Wall
Against the Wind is a true story of childhood and adolescence
of a young Isan girl. Written in novelistic style, Jampee Tawylert—a
remarkable and rare Thai woman author with little formal education—details
her own life growing up in a Thai rural village in the 1970s, a
time when trucks and concrete roads were rare and people still walked
along the oxcart trails between villages and rice fields.
Told
through the voice of Lamphai, Wall against the Wind is
a story of a young girl learning the hard lessons of life inside
a traditional rural family. This heartfelt narrative is a window
into understanding a Thai mother-daughter relationship and how the
young daughter drew strengths from her mother, who was like a wall
that shielded her against the natural wind of pain and suffering
until she learned how to be brave and strong enough to survive on
her own.
In
Wall against the Wind the author’s keen eye for details
and understanding of ancient customs, cultures, traditions, and
superstitions in the way of living from birth to death. The story
will not only introduce readers to an intelligent and observant
young Thai village girl, but will also bring them back to the beautiful
and less complicated past of Thailand that many Thais have forgotten.
Praise
“Wall
Againt the Wind introduces an authentic Thai voice: that of
the remarkable Jampee Tawylert, a northen Thai woman who, like many,
left her village school at 12 to work the land and help support
her family in the largely pre-industrial 1970s. The autobiographical
tale is told in a novelistic style through the eyes of a nominal
protagonist, and is rich with fondly recalled insight into an uncomplicated
rural lifestyle that many metropolitan Thai jetsetters heve long
since forgotten.”
—Bangkok 101