The Rent Collector by Cameron Wright

The Rent Collector by Cameron Wright, got good reviews on Amazon. But it was a miss for me. A serious miss.

The Rent Collector is about Sang Ly, a woman living in a garbage dump slum in Cambodia. She and her husband, Ki Lim, sort through garbage to survive.

Sang Ly isn't educated. She doesn't read. So I kept getting tripped up when her character would think things like: "I have been told that there is a specialized college degree that studies civilizations by sifting through layers of their trash." (page 23) and "How could I explain the illogical feelings swirling and swelling inside, forcing my action?" (page 30) and "administer a course of antibiotics" (page 40).

What? This from an illiterate woman living in a garbage dump slum?

I doubt Wright has ever lived in or near a garbage slum or known personally people who live there. Because he'd realize the people there aren't stupid, but they just aren't educated enough to know about specialized college degrees or be able to describe swirling, swelling feelings, or know that antibiotics have a course.

So Sany Ly's voice wasn't believable to me. Perhaps it's because I've lived near 3rd world dumps and known the people who lived there; seen glimpses of the world through their world-view. They taught me many things, truly, but it would be wrong for me to try to write their view by superimposing an educated voice on top of it.

I skimmed the rest of the book: Sang Ly learns to read and is inspired by great stories and great literature. All very noble. That's the message. Got it.

But it just didn't work for me. Any one really like it?

And one last thing: Where was the editor? There were way, way too many . . . . And then some---And then again . . . And then again---. It was like a car that kept braking for cats that kept darting in to the literary road and could never make it across town.