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oonawoodbury's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
book_concierge's review
3.0
Digital audiobook read by Euan Morton
3***
From the book jacket: A house in Bangkok is the confluence of lives shaped by upheaval, memory, and the lure of home. A missionary doctor pines for his native New England even as he succumbs to the vibrant chaos of nineteenth-century Siam. A post-World War II society woman marries, mothers, and holds court, little suspecting her solitary future. A jazz pianist in the age of rock, haunted by his own ghosts, is summoned to appease the house’s resident spirits. In the present, a young woman tries to outpace the long shadow of her political past. And in New Krungthep, savvy teenagers row tourists past landmarks of the drowned old city they themselves do not remember.
My reactions:
In general, I had a difficult time getting invested in this collection. I think it was not the book’s fault, though, but the press of other things occupying my thoughts. About a quarter of the way through, I put it aside, and didn’t return to it for a couple of weeks. It took me a couple of stories to get back into the rhythm of the work, but once I did, I enjoyed it.
Sudbanthad’s prose conveys a certain vibrancy, and he gives us characters that demand attention. Several of these characters make repeat appearances in the collection. Throughout, the neighborhoods and culture of Bangkok tie the work together. I’ve been to Bangkok several times; it is all the things I hate – crowded, noisy, polluted, hot and humid. And yet, I feel so alive when I am there, that I absolutely love it. Sudbanthad helped me feel some of that with his descriptions.
On the other hand, the timeline is not strictly linear. The settings range from historical to the present to a future that does not appeal to THIS reader and is a little more science-fiction than I was expecting.
I chose to listen to the audiobook, which is narrated by Euan Morton. He does a fine job, with clear diction and setting a good pace. However, I think this is a work best enjoyed in text format.
3***
From the book jacket: A house in Bangkok is the confluence of lives shaped by upheaval, memory, and the lure of home. A missionary doctor pines for his native New England even as he succumbs to the vibrant chaos of nineteenth-century Siam. A post-World War II society woman marries, mothers, and holds court, little suspecting her solitary future. A jazz pianist in the age of rock, haunted by his own ghosts, is summoned to appease the house’s resident spirits. In the present, a young woman tries to outpace the long shadow of her political past. And in New Krungthep, savvy teenagers row tourists past landmarks of the drowned old city they themselves do not remember.
My reactions:
In general, I had a difficult time getting invested in this collection. I think it was not the book’s fault, though, but the press of other things occupying my thoughts. About a quarter of the way through, I put it aside, and didn’t return to it for a couple of weeks. It took me a couple of stories to get back into the rhythm of the work, but once I did, I enjoyed it.
Sudbanthad’s prose conveys a certain vibrancy, and he gives us characters that demand attention. Several of these characters make repeat appearances in the collection. Throughout, the neighborhoods and culture of Bangkok tie the work together. I’ve been to Bangkok several times; it is all the things I hate – crowded, noisy, polluted, hot and humid. And yet, I feel so alive when I am there, that I absolutely love it. Sudbanthad helped me feel some of that with his descriptions.
On the other hand, the timeline is not strictly linear. The settings range from historical to the present to a future that does not appeal to THIS reader and is a little more science-fiction than I was expecting.
I chose to listen to the audiobook, which is narrated by Euan Morton. He does a fine job, with clear diction and setting a good pace. However, I think this is a work best enjoyed in text format.
elossa's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
talesofsamwise's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
amberacks12's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
In this book, the city of Bangkok/Krung Thep is the main character. It jumps from timeline to character to setting every chapter and is very confusing at first. You don’t really ever know where, or when, or who you are. But once you realize that the unifying variable in all stories is that city, it becomes much easier to follow.
Some other important themes: MUSIC and its ability to withstand the passage of time and tell stories; FOOD and its importance to a heritage and people, no matter where they are in the world; WATER and its meaning for the city of Bangkok, where it rains a lot and is literally a city built on swampland and rivers, and actually faces the possibility of being submerged by the ocean due to global warming and rising sea levels.
There are probably other themes that meander through this novel, that I didn’t catch on to, but these three to me seemed the most prominent. There is mention of food and music in a lot of the chapters, and direct descriptions to water in every single chapter. Water itself often plays a main role in furthering the mini plots of each character by saving, soothing, angering, saddening, distracting, or changing.
Some of the chapters seemed to me less interesting or relevant to the overall themes, but I think even then if you think of this book in terms of this quote, it makes sense to include even the most trivial of character perspectives:
“‘Who’s doing the remembering?’
‘Here. This building. This ground.’
‘They can do that?’
‘I wish i had a better explanation, but I think that maybe yes, they do. Even when we don’t. Places remember us.’”
To those who choose to pick this book up, and are as confused as I was by the unorthodox format, I highly recommend reading some of the 5 star reviews on this book. There are many people who have read and thoroughly analyzed it much more succinctly than I ever could.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It introduced me to challenges and perspectives I have never in my life before considered. And I consider that a successful reading experience.
Rating:
Enjoyment: 4
Emotional impact: 4
Educational value: 4
Some other important themes: MUSIC and its ability to withstand the passage of time and tell stories; FOOD and its importance to a heritage and people, no matter where they are in the world; WATER and its meaning for the city of Bangkok, where it rains a lot and is literally a city built on swampland and rivers, and actually faces the possibility of being submerged by the ocean due to global warming and rising sea levels.
There are probably other themes that meander through this novel, that I didn’t catch on to, but these three to me seemed the most prominent. There is mention of food and music in a lot of the chapters, and direct descriptions to water in every single chapter. Water itself often plays a main role in furthering the mini plots of each character by saving, soothing, angering, saddening, distracting, or changing.
Some of the chapters seemed to me less interesting or relevant to the overall themes, but I think even then if you think of this book in terms of this quote, it makes sense to include even the most trivial of character perspectives:
“‘Who’s doing the remembering?’
‘Here. This building. This ground.’
‘They can do that?’
‘I wish i had a better explanation, but I think that maybe yes, they do. Even when we don’t. Places remember us.’”
To those who choose to pick this book up, and are as confused as I was by the unorthodox format, I highly recommend reading some of the 5 star reviews on this book. There are many people who have read and thoroughly analyzed it much more succinctly than I ever could.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It introduced me to challenges and perspectives I have never in my life before considered. And I consider that a successful reading experience.
Rating:
Enjoyment: 4
Emotional impact: 4
Educational value: 4
ursineultra's review
3.0
3, bordering a 4. Well written, but I don't really know what to make of the narrative.
nicole_bookmarked's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
fermanichlyd's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
fleur_de_lisa's review
2.0
I really wanted to give this at least 3 stars.. there’s a lot of potential here but I don’t think it was ever fully realized.
This could have easily been split into at least 5 different novels. For having some of the story lines ‘overlap’ (and I use that term generously) there was nothing added to any of the stories by name dropping another character who was previously mentioned. There were many times I wasn’t sure who or where or when the story was focused on and the constant jumping around from person to person and past, present, future.. was very confusing to say the least. It took me a while even to realize that maybe some of the characters were appearing again somehow, and this wasn’t just a series of individual short stories. I found myself flipping back to previous chapters to see if I was right that certain characters’ names had shown up before.
As a slice-of-life kind of snapshot it does well, but that’s about it. I thought even at one point it was going to diverge into a more politically and socially conscious narrative, with all of the stories about the school riots and economic upheaval etc. - and then it just switched to something else completely. And somehow ends up being in a sci-fi futuristic setting for some of the characters? Those parts really threw me off and did not seem connected at all to any of the rest of the story.
By the time I got to about 60 pages left to read, I skimmed through quickly just to be done with it, and honestly also out of curiosity to see if it would ultimately make any more sense to me in the end than it had all along. While there were some stories and snapshots I enjoyed, overall I don’t think there was enough tying these stories together, or even any overarching themes (other than the fact that water plays a big role in most of the stories). It’s possible I might understand more with a second read-through, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.
This could have easily been split into at least 5 different novels. For having some of the story lines ‘overlap’ (and I use that term generously) there was nothing added to any of the stories by name dropping another character who was previously mentioned. There were many times I wasn’t sure who or where or when the story was focused on and the constant jumping around from person to person and past, present, future.. was very confusing to say the least. It took me a while even to realize that maybe some of the characters were appearing again somehow, and this wasn’t just a series of individual short stories. I found myself flipping back to previous chapters to see if I was right that certain characters’ names had shown up before.
As a slice-of-life kind of snapshot it does well, but that’s about it. I thought even at one point it was going to diverge into a more politically and socially conscious narrative, with all of the stories about the school riots and economic upheaval etc. - and then it just switched to something else completely. And somehow ends up being in a sci-fi futuristic setting for some of the characters? Those parts really threw me off and did not seem connected at all to any of the rest of the story.
By the time I got to about 60 pages left to read, I skimmed through quickly just to be done with it, and honestly also out of curiosity to see if it would ultimately make any more sense to me in the end than it had all along. While there were some stories and snapshots I enjoyed, overall I don’t think there was enough tying these stories together, or even any overarching themes (other than the fact that water plays a big role in most of the stories). It’s possible I might understand more with a second read-through, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.