Asia travel -most inspiring fiction/nonfiction book?
Sep 28th, 2004, 06:18 PM
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Asia travel -most inspiring fiction/nonfiction book?
Thailand and Cambodia here we come...but what to read that not's yet another Lonely Planet or other guide book.
What book has really made you want to get up and go in the same way Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code worked for Europe.
Rhonda
What book has really made you want to get up and go in the same way Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code worked for Europe.
Rhonda
Sep 29th, 2004, 01:29 AM
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I would love to hear recommendations myself, as I find there is not a lot of fiction or non-fiction in English about either country. Some suggestions for books I have enjoyed Thailand are:
1. Ho Minfong, Rice Without Rain. A fictional account of Thailand in the 1950's, gives good insight into how the country evolved peacefully (for the most part) into a democracy. Ms. Minfong has also written a book called Sing to the Dawn, which I have not read.
2. You can usually find the diary of Anna Lowens, the original "Anna and the King of Siam" in bookstores and hotel gift shops in Thailand, and maybe in the US. It is interesting reading and very different from the musical and Jodie Foster versions.
3. "Thai Ways" and "More Thai Ways" by Dennis Segaller, which are non-fiction books about the customs and culture of Thailand.
4. "Jim Thompson Unsolved Mystery" by William Warren. It is the story of Jim Thompson, the American who revitalized the Thai silk industry in the early 1960s and then disappeared without trace one day while out walking in the hills of Malaysia. Not especially well written, but interesting esp if you go to his house in Bangkok, which I imagine you will. You may be able to find it on amazon.com. You can often find it in hotel book stores and gift shops in Thailand (that's where I found mine). William Warren has written or collaborated on several design books about Thailand, including a great coffee table picture book called "Thai Style". This book might be a good memory for you of Thailand.
5. The Gate by Francois Bizot. Excellent non-fictional account of a French scholar caught up in the terror of Khmer Rouge Cambodia.
5. An internet search I did found these three novels which might be interesting.
Monsoon Country by Pira Sudham. Thailand
Jungle White by Stephen Paul Coehn. Thailand
Kingdom of Make-Believe by Dean Barrett. Thailand
6. Christopher G Moore has written a number of books about expat life and other aspects of life in Thailand and Cambodia. I have not read any of them.
7. Finally, there is a series of books called "Culture Shock" on virtually every nation you mention printed by Passport Books. While not a guidebook, they are a very helpful description of culture and customs in each country.
1. Ho Minfong, Rice Without Rain. A fictional account of Thailand in the 1950's, gives good insight into how the country evolved peacefully (for the most part) into a democracy. Ms. Minfong has also written a book called Sing to the Dawn, which I have not read.
2. You can usually find the diary of Anna Lowens, the original "Anna and the King of Siam" in bookstores and hotel gift shops in Thailand, and maybe in the US. It is interesting reading and very different from the musical and Jodie Foster versions.
3. "Thai Ways" and "More Thai Ways" by Dennis Segaller, which are non-fiction books about the customs and culture of Thailand.
4. "Jim Thompson Unsolved Mystery" by William Warren. It is the story of Jim Thompson, the American who revitalized the Thai silk industry in the early 1960s and then disappeared without trace one day while out walking in the hills of Malaysia. Not especially well written, but interesting esp if you go to his house in Bangkok, which I imagine you will. You may be able to find it on amazon.com. You can often find it in hotel book stores and gift shops in Thailand (that's where I found mine). William Warren has written or collaborated on several design books about Thailand, including a great coffee table picture book called "Thai Style". This book might be a good memory for you of Thailand.
5. The Gate by Francois Bizot. Excellent non-fictional account of a French scholar caught up in the terror of Khmer Rouge Cambodia.
5. An internet search I did found these three novels which might be interesting.
Monsoon Country by Pira Sudham. Thailand
Jungle White by Stephen Paul Coehn. Thailand
Kingdom of Make-Believe by Dean Barrett. Thailand
6. Christopher G Moore has written a number of books about expat life and other aspects of life in Thailand and Cambodia. I have not read any of them.
7. Finally, there is a series of books called "Culture Shock" on virtually every nation you mention printed by Passport Books. While not a guidebook, they are a very helpful description of culture and customs in each country.
Sep 29th, 2004, 05:40 AM
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You could always try Michael Herr's "Dispatches"; or watch "the Killing Fields".
John Pilger's oeuvre too.
I wish I could think of more anodyne works, but I can't.
Oh, almost forgot - "The Beach" - could be one.
John Pilger's oeuvre too.
I wish I could think of more anodyne works, but I can't.
Oh, almost forgot - "The Beach" - could be one.
Sep 29th, 2004, 06:47 AM
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I just picked up a paperback book last weekend called,"Bangkok 8" which looks very interesting.It was written in 2003. I've only had time to read a few pages. There's another book, something with...dragon...in the title that I read a few years ago. I'll have to look for it when I get home and I'll post tomorrow. Happy Travels!
Sep 29th, 2004, 07:41 AM
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While not on Thailand or Cambodia, I've just finished a book on Vietnam.
"The Tapestries" a novel by Kien Nguyen.
From the reviews on the back of the book:
"The world Nguyen evokes in his first novel stirs and bleeds and blushes, fully fleshed..."
"A swashbuckling tale of peasants and pirates, evil punished and pure love requited."
"This epic tale of romance and revenge - widely acclaimed for its suspense, emotional complexity, colorful settings, and storytelling brio - ..."
The book is a typical of certain types of Asian novels, but written in English. So enjoy!
"The Tapestries" a novel by Kien Nguyen.
From the reviews on the back of the book:
"The world Nguyen evokes in his first novel stirs and bleeds and blushes, fully fleshed..."
"A swashbuckling tale of peasants and pirates, evil punished and pure love requited."
"This epic tale of romance and revenge - widely acclaimed for its suspense, emotional complexity, colorful settings, and storytelling brio - ..."
The book is a typical of certain types of Asian novels, but written in English. So enjoy!
Sep 29th, 2004, 12:07 PM
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Nonfiction:
River of Time, by Jon Swain
A Bright Shining Lie, by Neil Sheehan (about Vietnam, but truly fabulous)
First They Killed My Father, by Loung Ung
I Have Seen the World Begin, by Carsten Jensen
A Dragon Apparent, by Norman Lewis
Off the Rails in Phnom Penh, by Amit Galboa
Fiction:
The Gentleman in the Parlour, by Somerset Maugham
The Glass Palace, by Amitav Ghosh (more about Burma)
Apsara Jet, by Nicolas Merriweather
Dean Barrett and Christopher Moore also have written several novels set in the region.
There's no DaVinci Code here, but they should definitely help you get in the mood.
River of Time, by Jon Swain
A Bright Shining Lie, by Neil Sheehan (about Vietnam, but truly fabulous)
First They Killed My Father, by Loung Ung
I Have Seen the World Begin, by Carsten Jensen
A Dragon Apparent, by Norman Lewis
Off the Rails in Phnom Penh, by Amit Galboa
Fiction:
The Gentleman in the Parlour, by Somerset Maugham
The Glass Palace, by Amitav Ghosh (more about Burma)
Apsara Jet, by Nicolas Merriweather
Dean Barrett and Christopher Moore also have written several novels set in the region.
There's no DaVinci Code here, but they should definitely help you get in the mood.
Sep 29th, 2004, 04:38 PM
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Here is the book I mentioned earlier...It's called...Chasing the Dragon...by Christopher Cox...ISBN # 0-8050-5507-X...GREAT book...you won't be able to put it down! The book...Bangkok 8 is by John Burdett ISBN# 1-4000-3290-3. Happy Travels!
Sep 29th, 2004, 05:58 PM
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I don't know about a "Da Vinci Code" - I read the first page of that one and found it so clumsily written that I didn't go further. However, I do recommend the novel "Highways to a War" by Christopher J. Koch, who made his name with "The Year of Living Dangerously" (later filmed with Mel Gibson).
"Highways" is based loosely on the life of the Australian news photographer Neil Davis, who was killed covering a coup in Thailand and who I think captured the defining film of that NVA tank crashing through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon in 1975. Koch provides a graphic picture of Cambodia at the time of the Khmer Rouge's accession to power, also South Vietnam as the American and ARVN forces collapsed. There's more to this fine novel than that, bu you should find reviews on the Amazon.com site.
"Highways" is based loosely on the life of the Australian news photographer Neil Davis, who was killed covering a coup in Thailand and who I think captured the defining film of that NVA tank crashing through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon in 1975. Koch provides a graphic picture of Cambodia at the time of the Khmer Rouge's accession to power, also South Vietnam as the American and ARVN forces collapsed. There's more to this fine novel than that, bu you should find reviews on the Amazon.com site.
Sep 29th, 2004, 06:06 PM
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A big THANKYOU to all for your great suggestions.
My husband read First They Killed My Father a few years ago and ever since has wanted to go to Cambodia.
I've printed this thread and am off to the bookshop to see what I can find.
Happy Travels!
My husband read First They Killed My Father a few years ago and ever since has wanted to go to Cambodia.
I've printed this thread and am off to the bookshop to see what I can find.
Happy Travels!
Sep 29th, 2004, 06:52 PM
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Coincidentally, I just finished reading Bangkok 8, I really enjoyed it.
The information on the Khmers and Chiu Chow living in Thailand was particularly interesting. I plan to learn more about this.....
It was a fun read, too!
The information on the Khmers and Chiu Chow living in Thailand was particularly interesting. I plan to learn more about this.....
It was a fun read, too!
Sep 29th, 2004, 08:29 PM
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there are many fiction books about thailand in thailand so if your in bkk stop by a asia book etc and check some out.
many are mysteries that expats have writeen and seem too always have the "NANA girls" as central charectors.
I've yet too read any but I get the impression that most on this site may be a bit offended or thier idiolic view of bkk may be a bit tarneshed if they read some of these books.
if I have time I make a list and post it.. maybe they will have some on amozon too check out.
tiles of 2 i can remember..
the big mango
privet dancer
many are mysteries that expats have writeen and seem too always have the "NANA girls" as central charectors.
I've yet too read any but I get the impression that most on this site may be a bit offended or thier idiolic view of bkk may be a bit tarneshed if they read some of these books.
if I have time I make a list and post it.. maybe they will have some on amozon too check out.
tiles of 2 i can remember..
the big mango
privet dancer
Sep 30th, 2004, 07:54 PM
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thank you RhondaZ for posting this thread.
we leave for thailand 2 weeks for today and
i wanted books to read during my travels.
how did you print this thread??? when i print, all i get is the recent posts on the left side...HELP!!!
we leave for thailand 2 weeks for today and
i wanted books to read during my travels.
how did you print this thread??? when i print, all i get is the recent posts on the left side...HELP!!!
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