The Rent Collector: Chapter Twenty-Six Summary & Analysis

Sopeap is still not in her home. Sang Ly spends the rest of the evening reading Sopeap’s essays, mostly poems and stories about her own life. Some are tragic, some are humorous, but all teach lessons, thus making them “perfect literature.” None of them, however, provide any hint as to where Sopeap may have gone. When Narin visits, Sang Ly remembers her contact who works at the hospital, and with Ki’s blessing, she rushes there with Narin. However, Narin’s contact has not seen Sopeap for weeks, revealing that Sopeap stopped treatment because she felt it clouded her mind and “interrupted things she needed to do.” When Sang Ly asks if the treatment would’ve stopped the cancer, the woman says that it only would’ve if Sopeap had left the country, but she refused to because she needed to finish her work.

The next morning, Ki and Sang Ly go to Sopeap’s house just outside Stung Meanchey, which unlike the renters’ huts has four solid walls and a door that locks. Sang Ly reflects that, “like her home, Sopeap allowed very few people inside.” After banging on the door and confirming that the teacher is not home, Sang Ly finds the key where Sopeap said it would be and opens the door. She is shocked to discover that the house is filled with hundreds of books, along with a modern cooking stove, dishes, and a desk and chair. There are books from every country imaginable, even ones that Sang Ly does not recognize. Ki remarks that if all these books were left to Sang Ly, they are going to need a bigger house.

On the desk, Sang Ly finds an open notebook with a list of Stung Meanchey’s renters, several of whom live near Sopeap’s home. Working from the list, Sang Ly and Ki ask the nearest ones if they know where the woman is, but none have seen her for several days. However, Ki realizes that the only people who might know of her whereabouts would be the landowners themselves, since they employ her. If they track down the landowners, they may find Sopeap.