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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Bangkok wakes to rain. A title that evokes the sight of a gloomy morning and a murmur of rain as we are consumed by the melancholy of it. The beauty of this scene is disturbed only by the ugly truth that Bangkok is slowly sinking and that most of it will disappear under the sea in a few decades. Perhaps it was this fact that prompted Pitchaya Sudbanthad to write a novel with a pensive title as a memento of a vanishing city, to put the City of Angels as the protagonist who is a shadow in people's lives even when they live thousands of miles away from it.
The debut novel "Bangkok Wakes to Rain" is inhabited by people of flesh and blood, with all their flaws and virtues, but it is Bangkok who is the main character, in all its forms that change through time, from the cholera-infected canals of Venice of Asia from the early 20th century to streets soaked with student blood in the age of the revolution to the New Krungthep, a sunken city of the future visited by tourists, whose guides are young people who do not even remember the Krungthep of their parents. Similar to how Andrić does with the bridge in his "The Bridge on the Drina", Pitchaya plays with Bangkok in his novel.
With the gallery of characters, an American missionary who treats cholera, a jazz musician who plays for ghosts, a colonel who wants only to smell the food of his native country on his deathbed, a girl who changes her face, and many others, Pitchaya weaves a rich tapestry about Bangkok's history, loneliness, memory and oblivion, about the identity and disappearance of it. Threads of stories are scattered throughout time and space, and although these vignettes and chapters seem unrelated, Sudbanthad skillfully guides them and weaves the fates of the characters and their descendants around the condominium, which itself changes with Bangkok.
Pitchaya's writing could most simply be described as a mixture of Michael Ondaatje and Haruki Murakami because through fragmented storytelling, written in poetic language, Pitchaya creates magic and transports the reader to Bangkok, creating an atmosphere so palpable that we can feel the rain on our faces, its smell in the air.
"Bangkok Wakes to Rain" is also an ode and an elegy to one city, but also to the people who make it.
The debut novel "Bangkok Wakes to Rain" is inhabited by people of flesh and blood, with all their flaws and virtues, but it is Bangkok who is the main character, in all its forms that change through time, from the cholera-infected canals of Venice of Asia from the early 20th century to streets soaked with student blood in the age of the revolution to the New Krungthep, a sunken city of the future visited by tourists, whose guides are young people who do not even remember the Krungthep of their parents. Similar to how Andrić does with the bridge in his "The Bridge on the Drina", Pitchaya plays with Bangkok in his novel.
With the gallery of characters, an American missionary who treats cholera, a jazz musician who plays for ghosts, a colonel who wants only to smell the food of his native country on his deathbed, a girl who changes her face, and many others, Pitchaya weaves a rich tapestry about Bangkok's history, loneliness, memory and oblivion, about the identity and disappearance of it. Threads of stories are scattered throughout time and space, and although these vignettes and chapters seem unrelated, Sudbanthad skillfully guides them and weaves the fates of the characters and their descendants around the condominium, which itself changes with Bangkok.
Pitchaya's writing could most simply be described as a mixture of Michael Ondaatje and Haruki Murakami because through fragmented storytelling, written in poetic language, Pitchaya creates magic and transports the reader to Bangkok, creating an atmosphere so palpable that we can feel the rain on our faces, its smell in the air.
"Bangkok Wakes to Rain" is also an ode and an elegy to one city, but also to the people who make it.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.4 stars rounded down to 3.
I'm on the fence about this book. It was strange and I was invested but I am not sure if I can say I liked it.
Having lived in Bangkok for 4 years in the 2010s, I was nostalgic for the writing when it took place in modern times and the past.
But this story. jumped around narrators and timelines in an extreme fashion. From the 1950s to some nebulous time in the future when Bangkok is entirely underwater. The main characters were all very flawed and selfish. I'm just not sure .
I'm on the fence about this book. It was strange and I was invested but I am not sure if I can say I liked it.
Having lived in Bangkok for 4 years in the 2010s, I was nostalgic for the writing when it took place in modern times and the past.
But this story. jumped around narrators and timelines in an extreme fashion. From the 1950s to some nebulous time in the future when Bangkok is entirely underwater. The main characters were all very flawed and selfish. I'm just not sure .
dark
emotional
reflective
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
emotional
informative
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:
No
A city seen through the eyes of many, through its historical bits and also an imagined catastrophic future. Interesting to follow the lives of those living in it, but not all storylines pack the same punch and some of the futuristic bits are not so interesting.
Read because we visited Thailand for a holiday, it was interesting to have this insightful delve into the city beyond the tourists.
Read because we visited Thailand for a holiday, it was interesting to have this insightful delve into the city beyond the tourists.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I don't know how to review this book. I don't even know how to shelve it.
Ok. So. It's about a house in Krung Thep, aka Bangkok to westerners. And it's told via a non-linear progression of vignettes that reach back to the late 1800's and forward to the 2050s? 60s? And there are overlapping characters.
Wait.
You know how I recently complained that I didn't really get a sense of Korea in [b:The Plotters|39618887|The Plotters|Un-su Kim|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1522110029s/39618887.jpg|61201269]? The opposite happened here; I felt immersed in Bangkok. The funny thing is, I was only there - in Bangkok, not in this book - for maybe two days? I enjoyed those two days immensely and was enchanted by the city but it's not like I felt any deep sense of connection in my brief stay. And yet, this story is so moist and it's hot and there are fish smells and sour smells and rotting vegetation smells and concrete and tropical flowers blooming at temples and little shops that sell all kinds of things and it was all so vivid, so recognizable; I felt like I was back in Bangkok! And for the parts of the story that take place in England or America, it was obvious that the setting was not Thailand.
Uh...ok, if you liked [b:The Red Garden|8389671|The Red Garden|Alice Hoffman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388293576s/8389671.jpg|13247769] because of how it's structured, you'll like this.
If you liked [b:Pachinko|34051011|Pachinko|Min Jin Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1529845599s/34051011.jpg|50384116] because it showed you a bit of Asian history you're not used to reading about, you'll like this.
If you liked [b:Homegoing|27071490|Homegoing|Yaa Gyasi|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1448108591s/27071490.jpg|47113792] because it's a sweeping story that takes place across countries, you'll like this.
Or maybe you won't, I don't know.
But I loved it. I was gathered in and carried along and I am sad it is over.
More than any other book, it reminded me of [b:Here|29954647|Here|Richard McGuire|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1461044343s/29954647.jpg|39860214] but instead of the corner of a room, we have a house and we're not stuck there, it's just the anchor that keeps the stories together.
I took copious notes while listening to this. I'm going to need to let it all settle in my mind, go back and read my notes, and then try this again later because this book deserves a glowing review and I am just offering rambling shambles.
Ok. So. It's about a house in Krung Thep, aka Bangkok to westerners. And it's told via a non-linear progression of vignettes that reach back to the late 1800's and forward to the 2050s? 60s? And there are overlapping characters.
Wait.
You know how I recently complained that I didn't really get a sense of Korea in [b:The Plotters|39618887|The Plotters|Un-su Kim|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1522110029s/39618887.jpg|61201269]? The opposite happened here; I felt immersed in Bangkok. The funny thing is, I was only there - in Bangkok, not in this book - for maybe two days? I enjoyed those two days immensely and was enchanted by the city but it's not like I felt any deep sense of connection in my brief stay. And yet, this story is so moist and it's hot and there are fish smells and sour smells and rotting vegetation smells and concrete and tropical flowers blooming at temples and little shops that sell all kinds of things and it was all so vivid, so recognizable; I felt like I was back in Bangkok! And for the parts of the story that take place in England or America, it was obvious that the setting was not Thailand.
Uh...ok, if you liked [b:The Red Garden|8389671|The Red Garden|Alice Hoffman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388293576s/8389671.jpg|13247769] because of how it's structured, you'll like this.
If you liked [b:Pachinko|34051011|Pachinko|Min Jin Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1529845599s/34051011.jpg|50384116] because it showed you a bit of Asian history you're not used to reading about, you'll like this.
If you liked [b:Homegoing|27071490|Homegoing|Yaa Gyasi|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1448108591s/27071490.jpg|47113792] because it's a sweeping story that takes place across countries, you'll like this.
Or maybe you won't, I don't know.
But I loved it. I was gathered in and carried along and I am sad it is over.
More than any other book, it reminded me of [b:Here|29954647|Here|Richard McGuire|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1461044343s/29954647.jpg|39860214] but instead of the corner of a room, we have a house and we're not stuck there, it's just the anchor that keeps the stories together.
I took copious notes while listening to this. I'm going to need to let it all settle in my mind, go back and read my notes, and then try this again later because this book deserves a glowing review and I am just offering rambling shambles.