The international bestseller returns--now with new bonus content celebrating 15 years of the perseverance of the human spirit and the power of literacy.
Survival for Sang Ly is a daily battle at Stung Meanchey, the largest municipal waste dump in all of Cambodia. She lives there with her husband and impoverished son in a hut made of cast-off planks, scavenging for recyclables to feed her family. Just when Sang Ly believes she is destined to spend the rest of her days at the dump, she discovers a glimmer of hope in the most unlikely of places--the bitter, alcoholic rent collector, Sopeap Sin, who terrorizes the dump dwellers each month, but who also happens to harbor a deep secret: She is hiding at the dump to escape her past.
When Sopeap reluctantly agrees to teach Sang Ly to read, the two women embark on a remarkable journey through the world of literature that transforms them both--and the world around them. Inspired by a true story captured in the documentary film River of Victory, The Rent Collector is a story of hope, of family, and of the magic of stories.
This special Deluxe Edition, celebrating the 15th anniversary of the beloved international bestseller, features a stunning two-color interior and includes bonus content found nowhere else:
- A new author's note for the 15th anniversary
- The making of The Rent Collector: From documentary film to novel
- Return to Cambodia: The story of going back to find Sang Ly
- What's true and what's fiction?
- Q&A from 15 years of book clubs
- The making of the Cambodian Cinderella story
- Life lessons from the author
- Full-color photographs at the back of the book, including new photographs in the Author's Note
