Analysis
Mai Nardone’s story “Only You Farang Are So Easy to Come and Leave” follows a plot structure in which the climax is close to the middle of the story and where the conflict remains unresolved until the end.
The story focuses on three characters: Lara, her mother, and her father. The parents’ characterisation is constructed using Lara’s point of view which presents them as flat characters which do not change as a result of the developments in the story. Lara is the more complex character. She changes as a result of her father moving to the US following an economic crisis in Thailand.
The setting of the story is Bangkok and the US in 1997. The physical setting focuses on abandoned construction sites which reflect the effects of the economic crisis but which are also symbols of Lara’s family falling apart. The social setting conveys aspects related to the crisis but also to mixed-race families and cultural differences.
The story is written using a first-person narrator, Lara. The narrator is occasionally unreliable because she lies and is biased regarding her parents, favouring the father over the mother.
The language includes various descriptive passages which help readers connect with the story universe. Metaphors and similes, in particular, contribute to characterisation but also to creating humour and irony.