This study guide will help you analyse the text "Only You Farang Are So Easy to Come and Leave" by Mai Nardone.
We will show you examples of elements in the text that will be relevant for your analysis.
In these notes, we will focus on the summary, structure, characters, setting, narrator and point of view, language, theme and message, and we will help you put the text into perspective.
Presentation of the text
Titel: “Only You Farang Are So Easy to Come and Leave” (2017)
Forfatter: Mai Nardone
Genre: Short story
Mai Nardone is a young Thai-American writer who has received several grants for his writing. His works have been published in various literary journals.
Excerpt
Below, you can read an excerpt from our study guide:
Title
The title of the story, “Only You Farang Are So Easy to Come and Leave” by Mai Nardone includes the Thai word “farang” which describes someone of European origin. The title gives readers the first hint about where the action is set, namely Thailand. This is confirmed by the first lines of the story, which mention Bangkok (l. 1).
The title also suggests that someone might feel abandoned by someone of European origins and that this person might have some commitment issues as it is ‘easy’ for them to come and leave.
The title refers to the father in the story, an American man living in Thailand who married a Thai-Chinese woman with whom he has a daughter named Lara. The title is specifically taken from a line that the mother says in the story when she finds out the family needs to move back to the suburbs: “Temporary move? Ma had said weeks ago when we left our condo. Only you farang are so easy to come and leave” (ll. 64-65). The use of the Thai word and non-standard English grammar draw attention to the communication problems between the parents.
