Reading literature not only brings me more knowledge, it also helps me understand people and culture better," says Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, a dedicated bookworm - and an author in her own right.
She became so fascinated by the lives of three Chinese women in Chinese writer Chi Li's novel "Her City" that she decided to translate it into Thai, with the title "Naree Nakara".
"I read an article about Chi Li on a plane and found her novels really interesting. I sought out more about her work and decided I wanted to translate this one," the Princess explained at the launch of her 159-page edition last Thursday at the Shangri-La Hotel.
The winner of several literary awards in her homeland whose works have been turned into movies, an opera and a radio series, Chi Li reflects in her writing the changes that Chinese lives have undergone amid the government's reforms and modernisation. The main focus is women's roles.
Her books have been translated into English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese, but "Her City" is the first to appear in Thai.
It's about the relationships among three Chinese women of different generations - mother-in-law grandma, middle-aged widow and young, married, modern lady - who live in Wuhan in Hubei province, where Chi Li was born.