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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really interesting book! Many many plot lines going on, a tad hard to keep track of all the connections, but it was cool to see the web of connecting between people but most all the connections centering around the city of Krungthep (Bangkok) and this one apartment building. I had no idea this book was going to be so wide reaching, from the late 1800s(?) to a futuristic mid 21st century. The timeline was not explicit until the very end and unless you’re keeping a family tree and estimating everyone’s ages and generations, it’s easy to think the end of the book is happening 100s of years from now instead of mere decades (climate change and technology are scarily quick). Very neat!!
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book truly gives a look into Bangkok over generations while also offering narratives on forgiveness, suffering, familial connections, and how people are all linked together. I will give a warning that this book spans a lot of different perspectives and can be quite slow because it really does present itself at first as mostly short stories, so keep that in mind.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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