Provincial family tale challenges established Thai 'truths'

Uthis Haemamool's 'The Fabulist' pits small stories against grand narratives

Uthis Haemamool’s “The Fabulist'' is a small-town family saga that dramatizes -- and challenges -- how official Thai history is written, or fictionalized, and intersects with the lives of common people. (Nikkei montage/Photos courtesy of Uthis Haemamool)

MAX CROSBIE-JONES, Contributing writer

November 23, 2023 08:00 JST

BANGKOK -- In the opening pages of "The Fabulist" -- a dazzling English translation of an acclaimed novel by Thai author Uthis Haemamool -- an ornery old woman tells the story of her immortal spirit. Searing memories of her slumbering "underground, inside the world's womb, for billions of years" segue into vivid recollections of a paradisiacal, pre-modern earth.