An amazing story coming out from a simple personality of a school janitor in a village tucked in Thailand's outback. Fak, is the son of Foo, a carpenter who sought refuge to a temple and live on the monastery's yard in a simple thatched hut. Fak grew up to be a novice but decided to disrobe since he couldn't help to see his father worked his butt out.
To sum the story up, Fak is victimized by the society, a little village near a monastery. Especially after he's taking care of the deranged Somsong (his father's wife) after the death of his father.
Set in thick Thailand culture, this bleak novel will bring you to the daily life of Fak and his mind. Korbjitti's details to Thailand's psyche amazed me. Being a South Asian myself, I can relate quite well to his writing. Although Korbjitti was loyal to Fak, he was able to present in a subtle yet strong characters of Khai (the village Undertaker) and the Headmaster (of a school where Fak worked as a janitor).
This work will bring you to question a lot about Thailand culture e.g. the relation between society and monastery as Thailand's strongest religious institution, the relation between different classes in Thailand's society.
However, I believe Chart Korbjitti didn't only write about Thai's culture and psyche. He's writing about human in general. How we all want to be normal and pure.. How we are defensive to everything different than our reality.