“Anderson presents us with a miniature masterpiece of political and social interpretation, using a popular but atypical religious site to explore, from an unusual angle, the intersection of Buddhist piety, educational and social hierarchy, erotic sensibilities, and the remnants of rural feudalism in Thai society as it lurches unevenly toward more egalitarian relations. This brief but gripping book leaves a long, complex, and lasting taste on the mental palate.”

Michael Herzfeld | Anthropological Forum

“Anderson . . . explores the rise and fall and the persistence of Wat Phai Rong Wua in Suphanburi’s countryside of central Thailand. Through the journey into the wat, he depicts not only the eccentricity of copious sculptures of evil spirits called preta concentrated in the chaotic and creepy epitomized paragon of hell but also the political upheaval and social transformation that surround it. . . . The Fate of Rural Hell is a crucial manifestation of not only how the life and death in Buddhist teaching is perceived and recreated but also illustration of the dynamism—the fates and the faiths—of rural livelihood, the context in which the striving creation of this impressive wat came into existence. It is a fine book, to be read not only its insights into the life and death of the rural people, but also the pathways between them.”

Jakkrit Sangkhamanee | Kyoto Review