Short story
The 13-Carat Diamond
Khin Myo Chit · 1955
Synopsis
Under the Japanese occupation, during the Second World War, a young Burmese couple struggle to make ends meet. After her market stall fails, the wife comes up with a way to get rich quickly: find someone willing to sell a thirteen-carat diamond, and take her cut as a go-between. The story, dry and mocking in tone, pokes fun at those who judge by appearances and chase easy profit.
Context
The story appeared in 1955 in The Guardian magazine of Rangoon, entered Bantam's anthology Fifty Great Oriental Stories and in 1969 gave its title to the collection 13 Carat Diamond and Other Stories, reissued in 2005. According to the author's son, it draws on what she lived through during the war. Khin Myo Chit is among the few Burmese writers who wrote as well in English as in their own language.
Who it is for
For a smiling satire of wartime wheeling and dealing, by one of the few Burmese women writers read abroad.
Prizes and reception
A chapter published by Cambridge University Press describes it as widely acclaimed by 1963; the Shorts Online site offers it to readers of English.