Imagine a life completely outside the realm of the modern consumer society -no shops, no advertisements, no 7-Elevens.

For the young Sorasing Kaowai, co-author of the memoir In Grandmother?s House, his
childhood spent in a remote Thai village reads as something of a utopian dream for those seeking a simpler existence. Central to it all is his grandmother, the village healer and wise old sage who imparts upon her grandson a wealth of traditional knowledge and skills.

Khun Sorasin?s family and fellow villagers are financially poor but not hungry. They grow their own rice and vegetables, and hunt forage in the fields and the forest for all of their food and medicines, make nearly everything used in their daily life from scratch, from baskets to cooking pots to clothing.

The simple life is not easy, however. Long, tedious days in the rice fields, illness,
and bodies broken and worn out after years spent planting rice. Sorasin himself is orphaned when his father, a layabout and alcoholic, disappears.

His mother dies of an unspecified illness when he is a teenager. Anyone interested in Thai culture and daily life and even many Thai people themselves, will find plenty to learn in this book. Sorasin describes in vivid detail his grandmother?s healing techniques and her rituals to honour the land. A whole chapter is devoted to ghosts and the various forms they take.

Gardeners will enjoy reading about certain plants and trees that go far beyond merely aesthetic purposes, such as the Thailand rosewood, which is believed to protect its owner from enemies and boost prestige. The personal stories revolving around the author?s relationships with his grandmother and mother are the most moving parts of the book.

Rural children were largely expected to leave school at a young age to help the family in the rice fields. Khun Sorasin?s mother, however, would have none of that, insisting that he stay in school no matter how difficult, and she went to work in the city to help pay for it. Sadly, she died before she could see her dream of her son?s graduation fulfilled.

A wrenching scene is when young Sorasin and his uncles go to Samut Sakhon to collect his
mother?s remains and are unable to afford to bring her back to their village. ?To this
day, my uncle apologises to me for the sad way he had to handle my mother?s funeral,? he writes.

Co-authoring is Peter Robinson, author of Phra Farang: An English Monk in Thailand and Good Morning, Buddha, memoirs about his time spent as a monk in a forest monastery in North eastern Thailand (written under his monk name
Phra Peter Pannapadipo).

A number of stories about Peter?s experiences and discoveries in Thailand are incorporated with Khun Sorasing?s tales, bringing a broader cultural dimension into
the book together with Mr Robinson?s lively conversational style of writing seen
in his other works.

Since Sorasin?s departure from the village in 1993, it has undergone a rapid transformation, much like the rest of Thailand.

By penning this book, he captures a way of life that seems sadly in danger of disappearing - where family and community are precious, the earth sacred and bountiful, and one?s life is spent surviving on it and giving back what you can.

It?s an illuminating time capsule that, delving in, makes one question the value of progress and mourn what has been lost.

We?re sure his grannie would be proud.

In Grandmother?s House
Thai Folklore, Traditions and
Rural Village Life
By Sorasing Kaowai & Peter Robinson
240 pages. Monsoon Books
594 baht
Available at Bookazine