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Sopeap Sin / Soriyan
Ki Lim is Sang Ly’s husband and Nisay’s father. Ki Lim provides a meager living for his family by picking through rubbish at the dump to find recyclable materials to sell to a scrap vendor. Although he is a loving and supportive husband, Ki does not understand why Sang Ly suddenly considers reading so important, and initially fears that through education, Sang Ly may outgrow him or no longer need him—though this fear turns out to be unfounded. Early in the story, gang members rob and nearly kill Ki, leaving him with a bad head wound and taking his hard-earned money. Wanting the power to defend himself, Ki buys himself a knife and tries to encourage the other residents of Stung Meanchey to stand up for themselves as well. However, after a young boy named Lucky Fat is beaten by gang members and people chase down one of the attackers and beat him to death, Ki realizes that although he had wanted to fight injustice, the killing of the gang member, who is only a teenage boy, does not feel heroic or just. This experience suggests to Ki and the reader that having the power to fight back is not the same thing as being a hero. As Ki begins to see the hope that literature and stories give Sang Ly, he grows more trusting of her lessons with Sopeap and starts to share her hope. This is evidenced by his willingness to travel to her home province to seek out the Healer based only on her dream, as well as his support of her as she races all over Phnom Penh trying to find Sopeap before she dies. After Sang Ly sits with Sopeap at her deathbed, she sees her husband waiting for her and reflects that, in his steadfast support of her hopes and dreams, Ki truly is a hero.
Ki Lim Quotes in The Rent Collector
The The Rent Collector quotes below are all either spoken by Ki Lim or refer to Ki Lim. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter Four Quotes
I told Ki I wanted to hang the clock on our wall because I liked its flowered face—but that’s not exactly true. There is more. It helps me to remember that even though something is broken, it can still serve a purpose. […] Sometimes broken things deserve to be repaired.
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Chapter Seven Quotes
“I hope it changes many things,” I answered softly. “I hope it will somehow get out of the dump—and if not us, that it provides a path out for Nisay. Don’t you want those things too?”
It is a long time before [Ki] replies. “I know that we don’t have a lot here,” he says cautiously. “But at least we know where we stand.”
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Chapter Eleven Quotes
“There’s a time and place for defending yourself,” he says calmly, “whether it be with words—or with a knife. Keep reading; your stories will teach you that.”
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Chapter Sixteen Quotes
“Most teachers will agree that the true mark of a hero, what sets him apart from everyone else, is sacrifice. A hero gives something up, sometimes even his own life, for the good of others.”
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Chapter Eighteen Quotes
It was just days ago I wanted to kill the criminals myself. But my desire was for revenge on crooks, thugs—dark images of evil that gathered in my head when I pictured the men who beat my husband and Lucky Fat—not boys, especially this boy.
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Chapter Twenty-Four Quotes
“I should go to work,” [Ki] says, “but I have no boots, no picker, nothing.” Of course, he is right, we have nothing. And yet, if Nisay is truly better, we have everything.
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Ki Lim Character Timeline in The Rent Collector
The timeline below shows where the character Ki Lim appears in The Rent Collector. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter One
...lost grandfather, who tells her that today will be a lucky day. Sang Ly’s husband, Ki Lim, shakes her awake, and she realizes she overslept and has not prepared his lunch...
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Chapter Two
As Sang Ly goes to bring Ki’s lunch to him, she runs into Lucky Fat, a chubby young orphan boy whose parents...
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...their hut, she holds Nisay on her lap and flips through the illustrated book that Ki found, making up a story as she goes since she cannot read the words. As...
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By the next morning, Ki’s bleeding still has not stopped, and he is growing pale and weak. Sang Ly convinces...
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Ki returns late in the evening with a bandage around his head, disoriented from painkillers. A...
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Chapter Three
Sopeap arrives at Sang Ly’s hut, looking unwell. Strangely quiet, Sopeap asks if Ki is recovering from his injury, which surprises Sang Ly since the Rent Collector has never...
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...her own pencils and papers. Sang Ly realizes that these things will cost money, and Ki will not be happy, but agrees that she will try. However, Sopeap declares that trying...
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Chapter Four
Ki is not optimistic about Sang Ly’s plan, especially because they will have to buy drunken...
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...hoping to impress Sopeap when she finally arrives. But she does not arrive, and when Ki arrives home from work, Sang Ly is on the verge of tears. Ki is unsurprised,...
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Chapter Five
...care of Nisay for the day. The sudden generosity stuns Sang Ly. When she mentions Ki’s doubt that Sopeap can even read, the thought amuses Sopeap, and she tells Sang Ly...
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Chapter Six
...and Sopeap tells her that she must have all of them memorized within three days. Ki arrives home from work, and Sang Ly imagines that he must be home for an...
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...him how to write his own name, and she tells him she would love to. Ki still struggles with the idea, and refers to Sopeap again as “the Cow,” but Sang...
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Chapter Seven
...it, and even enjoys picking trash, though Sang Ly cannot fathom why. Sang Ly and Ki Lim’s hut is too small for all of them, so Lena lives with a distant...
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In the evening, Ki wants Sang Ly to come to bed with him, but she insists she needs to...
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...with joy. She then pockets the piece of paper and skips home. By the time Ki is home from picking, Sang Ly has decoded the entire piece of paper, a slogan...
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Chapter Eight
Sang Ly is eager to tell Ki about the assignment so he can help her find a piece of literature, but when...
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Sang Ly and Ki bring Nisay to a local “cupping” practitioner, another traditional remedy that involves creating suction to...
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Chapter Nine
...book turned out to be just a mechanic’s instruction manual. The night before her lesson, Ki tells Sang Ly that her cousin Narin stopped by while she was picking trash and...
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Chapter Ten
However, Ki feels this refusal to engage with the problem is cowardly, though Sang Ly fears his...
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...they hear someone sneaking around his hut, so they bring Maly to Sang Ly and Ki’s hut to spend the night there instead. After Ki leaves in the morning, Sopeap arrives,...
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Chapter Eleven
When Ki arrives home, having spent the afternoon trying to convince the other trash-pickers to stand up...
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Chapter Thirteen
Ahab’s desire for revenge reminds Sang Ly of Ki’s desire for revenge, which worries her, since Ahab dies with his crew at the end...
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Chapter Fourteen
That evening, Sang Ly tells Ki that Sopeap spoke about him during their lesson that day. Ki is unhappy, assuming it...
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Chapter Sixteen
...they are unable to, and Sang Ly scrapes it off with her sandal. She tells Ki about the episode when she gets home, but cannot find the bite mark from the...
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...is willing to try anything, so she boils them into a bitter tea and asks Ki to feed it to Nisay. The mixture is so unpleasant, however, that after one spoonful,...
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Chapter Seventeen
That evening, Sang Ly is bathing Nisay when Ki arrives and tells her that the gangs beat up Lucky Fat, apparently because they found...
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Chapter Eighteen
Ki places his hand on Sang Ly’s back; his other hand holds the knife uncertainly. He...
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Chapter Nineteen
...manufacturing factories for mere pennies. While washing the clothes, Sang Ly tries to explain to Ki about metaphors in literature, trying to angle the argument to convince him to help do...
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Sang Ly asks Sopeap if she will bring the children’s book that Ki found, the one that meant so much to Sopeap. Sopeap says that it is “not...
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Chapter Twenty
...she is dying. She found out the day that she almost evicted Sang Ly and Ki, which is part of what made her so angry. Sang Ly wants Sopeap to go...
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...angry that her teacher did not tell her she was dying, but as she tells Ki about it the evening before, Ki exclaims that if Sopeap isn’t angry about it, then...
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...he suddenly slumped over and became unresponsive. Sang Ly, terrified, runs home hoping to find Ki, but discovers he is still working somewhere in the dump. She decides she will bring...
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...against the wall in the waiting room for hours. In the middle of the night Ki arrives, having ran to each hospital in the city trying to find his wife and...
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In the morning, a doctor eventually meets Sang Ly and Ki in the waiting room and tells them that Nisay was “severely dehydrated,” but is okay...
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...she knew him many years ago. She wakes in the late afternoon and sees that Ki has gone out to the dump to pick trash, and she hopes they will be...
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Sang Ly and Ki prepare to travel to Prey Veng together, hiding all their possessions and the clock beneath...
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Chapter Twenty-One
Phnom Penh’s streets are busy and crowded as Sang Ly, Ki, and Nisay make their way to the bus station. They arrive early, and sit on...
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Sang Ly and Ki board the bus, which is filled with other passengers, most of whom are wealthier than...
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...Sang Ly feels as if she is suddenly “surrounded by friends” rather than irritated strangers. Ki realizes that they are nearing their destination and may not finish the story, but one...
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...gratitude for making the bus ride so enjoyable. As Sang Ly counts the money with Ki after the bus drives off, they realize they can now afford the journey home, with...
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Chapter Twenty-Two
Carrying Nisay, Sang Ly and Ki walk an hour from the road to the river, and then hire a boat to...
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The next day, Ki finds work helping a local rice farmer plant his crops while Sang Ly takes care...
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Chapter Twenty-Three
Taking the boat back to the village, Sang Ly and Ki say their final goodbyes to Auntie and Uncle Keo. Sang Ly spots Uncle Keo’s mother-in-law...
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Chapter Twenty-Four
As Sang Ly, Ki, and Nisay ride the bus back to Stung Meanchey, Sang Ly watches the people walking...
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Sang Ly and Ki arrive in Stung Meanchey late in the night, but there is enough moonlight for them...
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...house for Sang Ly, noting where the key to her locked door is hidden. While Ki works and Lena looks after Nisay, Sang Ly thumbs through the notebook full of handwritten...
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Chapter Twenty-Six
...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,...
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The next morning, Ki and Sang Ly go to Sopeap’s house just outside Stung Meanchey, which unlike the renters’...
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...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...
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Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sang Ly and Ki go to the Ministry of Land and Records building in Phnom Penh, feeling self-conscious about...
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...transferred to her, but to another couple. Looking at the man’s map, Sang Ly and Ki Lim recognize that it is Sopeap’s house, and she has gifted it to the two...
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...taxi by herself to see the new landowner—she feels bad about spending the fare until Ki points out that they’ll no longer need to pay rent—at their home near the edge...
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Chapter Twenty-Eight
...in the city to see if they know of Sopeap, but none do. She and Ki stop in at Sopeap’s house once more to see if there are any other clues,...
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As Sang Ly finishes the story, Ki and Lucky Fat wonder aloud if the story is true and if Sopeap was the...
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Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ki goes with Sang Ly to take a taxi, but he is still confused at how...
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...and sacredness of the day.” She pulls a blanket across the body and leaves, finding Ki asleep in a chair waiting for her, and silently reflecting that her husband is a...
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Chapter Thirty
...night, after Sopeap passed away and she walked through Phnom Penh in the rain with Ki. Despite waking up in a stinking dump, in those moments the world feels clean and...
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