaway is that there are some really interesting themes in the book, but I just didn’t feel like Camron Wright had the chops to pull it off.
I never really believed him in Sang Ly’s voice. Maybe it would have worked better for me if he had written in 3rd person instead of trying to get into her head. I was also kind of fascinated and yet put off by Wright’s taking real people and picking them up out of their lives and dropping them into a totally fictional scenario. How would I feel if someone did that to my life? It may be a cool literary technique, but it is also kind of insulting to the subject. I wonder what the reaction of the people “represented” in this story would be when they hear about themselves It reminds me of the end of the movie “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,” when Pee Wee is gathered with friends to watch the movie of his life–as portrayed by Chuck Norris and Morgan Fairchild.
And his bike has somehow become an awesome motorcycle! Maybe the moral is that we all could use a fiction writer to spice up our otherwise boring and unimportant lives! Sorry, just had to poke a little fun. This is a fictionalized account of a real family who live on the Stung Meanchey, the largest municipal dump in Cambodia.
Sang Ly and her husband Ki Lin are pickers at the dump, scavenging recyclables to sell to earn a meager living for themselves and their chronically ill son, Nisay. They live in a one room cardboard hut with only a tarp for a door. For this they must pay rent to the Rent Collector, a miserable, drunken old woman. At some point Sang Ly learns that the Rent C 4.
She begs her to teach her to read, so she can make life better for herself and her family. Thus starts a remarkable journey for both women. Their lives become enriched through literacy and literature, as Sopeap passes her knowledge to Sang. Many of the characters in the book are actual people. Their photos are in the back of the book. The author was inspired to write this book after his son did a documentary on the Stung Meanchey and Sang Ly and her family.
But their sunny dispositions are in direct contrast to the miserable conditions in which they live. The dump almost becomes another character in the story. The story is at its best when Sang and Sopeap are discussing books.
In this case, since Sang lives at a dump, anything that can transport her somewhere else and bring beauty into her life is desperately needed. The book is beautifully written and flows well. You definitely get a feel for life at the dump, and although the ending has a fairy tale quality to it, it is very satisfying.
A definite recommend. View all 6 comments. Oct 17, Lynne rated it it was amazing. A beautiful story about love and war and literature and healing.
So thought-provoking! Wonderful book club selection!!! Highly recommend this book to all my Goodreads friends! May 10, Antoinette rated it liked it. This book has me conflicted. On the one hand I loved the message the book was delivering A feel good story about the redemptive power of reading. Books and stories connect people.
We readers all know that. That message came across loud and clear. I loved how books and stories were characters in their own right. This book read like a fairy tale not necessarily a good thing – much like the Cambodian version of Cinderella which was one of the stories told in the book. The story revolves 3.
The story revolves around Sang Ly and her family living by a dump in Cambodia. They earn money by scavenging for materials that can be sold. Sang Ly feels that learning to read would be their ticket out. The trouble though was that her voice did not ring true to me- she sounded more American than Cambodian.
The tone of the book annoyed me as well as it was too preachy. There were lots of lessons the author wished to relay but he relayed them in such a way that felt sermon like at times. Much as Sang Ly was learning from Sopeap Sin, we were as well. This book did make me interested in reading more about Cambodia and learning more about Khmer Rouge. View all 15 comments. Apr 05, Kerstin rated it it was amazing.
Halfway through the day, my brain declared itself the winner and started to work out a plan. Grandfather loved luck, but I am tired and can no longer wait around for its arrival. I bite my lip — it hurts. I glance around the room — it’s our home at the dump.
If you want to resurrect hope, doing is the most important. 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. Everyone loves adventure, Sang Ly, when they know how the story ends.
In life, however, our own endings are never as perfect. Her fingers curl around the pages, embracing them, and I promise to read more diligently and with more passion from this moment forward. However, first you musst see it, feel it, and then believe it. When you do, where it takes you may surprise.
Of course, I’ve never been in this actual situation before, so when I finish and she says nothing, I don’t know what it means. I wait. She continues to think. There was a playwright named Heller, American, I believe, who summed it up this way. He said, ‘They knew everything about literature except how to enjoy it.
Stories express our longing not only to make a difference today but to see what is possible for tomorrow.
Literature has been called a handbook for the art of being human. So, yes. Fight evil with your knife. Whether we like it or not, hope is written so deeply into our hearts that we just can’t help ourselves, no matter how hard we try otherwise. They touch a chord in our soul because they’re notes we’ve already heard played. Plots repeat because, from the birth of man, they explore the reasons for our being.
Stories teach us to not give up hope because there are times in our own journey when we mustn’t give up hope. They teach endurance because in our lives we are meant to endure. They carry messages that are older than the words themselves, messages that are older than the words themselves, messages that reach beyond the page.
Yet, on the other hand — and this is the part that frustrates — if we don’t take the meaning of these stories literally, if we treat these tales as simply entertainment, we miss the deepest, most life-changing aspects of the stories.
We miss teh entire reason they even exist. If you are stupid, be stupid enough so they can pity you. Sometimes the two can be confusing. Instead, my husband runs through the city for the better part of the night to make sure that his wife and son are safe. At this moment, I think it would be more apt to say, For news of a mother’s heart, watch her child’s face. Nisay is terrified and my heart weeps.
When I finally crack open the door to the pssibility, gratitude rushes past so quickly to reach the sunshine, there is nothing I can do to stop it. View 1 comment. Sep 30, Lori rated it it was ok. I would like to read a book about life in Cambodia. A different book. One that doesn’t sound American. Jan 29, Cheryl rated it it was amazing Shelves: other-cultures , adult-fiction. This beautifully written, poignant, and unforgettable novel is a story of perseverance and hope amidst the squalor and filth of the dump outside of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
I would give this novel ten stars if I could. Sep 12, Natalie rated it it was ok. This book was a frustrating read for me. I thought the setting of living in a Cambodian dump was an interesting premise, particularly after reading and loving the book “Behind the Beautiful Forevers.
The protagonist as has been noted by other readers definitely sounded like a middle class white woman. The line where she basically said, “I have been told that university students study garbology Where would a des This book was a frustrating read for me. Where would a destitute, Cambodian woman hear anything like that and how would she even understand what was meant by it?! And why would she want to study “literature” in the dump instead of using her newfound reading skills to find herself a better job??
I felt that there were a lot of plot threads that were left hanging. I wish the book would have focused more on the Rent Collector’s own life, which was by far the most compelling part of the book. The whole ending of this book the wild goose chase was almost laughable.
I would really like to understand Stung Meachy the dump better and may seek out the documentary, “River of Victory. Sep 14, Emily rated it it was amazing. LOVED this book. One of my all-time favorites for sure. I loved her characters, and I was shocked to read that her characters are from her son’s documentary about this very dump.
It is incredible that even though these people really do live like this, they Loved It is incredible that even though these people really do live like this, they are able to find beauty and love and happiness in their life. This will be a “must read” for my children. I loved the smaller “tales” or “fables” told by Sopeap and thought that they were very beautifully written. I need to find out whether or not Camron Wright wrote the words that came from the 1st book that was found on their “lucky day”.
It was such a tender moment when it was read to Nisay. Jul 22, Erika B. This book was fabulous! It’s poetry! Based on the true story of Ki Lim and Sang Ly who live with their sickly son, Nisay, in a municipal waste dump in Cambodia.
Life is a daily struggle as they collect trash to trade for money so they can eat barely enough food and pay rent to their cranky rent collector. The dump is a dangerous place with the danger of gangs, combustible piles of trash, and the big dump trucks who don’t care if you get in their way.
Additional Questions 1. Lucky Fat is generally cheerful. In fact, most of the people who actually work and live at Stung Meanchey are happy, despite the fact they are only “earning enough money to buy food on the very day they eat it. Explain why or why not. Sopeap warns Sang Ly: “Life at the dump has limitations, but it serves a plate of predictability. Stung Meanchey offers boundaries. There are dangers, but they are understood, accepted, and managed.
When we step out of that world, we enter an area of unknown. In reply, Sang Ly says, “I’m just talking about literature. What might literature represent? When returning from the province, Sang Ly declares, “Home. I let the word ring in my head. Stung Meanchey Where is home for you and why? Sopeap’s last name is Sin. Do you think this was intentional by the author?
If so, what are the implications and what parallels might be drawn? Sitting beside Sopeap on the garden roof, Sang Ly says, “As the clouds close in, an evening rain begins to fall. The drops are large, like elephant tears, and as they smack the floor, they break into tiny beads that dance and play across the tiles. What other symbolism did you notice? Discussion Questions by Author.
Book Club Talking Points: The resounding message throughout this book is one of hope and at the same time disbelief, that people could live in such horrible conditions. I loved that the main character, living in a dump with untold challenges, wants to learn to read.
There are many lessons to be learned and the book is full of inspiration; sure to generate lots of healthy conversation. When you come to the final chapter and close this book, you will appreciate many things you took for granted.
If you have a passion for reading and, like most, have no time to find the right book, browse the most popular books trending right now.
They are all page-turners, and they all let you escape from reality. Browse A Little. All rights reserved. Everything you need for every book you read. The way the content is organized and presented is seamlessly smooth, innovative, and comprehensive. In-depth summary and analysis of every chapter of The Rent Collector. Visual theme-tracking, too. Explanations, analysis, and visualizations of The Rent Collector ‘s themes.
The Rent Collector ‘s important quotes, sortable by theme, character, or chapter. Description, analysis, and timelines for The Rent Collector ‘s characters. Explanations of The Rent Collector ‘s symbols, and tracking of where they appear. An interactive data visualization of The Rent Collector ‘s plot and themes.
Although Wright began an MBA, he gave it up to begin his writing career. Despite the success of his first book, Wright took a decade-long break from writing to focus on his business and design career, which over the years involved owning several retail stores and working as a designer alongside his wife for the McCall Pattern Company in New York. In spite of American bombing campaigns against them, the Khmer Rouge gathered enough power to emerge from the jungles and overthrow the state government in Phnom Penh in , installing themselves as the new ruling regime under the dictator Pol Pot, who renamed Cambodia as Democratic Kampuchea.
The regime immediately began evacuating cities, executing anyone who could possibly be perceived as a political threat—usually by having even the most tenuous ties to Western culture and thus Western capitalism—and establishing labor camps and training centers for child soldiers. The Khmer Rouge was fundamentally isolationist, and desired to run a completely self-sustaining agricultural country based on a collectivist mindset. However, their attempts to create their envisioned utopia largely failed, leading instead to widespread famine and disease, since they refused to even allow for foreign medicine.
This, combined with their ethnic cleansing of any minorities, led to a massive death toll in the four years they held power.
Rent collector book review free. THE RENT COLLECTOR BY CAMRON WRIGHT
Though the book is a work of fiction, it was inspired by real people who lived at the Stung Meanchey dump in Cambodia. (For more information, click the link to. Like my book reviews? Try my blog! FREE gift to new subscribers: a downloadable booklet of motivational quotes called, Some Do’s and Don’ts in. 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.