Born in 1969 to a farming family in Chon Buri, Pimjai Juklin -- aka Duanwad Pimwana -- is one of Thailand's preeminent writers of contemporary fiction. After briefly working as a journalist, Duanwad started writing short stories. She was first published in 1989 in a local Thai magazine. In 2003, she published her first novel, Chang Samran (Bright), which won the SEA Write Award, making her one of only seven women writers to have won the prestigious award since its inception 40 years ago.
Arid Dreams Arid Dreams
Arid Dreams, a collection of 13 short stories, is only her second publication, after Bright, to be translated into English. It is a deep and thoughtful exploration of human psyches and the dreams of ordinary Thais in an ever-changing socio-economic environment. Varied characters yearn for freedom and lament unfulfilled dreams as they remain trapped in their stations in life.
In Attendant, an elevator operator spends his days confined within a square box, listening to a constant stream of one-word commands -- "second", "third", "fifth", "seventh". He reminisces about his youth and the wide open fields he left behind. He is torn between the pitiful reality of the soulless job that puts food in his belly, and a simple desire to get away from it all and return to those vast open spaces.
In Wood Children, a barren wife longing for a child begins carving pieces of wood into small figures of children. She becomes obsessed with this task to the exclusion of all else. Her husband is driven to rage and jealousy. Duanwad allows her sparse prose to evoke the strain of this relationship; this forgotten woman finds a voice in her wooden children.
Within These Walls presents a life or death conundrum. A middle-class wife imagines what her life would be like if her husband, who is critically ill, actually died. The paint on the walls, chosen by her husband, whispers to her, deriding her. She feels guilty about his condition, but realises that she would not miss him. She finds herself wishing for her husband to die.
Duanwad is at her best when delving into the simple everyday lives of her characters. Sandals is a vivid tale of rural Thailand, where livelihoods depend on agriculture. A young sister and brother live at one with nature. Life is tough: they have to finish school early to help their parents with the farming; they become upset when they are not able to attend a temple fair. Yet, the two still find joy and laughter, lots of it. Often in the simple things, such as when they poke fun at a TV ad showing wealthy urbanites in skimpy beachwear wearing funny-looking sandals.
Similarly, The Way Of The Moon tells a tender story of a father and son. Nothing much happens. The father is obsessed with watching the Moon and whenever it is shining brightly in the night sky, he takes his young son to the beach. There, they build a fire, make music and spend the night watching the Moon. It's a simple yet enchanting tale. A meditation on the simple beauty of nature -- the kind that people living in cities are deprived of.
In the titular story, Arid Dreams, we get a man's take on a woman's life. Our mischievous narrator goes on holiday to a tourist town only to fall headlong for a beautiful masseuse. He fantasises about her in traditional dress giving him a sensual massage. He makes plans to prolong his stay. Then he discovers she is a prostitute. At their next meeting, he demands to sleep with her. The masseuse refuses, saying she will only take foreign clients because "they come and go". The more he talks to her, the more he realises that she's just a hardworking woman trying to make ends meet, and the sexy, lustful masseuse of his dreams is pure fantasy.
The last story, The Second Book, is the strongest and most complex tale in the collection. Tired of life, a man goes in search of a book sequel he left unbought 40 years before. He travels to see the old woman who owned the bookstore where he bought the first book, but it is no longer in operation. The old woman's younger sister later brings him the second book, telling him that it was her who'd sold the first book to him. She remembers him as a young man begging her to sell him the book after he'd finally saved up enough money for it. She kept the second book for him.
The man, however, realises that he doesn't want the book after all. Having failed to achieve anything in life, he thought he could recapture something by fulfilling his younger self's dream. But that young boy is gone and so is his dream. The woman, meanwhile, had wondered if that boy would ever return, inventing a life for him in her imagination.
All but two stories in Arid Dreams have a male narrator. Yet, the women are always central to the stories. Their voices, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes enigmatic, subtly break the veneer of masculinity, allowing readers to understand what it's like for women to live within the constraints of Thai societal and cultural constructs. Mui Poopoksakul's sensitivity and cultural acuteness in translation helps to highlight Duanwad's depictions of womanhood. Duanwad's is a hugely important voice. The translation of these short stories for English speaking readers is most welcome.
