The Rent Collector

Just finished the book, The Rent Collector 

 by Camron Wright

The Rent Collector is the story of a young mother, Sang Ly, struggling to survive by picking through garbage in Cambodia's largest municipal dump (Yes, the LIVE in the dump.) Under threat of eviction by an embittered old drunk who is charged with collecting rents from the poor people who live in the dump of Stung Meanchey, Sang Ly embarks on a desperate journey to save her ailing son from a life of ignorance and poverty. It’s a tale of discovery and redemption in which she learns that literature, like hope, is found in the most unexpected places.

This book really grew on me as I read. I can't believe people actually live in the dump. Not just a few, but an entire village. Sang Ly's son is so sick from living in the dump and she cannot figure out how to get him well, due to no money to pay for doctors or medication. She does find s a friendship and hope through an amazing life story of the drunk, bitter, rent collector. I love how all the lose ends are beautifully ties together at the end. It reminds me that you should never judge someone for everyone is truly fighting their own battles, no matter how big or small. The outside might show one person, while the inside is...another story.

Though the book is a work of fiction, it was inspired by real people living in the dump at Stung Mean Chey in Cambodia.

 

Camron Wright's son, whose film inspired the author to write The Rent Collector, has since gone back to Cambodia to find Sang Ly and her family. This journey can be watched in the movie "River of Victory." 

The trailer can bee seen here on Vimo.