Camron Wright

“Seek dharma, child. Find out how you fit in, who you are. Remember that everything around you has a purpose. Even you.”

I loved this adaptation of the The Orphan Keeper for young readers. This powerful story is a must read realistic fiction based on the true story of Taj Rowland. As a young boy in Erode, India, Chellamuthu gets into the normal scrapes of growing up. He learns difficult lessons as less than savory companions tempt him to steal and do things he knows his mother wouldn’t show more approve of. But Chellamuthu is a good boy at heart who tries to do his best and sacrifices his own happiness to help others. When he is kidnapped and taken to an orphanage several hours away from his home, he pleads with them to take him back to his family. He knows his family wouldn’t give him up and he knows he’s not an orphan, yet he is deceptively sold to an unknowing family in America and promised a better life.

Chellamuthu’s new life in America consists of teasing, learning a new culture and language, and slowly losing his memories from home. Though his adoptive family is kind and loving, he still wants to find a way back to India. With the new name of Taj Rowland and through the years, his memories gradually slip away, yet he recognizes something is missing in his life. A study abroad to London, meeting a spunky psychology student Kelly, and being surrounded by Indian culture brings back old memories long forgotten. From this time on, Taj makes a plan to return to India and find his family.

This story was so touching. I could easily identify with Chellamuthu’s mother who goes to great lengths to find her missing son. I could also sympathize with Eli and the other orphanage’s owners who thought they were giving a better life to Chellamuthu and the children who were brought or kidnapped and placed in the orphanage. But, there’s something about understanding one’s family and roots. The ache for Taj is palpable and I can’t imagine what it was like for a little boy to be pulled from everything he loved and understood and placed in such a different culture. His survival and thriving is a great example to both young adults and adults. His search for his family is miraculous and the way he gives back to his village and family once he finds them shows he truly found “dharma.”

Highly recommend this book! It’s an inspiring, uplifting story that will touch your heart. I received an advanced complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own and I was not required to provide a positive review. show less

This is one of those books that turned out to be completely different from what I expected. And absolutely wonderful! And, as you find out at the end, it's based on a true story.

Adjacent to a huge public dump, in one of the poorest areas of Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Sang Ly, her husband Kim Lim, and baby Nisay scrape by each day by scrounging around the mounds of garbage, hunting for items they can sell to buy food. That is, if the patrolling gangs don't steal their money first. The family show more home is cobbled together from metal scrap and tarp, offering only meager protection from the elements. Nisay is constantly ill and, despite continual effort, his parents can't seem to find a cure that lasts.

One of the most hated figures in their lives is the Rent Collector, an older woman who relentlessly hounds her customers, instantly threatening eviction anytime they are late with even one payment. Then, one day, Sang Ly notices the Rent Collector tearing up after glimpsing the cover of a discarded book. This leads Sang Ly to conclude that the Rent Collector knows how to read. Desperate to do whatever she can to improve the prospects for her young son's future, Sang Ly asks the Rent Collector to please teach her how to read.

Thus begins a relationship between these two women, from vastly different backgrounds, who slowly begin to uncover each other's life story and develop a friendship. The Rent Collector's mysterious story dates back to the brutal Khmer Rouge regime while Sang Ly's is rooted in a small country town. There is also the touching love story between Sang Ly and her husband and a glimpse at how, poor as they are, the two of them are able to make a big difference in the lives of those around them. It's also a glimpse into the world of illiteracy and the difference one person's skill can make in the lives of everyone around her.

Don't miss this lovely, deeply human novel! show less

This is one of those books that turned out to be completely different from what I expected. And absolutely wonderful! And, as you find out at the end, it's based on a true story.

Adjacent to a huge public dump, in one of the poorest areas of Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Sang Ly, her husband Kim Lim, and baby Nisay scrape by each day by scrounging around the mounds of garbage, hunting for items they can sell to buy food. That is, if the patrolling gangs don't steal their money first. The family show more home is cobbled together from metal scrap and tarp, offering only meager protection from the elements. Nisay is constantly ill and, despite continual effort, his parents can't seem to find a cure that lasts.

One of the most hated figures in their lives is the Rent Collector, an older woman who relentlessly hounds her customers, instantly threatening eviction anytime they are late with even one payment. Then, one day, Sang Ly notices the Rent Collector tearing up after glimpsing the cover of a discarded book. This leads Sang Ly to conclude that the Rent Collector knows how to read. Desperate to do whatever she can to improve the prospects for her young son's future, Sang Ly asks the Rent Collector to please teach her how to read.

Thus begins a relationship between these two women, from vastly different backgrounds, who slowly begin to uncover each other's life story and develop a friendship. The Rent Collector's mysterious story dates back to the brutal Khmer Rouge regime while Sang Ly's is rooted in a small country town. There is also the touching love story between Sang Ly and her husband and a glimpse at how, poor as they are, the two of them are able to make a big difference in the lives of those around them. It's also a glimpse into the world of illiteracy and the difference one person's skill can make in the lives of everyone around her.

Don't miss this lovely, deeply human novel! show less

"The Rent Collector," by Camron Wright, is the heartrending but ultimately inspiring story of a poor couple, Sang Ly and her husband, Ki Lim, who eke out a living at Stung Meanchey, a large and putrid municipal waste dump in Phnom Penh. Their baby boy, Nisay, is often ill, but what child would thrive in such a toxic and dangerous environment? Ki regularly picks through trash to find items that he can sell to pay for food and rent. Their home is a shed near the landfill; they eat mostly rice show more and occasionally manage to purchase a bit of meat or a few vegetables. Sang Ly and Ki Lim are illiterate and have no expectations of improving their situation.

One person they dread seeing is Sopeap Sin, a drunken old woman who gruffly collects their monthly rent. It is difficult enough for Sang Ly and Ki Lim scrape together money to keep their family from starving and to purchase medicine for their sickly son, much less hand over their tiny remaining income to a landowner for the privilege of dwelling in a pathetic hovel. Everything changes when Sang Ly unexpectedly discovers that Sopeap Sin was once a teacher at university. The young mother persuades the cantankerous rent collector to give her reading lessons and, little by little, the two form a powerful bond. Sang Ly, who is quick study, not only relishes deciphering words, but she comes to realize that certain works of literature can enlighten and elevate those who take the time to understand them and explore their depth and beauty. Sopeap says to her pupil, "Words provide a voice to our deepest feelings."

Wright alludes to the horrendous consequences of the Cambodian genocide under the brutal dictator, Pol Pot, and the Khmer Rouge. As a counterpoint to this unspeakable tragedy, the scenes between Sopeap Sin and Sang Ly are moving, meaningful, and lyrical. The author fills in some details about Sopeap's melancholy history, and explains how she ended up weary, cynical, and addicted to alcohol. The book's central image is a phoenix rising from the ashes. This symbolizes that even while poverty, starvation, and disease afflict millions all over the world, there are still indomitable and courageous individuals who try to help the oppressed and impoverished. These special people believe, as the timeless saying goes, that it is better to light a single candle than it is to curse the darkness. "The Rent Collector" is sentimental at times, but Wright absorbs us with his unforgettable depiction of a stark and forbidding world that few ever get to see. show less