Giving Alms

“Karma has failed us,” my husband whispered into our dark bedroom. With his hand over his mouth, he stopped himself from wailing. What an incredibly loud noise sorrow makes when muffled, a noise that distils the air in your lungs to heavy stones.”

Giving Alms gifts us three short stories based on the narratives of the people of Myanmar. Carefully revealing the hidden intricacies of human vulnerability and pain in society, these stories reflect on how a society heals and resolves resentment after years of social and political oppression. Each story takes on different dualities—desire and duty, denial and acceptance, indifference and sympathy—against the harsh landscape of Burmese society.