The Rent Collector

“I once believed that heroes existed only in old men’s fables, that evil in the world had triumphed over good, and that love—a true, unselfish, and abiding love—could only be found in a little girl’s imagination. I was certain the gods were deaf, that Buddha was forgotten, and that I would never again see the natural beauty of my home province.” 

This is the passage that begins the novel and provides background information on Sang’s state of mind. However, it also indicates that the story will have a happy ending, implying that although the narrator once believed these things, she no longer does. 

“When people ask where we live, I tell them we reside alongside the bank of a beautiful river called Stung Meanchey. After all, the name does mean River of Victory. If they know the place at all, they hesitate, smile quizzically, and then we both break out into tremendous laughter, for in spite of being named river, Stung Meanchey is the largest municipal waste dump in Phnom Penh—indeed, in all of Cambodia. The place is mountainous, covering over 100 acres. Piles of putrid rubbish tower hundreds of feet high, surrounded by constantly shifting valleys that weave and connect like the web of a jungle spider. Navigating its changing paths can be tricky.” 

While this passage provides basic information about the story’s setting, it also reveals Sang’s attitude toward Stung Meanchey, the dump where she lives. Sang also believes that the name of the dump, “River of Victory,” is painfully ironic. However, the dump is where Sang will encounter many victories, both her own and those of other characters.

“There is a story told by some—perhaps myth, perhaps not—that claims she was the illegitimate child of Vadavamukha, a sky god with the body of a man and the head of a horse. (Having a horse-headed father would explain a lot.) The myth says that for years he hid his daughter in a trash can to conceal the evidence of his escapades from his wife, Reak Ksaksar Devy, the blood goddess. One day, however, when Reak became suspicious, Vadavamukha hurled the can from the sky. It landed at Stung Meanchey with Sopeap inside—and she has been here ever since.” 

This fable about Sopeap’s origins indicates that residents of the dump both hate and fear their Rent Collector. The mockery of her appearance—in the implication that “a sky god with the body of a man and the head of a horse” fathered her—is both cruel and childish. However, the idea that Sopeap is worthy of a fable and descends from the gods foreshadows the importance Sopeap will have to the story overall, and to Sang in particular.