The first half of A Tiny Grain of Rice, written in a hybrid between prose and poetry, is a meditation on transience, human nature, and nature itself: “In that lonely vale, you need not forget the brimming stream, or how you once led someone across the bridge to joy… But be prepared to rest on the parched boulder, alone, caressed by the scorching sun.” This is followed by a series of autobiographical essays on the author’s time in The People’s Liberation Army of Thailand, his near-assassinations, his failed marriage, and his concept of memory and home.