Short stories from Laos

Abstract We first “met” Outhine Bounyavong twenty years ago when our Lao language teacher had us read some of his newly published short stories. Compared to the stiff political rhetoric of the postwar era, Outhine's writings were a burst of refreshing reality. As is evident in the four selections published below, Outhine draws out of simple vignettes of ordinary Lao life poignant messages about the consequences of war, the dilemmas provoked by modernization, and the constant strains on the disadvantaged in a fast-changing world.