Novel
ទឹកទន្លេសាប
Not translated into English
Kim Hak · 1939
Synopsis
ទឹកទន្លេសាប (The Waters of the Tonlé Sap): one of the first modern novels written in Khmer, published in January 1939 in Kambujasuriya, the review of the Buddhist Institute, then in volume form in 1941 at the Royal Library of Phnom Penh. The accessible sources do not describe its plot.
Context
The novel appeared before Sophat, by Rim Kin, written in 1938 but published in Saigon in 1941 and distributed in Cambodia in 1942, and the two books contend for the title of first Khmer novel. Like most of the first Cambodian novels, it appeared first in a review. The 1941 volume bears the parallel title Tuk Tonlésap, and the Angkor Thom bookshop in Phnom Penh reissued it in 2003.
Who it is for
For those interested in the beginnings of the novel in the Khmer language; the book has not been translated into any language.
Prizes and reception
Hailed as the first modern novel of Cambodia, it never enjoyed the popularity of Sophat.
Sources for this page 5
The pages consulted to check this page.