The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth by Veeraporn Nitiprapha, translated from Thai by Kong Rithdee

I came across a recommendation for this book when on my fav #translatedgemsbookclub someone spoke about crip time theory and queer temporality. The title fascinated me. So obviously I went and got the book. 

The writing is captivatingly lyrical. Metaphors abound. The book largely revolves around sisters Chareeya and Chalika, and their friend Pran. All three are orphaned at very young ages and try to find their footing in a world desperately trying to throw them off any love or affection. Plenty of characters come and go in their lives each with their own complexities. The author seems to have made a personal decision that time would not mean anything in the story. Various worlds collide to bring out a tragically beautiful story of human intricacies. Generous descriptions of Thai culture, food and if you love gardens, then the book is a gorgeous treat. 

Here is something from the translator, Kong Rithdee's note, that sums up the writing. 

//She disassembles words and clauses and then reconstructs them – a near-inimitable trick in the English language – and she deploys a range of devices from irony to digression, symbolism to fabulism, rhapsodic dramatisation to cinematic scene-sketching.//