Short stories
Long su Thanon Lan Xang
Not translated into English
Bounthanong Somsaiphon · 1989
Synopsis
A man recounts his years of student activism in a country that was changing course, drawing the material of his book from his own experience. It is the only title by this author about which literary histories say anything, and it appeared a year before his story collection.
Context
Literary histories place its author in the third generation of the country's writers, the one that began its career just before the revolution or after it. An encyclopaedia regards him as one of the most important and most outspoken Lao writers of the late twentieth century, whose stories and novels show the changing realities of the country under the communist regime, and translates the title of this book as entering the avenue of Lan Xang. It also names, among his short stories of the nineties, a bar tale at the edge of the cemetery in which he describes the danger of public indifference to corruption and political oppression.
Who it is for
In Lao, not translated. Some of the author's short stories have appeared in English in anthologies, though it is not known whether they come from this book.
Prizes and reception
No distinction is attested for this collection, nor any translation or reissue. Directories list it by its title and year, nothing more.
Sources for this page 2
The pages consulted to check this page.