Book
A Proper Woman
A Proper Woman is a memoir by Cambodian author Thon Thavry, first published in English in 2017.[1][2] It is the true story of a young woman from rural Cambodia who challenged her country's social and cultural norms for women.[2][3]
About the book
Thavry grew up on a family farm on an island in the Bassac River, south of Phnom Penh.[1][2] Cambodia was slowly recovering from civil war and the Khmer Rouge years, and rural life still followed traditional customs. For women, this meant marrying young, bearing children and working on the family farm.[2] Women were also expected to obey their elders, with little freedom to make choices or to speak for themselves.[1] Her parents, whose own childhoods were shaped by the Khmer Rouge years, encouraged her to treat education as a way to an independent future.[2] The book holds up education as the way to free oneself from ignorance and take control of one's own fate.[1]
The memoir compares the lives of three generations of women in Cambodian society: Thavry's grandmother, her mother and herself.[4] Photographs of the three appear in the book.[5] The title comes from Chbab Srey, the traditional Khmer code of conduct for women.[6] One chapter, about her brother, includes a scene of hiding under a bed during a storm. The last chapter is titled "Be the captain of your own Life," and the ending leaves room for a possible series.[5]
Thavry has said she wrote the book to inspire rural girls whose potential is held back by tradition, and also for women elsewhere in the world, including Europe, who share similar struggles.[4] The book is written for young adults.[3]
Writing
The book began as a much shorter post on Thavry's website. When readers responded well to it, she decided to write it as a full-length book.[7] For her research, she interviewed her grandmother and mother about where the family came from and about their lives under the Khmer Rouge, and she asked friends about their own stories and challenges.[4][5] By her account, gathering the material took about two and a half months, writing the story took seven months, and design, layout, proofreading and publicity took three months more.[5]
Publication and editions
Thavry published the book herself, without a publisher in Cambodia or abroad. She paid the costs from her own pocket because she wanted to stay independent and did not want the book censored before publication.[4][5] She chose the editor and printing house and planned the publicity and sales herself.[5] She wrote it in English first to reach international readers and to challenge the stereotype that Cambodians do not like reading or publishing.[5]
The English edition was released in early January 2017.[5][1] A second English edition of 206 pages followed in 2018.[2] Thavry later translated the book into Khmer as Neary Pro Pey, paying for the Khmer edition from her own savings.[1][6] A Czech translation was published and distributed in the Czech Republic from October 2019.[1] She donated 2,530 copies of the book to local schools to encourage young Cambodians to read.[6]
Her difficulties with publishing firms and bookshops led her to learn to publish on her own, and she joined other writers to found Seavphovjivet Publishing.[3] Thavry is from Kandal province. She also writes children's books and motivational titles and works in Cambodian publishing.[1][2] The Cambodian American Literary Arts Association includes the memoir on its #myLowellbooklist.[8]
Access
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Asia News Network: profile of Thon Thavry
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Thon Thavry: A Proper Woman
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Social Innovation Podcast, Episode 11: Thavry Thon, Seavphovjivet Publishing (June 21, 2020)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 VOA Khmer: Young Khmer Writers Show Creativity, Battle Challenges of Language (December 23, 2016)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 When in Phnom Penh: interview with Thon Thavry on A Proper Woman (February 5, 2017)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Adam Bemma: Cambodian Writers Tackle Taboo Topics, A Khmer Literary #MeToo Movement (August 25, 2018)
- ↑ VOD English: Seeking Inspiration, a Local Literary Scene Emerges
- ↑ Bookshop.org: CALAA Lowell book list