“The Lake of Tears” by Veeraporn Nitiprapha

The Lake of Tears is Veeraporn’s third novel, following The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth and Memories of the Memories of the Black Rose Cat. Unlike those novels, it is her first foray into fiction for young people, yet rather than a departure from her signature style, it feels like a refinement, exploring familiar themes of longing, memory, abandonment, and love through a simpler lens, where the language remains lyrical, the emotions are no less profound, and the narrative retains the surreal, fairy-tale like quality that marks her unique way of writing.

The story moves fluidly through dreams, memory, and reality without ever fully separating them, where time blurs, people forget themselves, and children navigate the ruins left behind by adults. It offers young readers a message that sorrow is not only part of growing up but is survivable. As one of the main characters, Anil, reflects late in the story, growing up didn’t mean feeling less pain, it meant understanding that pain, no matter how deep, will pass. The novel trusts that children can handle the truth, not by avoiding the darker parts of life, but by giving them words to name their experiences.

The Lake of Tears
by Veeraporn Nitiprapha, translated from Thai by Lucy Srisuphapreeda
River Books (March 2026)