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The Understory

by Saneh Sangsuk

Stories beneath a changing landscape

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Stories beneath a changing landscape

In a Thai village reshaped first by agriculture and later by capitalism, the elderly monk Luang Paw Tien holds memories of a jungle way of life that has largely disappeared. His nightly tales to village children connect his younger years—including a pilgrimage to India—with family hopes, a father’s resistance to change, and a love that renews his pursuit of a different future. The novel brings environmental change into conversation with faith and the role of oral storytelling: stories carry cultural memory forward, while also leaving room for it to be embellished.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in fiction from Southeast Asia and Thai literature.
  • Readers drawn to stories about changing relationships between communities and the natural world.
  • Readers interested in oral storytelling, faith, and cultural memory.

Themes

Nature and social changeFaithOral storytellingCultural memory

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A novel of man's relationship with nature, faith, and the vitality of storytelling, from celebrated Thai author Saneh Sangsuk.


The lovable, yarnspinning monk Luang Paw Tien, now in his nineties, was 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. Now he entertains the children of his village nightly 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.


Thoroughly entertaining and already beloved, Sangsuk's first novel available in the U.S. is a celebration of the oral tradition of storytelling and that tradition's power to preserve (and embellish) cultural memory.

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Customer reviews

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Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

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Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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Olivia

Smooth.