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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
You'll love this book if you liked Marquez' "One Hundred Years of Solitude". Stories spanning over different decades and centuries connect various protagonists to the same place, and to one another.
Not quite my cup of tea as a concept, but nice to read nonetheless.
Favorite quotes:
"She realizes now that, knowing people their whole lives, she can mistake them for a phantom - the mirage of who they once were."
"The most deafening thing he's ever heard is the silence between two people."
"She remembered feeling so afraid of whatever might disturb her beloved Krungthep that she could feel it justifiable that someone's grown child was hanged from a tree as a cheery mob beat his lifeless body with a chair."
Not quite my cup of tea as a concept, but nice to read nonetheless.
Favorite quotes:
"She realizes now that, knowing people their whole lives, she can mistake them for a phantom - the mirage of who they once were."
"The most deafening thing he's ever heard is the silence between two people."
"She remembered feeling so afraid of whatever might disturb her beloved Krungthep that she could feel it justifiable that someone's grown child was hanged from a tree as a cheery mob beat his lifeless body with a chair."
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:
Yes
Around the World Reading Challenge: THAILAND
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This was a really fascinating read, set primarily in Bangkok and weaving together different narratives from the past, present, and future. There's a fairly wide cast of characters, some more prominent than others, than span across many decades. The chapters are non-linear, and it's not clear until you're reading who and when is the focus. This is actually usually the kind of thing that drives me batty, but I thought it worked really well here--the confusion was present, but minimal, and I think part of the charm of this novel that tries to paint a picture of a vibrant, bustling, ever-morphing city. I thought it was quite an impressive debut, and I'm quite pleased to have picked this one up!
===
This was a really fascinating read, set primarily in Bangkok and weaving together different narratives from the past, present, and future. There's a fairly wide cast of characters, some more prominent than others, than span across many decades. The chapters are non-linear, and it's not clear until you're reading who and when is the focus. This is actually usually the kind of thing that drives me batty, but I thought it worked really well here--the confusion was present, but minimal, and I think part of the charm of this novel that tries to paint a picture of a vibrant, bustling, ever-morphing city. I thought it was quite an impressive debut, and I'm quite pleased to have picked this one up!
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I just loved this. It took me a little while to get into it as the interlinked-short-story format only becomes apparent as you read. The nature of it means most of the stories don't really achieve closure, there isn't really a plot. Rather it's a series of vignettes that take place around a building in Bangkok and its inhabitants- stretching back into the colonial past and an imagined future. Recurring themes of promises made and broken, memory and ghosts tie the stories together loosely and the same characters return so you get snippets of their lives years apart. I found the writing really compelling, the concept of how the future might play out was interesting and despite seeing very little of the characters in some ways, I was drawn into their lives
There's a lot going on in these stories of past, present and future Bangkok residents, all of whom have connections to a house in the city. Some of the chapters are heartbreaking, others science-fictiony and confusing (maybe because I don't read much sci-fi). The post-global warming scenes are frightening. I stayed along for the ride and enjoyed figuring out the links between the characters.
i wanted to like this - the writing, the subject matter - but all the stories were too disconnected for me and i felt like i never learned enough about any of them.
Two Centuries of Krung Thep
Review of the Riverhead Books hardcover edition (2019)
Photograph of the Brahmin giant swing ritual in Bangkok, Thailand which was eventually banned in the early 20th century for safety reasons. Image sourced from Once Upon a Time in Bangkok.
Bangkok Wakes to Rain is a tour-de-force balancing act of interconnected stories spanning two centuries. My instinctive thought for an image to illustrate this review was to search for an historic photograph of the traditional (but now banned) Brahmin swing ritual that was described in its pages. The balancing act on a wooden swing seemed like a perfect simile for the balancing of themes and connections in the novel.
Sudbanthad's first novel takes us on a journey from historic fiction in the mid-19th century to science & climate fiction in mid 21st century Thailand. The timeline starts with a American Christian missionary doctor posted to 1850s Krung Thep (the Thai name for Bangkok) and takes us through the political turmoil of the 20th century through to a 2050s water submerged city where people can have a virtual afterbody life and still interact with full-bodied beings who have not yet chosen to make the transition.
The chapters are mostly centred around a multi-story condominium complex built around the facade of a rich family's former dwelling (the family are the partners of the missionary doctor who chose later to go into trade). The connections are not all family and in a few cases they are not even human (e.g. there are chapters devoted to dogs, birds, etc.) They can be as tenuous as one character being the swimming teacher of another. There are themes of separation and longing and memory throughout as various characters leave or return or are estranged from their family and homeland. The novel will also reward rereads, as connections that were not apparent at first will be more obvious the 2nd time around.
It is hard to imagine what Sudbanthad will write next, as this feels like a magnum opus already written and done.
Other Reviews
As Catastrophic Waters Rise in Thailand, a Writer Examines the Past and Imagines the Future by Ron Charles at The Washington Post, February 14, 2019.
Stories Converge in a Flooded Bangkok by Michael Schaub at NPR.org February 20, 2019.
Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad review - a city of memories by Tash Aw in The Guardian, March 9, 2019.
Two Thai Novelists Explore Bangkok’s Swirl of Remembering and Forgetting by Hannah Beech in The New York Times, April , 2019.
Review: Pitchaya Sudbanthad's Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Chanikarn Kovavisarach at Thai Enquirer, February 19, 2021.
Review of the Riverhead Books hardcover edition (2019)
Photograph of the Brahmin giant swing ritual in Bangkok, Thailand which was eventually banned in the early 20th century for safety reasons. Image sourced from Once Upon a Time in Bangkok.
Bangkok Wakes to Rain is a tour-de-force balancing act of interconnected stories spanning two centuries. My instinctive thought for an image to illustrate this review was to search for an historic photograph of the traditional (but now banned) Brahmin swing ritual that was described in its pages. The balancing act on a wooden swing seemed like a perfect simile for the balancing of themes and connections in the novel.
Sudbanthad's first novel takes us on a journey from historic fiction in the mid-19th century to science & climate fiction in mid 21st century Thailand. The timeline starts with a American Christian missionary doctor posted to 1850s Krung Thep (the Thai name for Bangkok) and takes us through the political turmoil of the 20th century through to a 2050s water submerged city where people can have a virtual afterbody life and still interact with full-bodied beings who have not yet chosen to make the transition.
The chapters are mostly centred around a multi-story condominium complex built around the facade of a rich family's former dwelling (the family are the partners of the missionary doctor who chose later to go into trade). The connections are not all family and in a few cases they are not even human (e.g. there are chapters devoted to dogs, birds, etc.) They can be as tenuous as one character being the swimming teacher of another. There are themes of separation and longing and memory throughout as various characters leave or return or are estranged from their family and homeland. The novel will also reward rereads, as connections that were not apparent at first will be more obvious the 2nd time around.
It is hard to imagine what Sudbanthad will write next, as this feels like a magnum opus already written and done.
Other Reviews
As Catastrophic Waters Rise in Thailand, a Writer Examines the Past and Imagines the Future by Ron Charles at The Washington Post, February 14, 2019.
Stories Converge in a Flooded Bangkok by Michael Schaub at NPR.org February 20, 2019.
Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad review - a city of memories by Tash Aw in The Guardian, March 9, 2019.
Two Thai Novelists Explore Bangkok’s Swirl of Remembering and Forgetting by Hannah Beech in The New York Times, April , 2019.
Review: Pitchaya Sudbanthad's Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Chanikarn Kovavisarach at Thai Enquirer, February 19, 2021.
I wanted to like this book more than I actually did... there was bits and pieces of great story telling, especially capturing bangkok and thailand (as ex parn whose lived there for many years) but all the disparate characters and threads didn't come together and after a chapter id dread a whole new thread to decipher.
Pros:
I liked how it jumped around between timelines all centered around Thailand and slowly you understood how they were connected however loosely or directly. It also gave some historical context and information about Bangkok’s past. I liked how the author explored what the future of Bangkok could look like after global warming and took liberties with technology advancements. The characters were interesting and well developed.
Cons; while I did enjoy the time jumps they did not slightly confusing and wish there was a map of relations
I liked how it jumped around between timelines all centered around Thailand and slowly you understood how they were connected however loosely or directly. It also gave some historical context and information about Bangkok’s past. I liked how the author explored what the future of Bangkok could look like after global warming and took liberties with technology advancements. The characters were interesting and well developed.
Cons; while I did enjoy the time jumps they did not slightly confusing and wish there was a map of relations