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sngsweelian's review against another edition
4.0
Set in the rubbish dump in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, this book has won several awards. The characters are based on real people but the writer Camron Wright has taken the liberty to go beyond their actual life experiences and imagined what would happen if one of them were to be given the gift of literacy. This is an inspiring story and definitely a book I would recommend to my students.
bethmara's review against another edition
2.0
A rose that has lost its bloom.
Published over 30 years ago, The Rent Collector is a story of a mother living in the trash heap slums of Cambodia who's taught to read by her alcoholic rent collector.
Sang Ly is a mother of raising her children while picking trash out of the world's largest open air dump site and the erratic and often abusive rent collector is a former professor.
Based on true events, the author takes certain liberties in telling Sang Ly's incredibly inspirational story.
My struggle with this book is that it is fiction and the white male English speaking author has chosen to provide a shockingly limited internal monologue and expressed dialogue vocabulary to Sang Ly. Sang Ly communicates in her mind and in her words in pigeon English. It's shocking and sort of freaked me. Why would this character be speaking to herself in pigeon English?
Maybe the author found this a to be a compelling way to share her story but I found it *really* off-putting.
I had to double check the several times to make sure this was not a translation of something Sang Ly had written or said.
At the time this book was published, brought a lot of attention to Cambodia's open air dumps and baby this book would be an appropriate read for a 7th grade class who hasn't experienced poverty but as an adult read there's so many lost opportunities.... It just hasn't stood the test of time. Disappointing.
Published over 30 years ago, The Rent Collector is a story of a mother living in the trash heap slums of Cambodia who's taught to read by her alcoholic rent collector.
Sang Ly is a mother of raising her children while picking trash out of the world's largest open air dump site and the erratic and often abusive rent collector is a former professor.
Based on true events, the author takes certain liberties in telling Sang Ly's incredibly inspirational story.
My struggle with this book is that it is fiction and the white male English speaking author has chosen to provide a shockingly limited internal monologue and expressed dialogue vocabulary to Sang Ly. Sang Ly communicates in her mind and in her words in pigeon English. It's shocking and sort of freaked me. Why would this character be speaking to herself in pigeon English?
Maybe the author found this a to be a compelling way to share her story but I found it *really* off-putting.
I had to double check the several times to make sure this was not a translation of something Sang Ly had written or said.
At the time this book was published, brought a lot of attention to Cambodia's open air dumps and baby this book would be an appropriate read for a 7th grade class who hasn't experienced poverty but as an adult read there's so many lost opportunities.... It just hasn't stood the test of time. Disappointing.
m_klevenberg's review against another edition
4.0
I loves the symbols in this book. The ending was wonderful. The imagery of the snow covering the dump and the effect that has is so interesting.
laurenisallbooked's review against another edition
5.0
This book is so enchanting and heartwarming and beautiful. A story about hope, love, community and the power of good stories, even in the darkest places and times. This is going on my favorites list.
skynet666's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book so much. I also thought it was such a wonderful idea to base the story on people from his son's documentary.
sikkgrl66's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is my first 5 star read this year.
sara_toone's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kfrickle's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
4.0
The story is very gripping. I couldn't help but root for the characters. If you love the talk of literature, and the power of words, this would be a great story to read. This book was based off a true story.
Content warning: violence (one scene a little descriptive) and child death
Other content: seeing a witch doctor/healer
Content warning: violence (one scene a little descriptive) and child death
Other content: seeing a witch doctor/healer
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death and Violence
lindsayvale's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Vomit