AMPAI SANGSUK
Ampai Sangsuk has different sides to her life. She is a schoolteacher in Phetchaburi province, and she’s also on the Thai literary scene as Ngao Jan, her pen name which means “Moon Shadow”.
Ngao Jan’s previous works, a short story collection Prathana Haeng Sang Jan ( Desires Of Moonlight) and novel Nai Roop Ngao ( In The Shadow), were on the SEA Write shortlist in 2007 and 2011, respectively. This year, the author graces the list once again with Rak Nai Roi Baap ( Love In Sinner’s Trail), a story of how love, hate and jealousy roll into a single thread. Dark, twisted human nature wreaks havoc on Lada’s family, the novel’s main character, to the point of destruction and tragedy. Is the SEA Write Award still as significant as it once was? It is still an important award. Some people don’t read anything else. They just wait to read the books that win the SEA Write Award, no matter if it’s better or worse than the ones that didn’t win. The writers that win could just stop writing and become a speaker to train new writers nationwide.
Why should people read your book? It delves into the dark side of human minds. A reader has told me the book is so raw and intense that it scares him. How did you feel the moment you finished writing the first sentence of this book? Did you know you had a book in you? I chose to begin the book with the main character hearing a baby’s cry because, at the beginning of life, children cry. Humans don’t cry forever, but society’s victims always cry in the silence of their heart. We should pay close attention to children or else their hearts could never love others, not even themselves. What did you read while you were writing this book? I was reading James Herriot’s works. Herriot — a British writer and veterinarian from Yorkshire — wrote about the beautiful countryside, including the farmers, and all the cats and dogs he treated with gentle care. Any Thai or international writers you’d recommend? Among Thai writers, I like Dan-aran Saengthong [last year’s winner] more than anyone. I read Luis Sepulveda’s works a lot, too.
— Melalin Mahavongtrakul