The Outer Country

This week, Davin Malasarn released his debut novel, The Outer Country. Two sisters leave their home in Phet Buri, Thailand to make a new life in Los Angeles, all the way in the “Outer Country,” the United States. First Siripon arrives, developing her career as a nurse, marrying fellow Thai immigrant Kamron, and having a son, Ben, in 1978. Siripon’s older sister Manda arrives the day Ben is born, and together, the four of them become a family unit. But as the years pass and Ben grows into adulthood, the many fractures within the family spread. Will they be irrevocably divided, or will they still find a path forward?

What I Liked:

• Thai culture and immigrant experience. The Outer Country is the first book I’ve read that centers Thai people. Manda, Siripon, and Kamron are all immigrants from Thailand, learning to make Los Angeles their new home despite language barriers, religious differences, and unfamiliar foods. Conversely, Ben grows up in California, mastering English when his family still struggles, assimilating to American culture while his family holds onto Thai traditions in certain ways. I enjoyed seeing the three adults navigate their new life, but I also appreciated the juxtaposition between them and Ben.
• Examining four members of a somewhat dysfunctional family. Ben, Siripon, Manda, and Kamron are the main characters that the chapters generally focus on. Sometimes we see them in broad strokes, and sometimes we get more intimate details, like their secret thoughts and fears. They all have good and bad in them, but none of them seem to fit well together. Those cracks only show more with time.
• Queer acceptance. One of the most important themes here is Ben’s queerness. As a kid, he shows his more feminine side, leading his aunt and father to bring in a monk to exorcise a girl’s spirit from his body. They fear him being gay, and this is the solution they find. But it has terrible consequences that persist for years, leaving Ben to suffer. Ultimately, Ben is indeed gay, and his family must learn to accept him as he is.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• Abrupt ending. As I reached the final pages, it felt like there was still so much left unresolved. By the time an important subject is brought up, readers are left to wonder which way it would go. This is a book, with enough themes and characters, that may have benefited from a slightly longer page count and more resolution.

Final Thoughts

The Outer Country is a beautifully written and poignant novel spanning Thailand and California, from the 1970s through the end of the century. The prose is at once stark and intimate, and I felt for the characters, especially Ben and Siripon. I do wish there was more tying it all together by the end, but it was still a moving work of literary fiction. I look forward to reading more from Davin Malasarn.

Special thanks to One World and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy The Outer Country here – it’s available as a hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.

The Outer Country by Davin Malasarn
Audience	Adult
Genre	Historical Fiction
Setting	Thailand; Los Angeles
Number of Pages	304
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARCs)
Original Publication Date	May 5, 2026
Publisher	One World

Official Summary

This tender, elegant debut examines the struggle of holding a family together when secrets threaten to unravel it.

“Both a book of demons and a book of uncommon grace; an instant classic in the queer canon. Davin Malasarn is an exquisite writer of the heart.”—Justin Torres, author of Blackouts

Sisters Manda and Siripon have been divided by continents for years, estranged since their parents decided to send just one of their daughters from Phet Buri to America—the foreign land they call “the Outer Country.” As the eldest, Manda assumed she would be the first to go. When their parents chose Siripon, the more obedient second daughter, the decision sparked a lifetime of rivalry.

The birth of Siripon’s son brings the sisters back together. Despite the disorientation of Los Angeles and the difficulty of sharing her sister’s home, Manda becomes a second mother to Ben, a precocious only child who fills her with fierce joy. But as Ben grows increasingly effeminate, her joy transforms to fear. Believing that the spirit of a dead girl has possessed her beloved nephew—and that her sister won’t do anything to fix matters—Manda and Ben’s father, Kamron, secretly arrange a Buddhist exorcism. The ceremony sets off a decade of anxiety-induced illness and bullying, even as the ritual burrows beyond Ben’s memory.

For Ben to grow into his authentic self, he must accept his queerness and confront the scars of his past. He attempts to navigate his family’s tense relationships and live amidst the damage. But how long can they all go on before the truths are uncovered?

From the mangrove forests of Thailand to a modest stucco house in Los Angeles to the sandstone quadrangles of Stanford, The Outer Country is at once epic and intimate in scope, a breathtaking journey across cultures and generations.