One of Thailand's best-known and most highly regarded novels portraying the romance of a young
Thai man and a married older woman 'In that tranquil and apparently very ordinary picture I
see everything unfolding. Every scene every part from the beginning to the final act'
Nopporn a Thai student studying in Japan is tasked with hosting a distinguished old family
friend and his new wife the beautiful aristocratic Kirati. Despite their difference in age
and status and the social constraints of the day Nopporn and Kirati are inexorably drawn to
each other and love starts to bloom. A stirring portrayal of youthful romantic obsession and
later attempts to come to terms with the frailty of passionate feelings Behind the Painting
also shows the constrained lives of many women of the time. First published in 1937 it is one
of Thailand's best-known and most beloved novels. Translated by David Smyth
