The classic book describing the relationship between a love-sick young
Englishman and the ultimate hardened Thai female prostitute. Set in the
1950’s, and written by “Jack Reynolds” A Woman of Bangkok (ISBN
978-981-08-5430-0, originally released in 1956 and now reprinted by Monsoon
Books, Singapore, 2011), is still a spell-binder.
It shows its 1950’s vintage with some
of the rather old-fashioned language not used today, such as “beery
persiflage” and other items such as the Riley motor car used by the company
the Englishman works for in Bangkok. A Riley these days is a collectors
item!
The charm of this book is the way it
reveals the inner psychological turmoil of the 27 year old English lad, who
before he even arrives in Thailand is showing paranoia (gives up a promising
career as a speedway rider after his friend dies) and an inability to handle
relationships with the opposite sex, even to the extent of fantasizing about
his sister-in-law. He is portrayed (as is the author) of being the son of a
minister of religion.
He makes the momentous decision to go
to Thailand, and very soon loses his virginity, but between romps becomes
introspective once more - and then he meets a dancer called Vilai, known as
the White Leopard.
Falling deeply in lust, which he
confuses with love, his whole life becomes the relationship with Vilai, the
woman of his dreams. (Or was that nightmares?)
Vilai is a hard-headed Thai woman,
whose attitude to life is completely foreign to the attitude of a
westerner. “And especially she despised white men because they despised her
own race. There was only one good thing about white men: they had more
money than anyone else. And it was her duty to get as much of that money
off them as she could. For money was important; it was the most important
thing in the world. If you had enough money, no one dare look down on you.”
It is in those descriptions that you
can see the artistry of the author, and his very deep understanding of the
Thai culture and its in-built pragmatism. Vilai says, “The Buddha forbids
us to tell lies, and so we should never do so, unless of course it is
absolutely necessary.”
Vilai’s son is killed, and once more
the cultural divide leaves the westerner completely confused. Attitudes to
life and death are just so different, and it is so easy, when looking from
the western viewpoint, to make value judgments which really do not apply.
That Vilai could go straight back to the dance hall is anathema to the
English lad, but when looked at from Vilai’s perspective is entirely
pragmatic.
The language as used by Vilai is
entirely credible, such as “Many girl haff very sweet mouse but not spick
truce.” (And if you can read and understand that easily, you may have been
in Thailand too long.)
The RRP, according to the Asia Books
website is B. 495, but is being advertised at the special price of B. 396.
At either price, this book is more than worth the purchase price.
In the course of a year I will read and review more than 50 books. Some
never become reviews as they are simply not good enough in the literary
sense. It is rare for a book to be outstanding.
However, is it perhaps a judge of
excellence that I would pull down one book from the shelves, read it again,
and thoroughly enjoy it once more? If so, then The Cultural Detective
by Christopher G. Moore (ISBN 978-616-90393-8-9, Heaven Lake Press, 2011) is
an excellent book. Not only a good book, but for me, the best book reviewed
in 2011.
Forget Moore’s Calvino series, this is
a completely new genre and is a collection of essays in four broad parts
commencing with Perspectives on Crime Fiction Writing, followed by
Clues to Solving Cultural Mysteries, then Observations from the Front
Lines and finally Outside the Southeast Asia Comfort Zone.
The subtitle to The Cultural
Detective, is “Reflections on the Writing Life in Thailand”. Author
Moore manages to look at the reflections without becoming introspective, but
has the ability to dissect concepts and customs with a very equal
handedness. This is not a farang blindly reporting the ways of the Thais,
but has genuine explanations given by someone who does not let his own
culture and customs impinge on the details.
An example of this is, “In Thailand the
deference culture is largely built around age, rank, family and wealth. The
Thai expression is kreng jai, and that term underpins the social, political
and economic system and has done so for centuries.”
The essays do cover Moore’s methods in
writing fiction. “Writing blends death and sex into myth, folktale, legend
and serving up a strong brew turns us into addicts.” He explains the
pitfalls. “Writing a book takes long hours of focused attention. You can’t
multi-task and write a novel. Because you have to keep the whole story,
plots and sub-plots, characters, their connections and motivations inside
your head as a unified whole. This is fragile territory. One that is
easily distracted.”
Moore looks dispassionately at some of
the reasons the youth of the world is resorting to anarchy. “…who have no
job and turn to crime as the only available option. This new army of angry
young recruits may not be fuelled by the hatred of a jihad. The fuel of
despair and hopelessness are the precursors to hatred, and you don’t need a
religion to motivate such young men. Wanting status and the material stuff
that a material society proclaims is essential for your manhood is the new
scripture.”
Christopher G. Moore is an excellent
writer, and his style in this collection of essays reminds me of Bill Bryson
(A Short History of Nearly Everything) and Dave Barry (I’ll Mature
When I’m Dead), though Moore’s subject matter remains more deeply
thought provoking than the other two, in my opinion.
I have enjoyed the Calvino escapades,
plus his other books, but for me this collection of essays stands out as
offering a glimpse of the ‘real’ Christopher G. Moore. The RRP in Bookazine
is B. 385 - a literary bargain.
