Martin Platt's account of Isan literature is an important first step toward a broader study of regional literatures in Thailand, and shapes a model that has relevance for examining literary works in other Asian countries.

Follow one woman's journey from her rural home through Thai politics and back to reconciliation and home. Daeng grew up in a small rural village in the Isan region in Thailand in the shadow of an idolized brother, Jit.

Bangkok may be booming, but not much has changed in Isan.

This is no cultural tourism: this book is an invitation into an Isan family and its home.The book gives a very detailed account of not only the lives of an Isan family, but also Isan ceremonies and rituals.

The urbanization of the Isan population has not greatly advanced, although it is on the rise. Isan remains overwhelmingly a land of small farms and village communities.

This first English translation of an Isan folk epic is both readable and faithful to the linguistic features of the Thai original.