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A novel of man's relationship with nature, power, and the vitality of storytelling, from beloved Thai author Saneh Sangsuk.
The lovable, yarnspinning monk Luang Paw Tien, now in his nineties, is the last person in his village to bear witness to the power and plenitude of the jungle before agrarian and then capitalist life took over his community. Nightly, he entertains the children of his village with tales from his younger years: his long pilgrimage to India, his mother's dreams of a more stable life through agriculture, his proud huntsman father who resisted those dreams, and his love, who led him to pursue those dreams all over again.
Sangsuk's novel is a celebration of the oral tradition of storytelling and, above all else, a testament to the power of stories to entertain.
"This is a captivating and delightful work...A charming, engrossing, profound exploration of the transformative power of stories." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Sangsuk (White Shadow) spins an evocative narrative of magic, storytelling, and the cost of economic progress in Thailand...This is transfixing." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
This information about The Understory was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Saneh Sangsuk is an award-winning Thai author who wrote White Shadow (2001) and the short story "Venom" (2001). In 2008, he received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) Medal from the French Ministry of Culture for his remarkable contributions to literature. His works have been translated into seven different languages including English, German, French and Spanish. His book White Shadow is considered one of the best 20 novels in Thailand. Currently, he lives in Phetchaburi, Thailand.
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