This tender, elegant debut examines the struggle of keeping a family together when secrets threaten to pull it apart.
"Both a book of demons and a book of uncommon grace; an instant classic in the queer canon. Davin Malasarn is an exquisite writer of the heart."-Justin Torres, author of Blackouts
Estranged sisters Manda and Siripon have not seen each other in years when Manda travels to Los Angeles for the birth of Siripon's son, Ben. The women have lived separate lives since they were teenagers in Phet Buri, Thailand, when their parents decided to send one of their children to America, the foreign land they call "the Outer Country." As the eldest and the protector of her younger siblings, Manda assumed she would be the first to go. To her shock, their parents chose Siripon, the reliable, obedient second child instead. With one parental choice, the sisters became rivals.
Following their cool separation across continents, the sisters reunite to raise Ben. Manda, outrunning a devastating tragedy from her past, becomes a second mother to him, an only child who fills her with fierce joy. But as Ben grows increasingly effeminate, that joy turns to fear. Believing that the spirit of a woman has attached itself to her beloved nephew – and that her sister won't do what has to be done to fix matters – Manda secretly arranges a Buddhist exorcism for him. The ceremony sets off a decade of anxiety-induced vomiting, with Ben becoming the object of torment and bullying at school, even as his memory of the ritual fades into early childhood oblivion.
As Ben grows into his own queer self-becoming, he must confront the scars of his exorcism and learn how to live amidst the family damage, where one has to tread softly. But how long can a family go on with secrets so large pressing on their chests?
From the mangrove forests of Phet Buri to a modest stucco bungalow in Los Angeles to the ivy and sandstone quadrangles of Stanford, The Outer Country is at once epic and intimate in scope, a breathtaking journey across borders and generations. "The ritual at the heart of this story reveals the complex nature of love that we are all capable of giving, receiving, and shunning. Nourishing gardens, dark family secrets, and an intense coming-of-age are elegantly crafted in Malasarn's evocative and emotionally precise debut."-Marytza Rubio, author of Maria, Maria: And Other Stories
"The Outer Country is about family and migration, which is to say it's about haunting, and betrayal, and love, and dedication, and the vast distances the heart must travel to reach, and keep, a sense of home. Haunting, gentle, gorgeously composed, here is both a book of demons and a book of uncommon grace; an instant classic in the queer canon. Davin Malasarn is an exquisite writer of the heart."-Justin Torres, author of Blackouts Davin Malasarn is a biologist-turned-writer from Los Angeles. He was a recipient of a PEN America Emerging Voices Fellowship and earned his MFA in creative writing from Bennington College. He has published short stories in the Los Angeles Review, Rosebud, Opium Magazine, SmokeLong Quarterly and other journals in print and online.
