Scan barcode
cami19's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
millennial_dandy's review against another edition
4.0
"Each poor soul I encounter, I've come to know, is my own." (p.329)
Even though the 'I' in the above quote is a specific character speaking after waking from fever dreams brought on by a nasty case of cholera, it's also the voice of the city of Bangkok/Krungthep.
The title, 'Bangkok Wakes to Rain' is doing so much work, and I love it.
Bangkok/Krungthep is inarguably the protagonist, so this personification is quite fitting. Bangkok is the 'watcher on the wall', the Nick Carraway that observes, records. "Who's doing the remembering?" "Here. This building, this ground." (p.317)
Then there's the 'Rain.'
If you take nothing else away from the reading experience, you will at least remember that it rains in Krungthep. A lot. It's just a really wet kind of place. And the rain definitely plays opposite the city, like the city and the rain are participating in a super elaborate table-top game, within which exist all the characters.
Like so:
Water and rain are present in every chapter, either as the driver of the plot as flooding forces thousands of residents to flee, or as background ambiance as students gather to demonstrate on the eave of the October 6 massacre.
Finally, 'Wakes.' I reckon that in the year of our lord 2022, most people are sick of things being called 'woke' because at this point it's lost pretty much all meaning. In its original form, however, when it first started appearing in AAVE, 'woke' was used as a means of explaining the phenomenon of going from a state of ignorance (willful or otherwise) to a state of awareness. It is this definition being invoked in this title.
There are many, many instances of characters going through life in a kind of dreamlike state before 'waking' to harsh realities, but the thing that makes this so perfect in the title is the realization (too late) that in their eagerness to build the city up (construction being an honorable mention background force/character), the weight of the new buildings--and the human souls within--are causing the city to sink. In the end, we're given snapshots of the consequences of this late awakening to the literal and figurative rain.
It's just such an amazing title, and other writers should take note when naming their own works.
This was the first Thai novel that made its way into my hands, and I really do feel like it was a great place to start because it examines so many important historical moments for both the city and the country more broadly, and was a great introduction to pertinant cultural and environmental issues impacting the development of the city and its culture right now.
And that's not even touching on the writing itself. Some of the lines describing the city are just lovely, and he has some really nice insights sprinkled throughout. Though I'm sure his exact line by line, word by word technique will strengthen in subsequent works, he displays immense talent in exposing very minute but nonetheless poignant human truths. Here are two of them:
"He was polite to a fault, his manners betraying a palpable shyness that arose from not wanting to inconvenience anyone." (p.73)
"He watched Nee [and] felt annoyed at how easily she could make herself be loved." (p.180)
Not everyone, however, had as good of a time during their stay in Sudbanthad's Bangkok.
A number of critiques of this novel revolve around the constant shifting of POV, and a lack of clear resolution for many of those POV characters. I think only a second (or third) reading would reveal if that's in fact true, but such a critique does seem to miss the point: all of the people (and animals!) whose journeys we follow are threads that, when woven together, form the city; the only thing that really endures even as, over time, it is reshaped by everyone born or sucked into it. Each thread is important, sure, since without them there is no tapestry, but do we need to follow each one from start to finish to really understand its significance?
A follow-up to that criticism that I find more valid is the non-linear chronology. 'Bangkok Wakes to Rain' goes all over the place timeline-wise. We start in (probably) the present, then suddenly we're in 19th century Siam, then we're in the 90s (maybe), then we're in the late 70s (definitely). It's a bit like riding a wooden roller coaster: afterwards half the riders will describe the experience as exhilerating, and the other half will complain of neck pain.
I think the style of reveal of information necessitated this choice and it didn't really bother me, especially once we got to the 'each poor soul I encounter [...] is my own' line and I was like 'ohhhh, ok, so I was right to understand that the city is the main character and that it is made up of the memories/experiences of its residents, though the soul of the city and the land it sits on is this kind of eternal sentience.'
Not going to be everyone's styalistic preference since it doesn't all come together in this neat bow like 'Cloud Atlas', (or does it?) but it certainly wasn't a thoughtless decision.
I personally walked away from 'Bangkok Wakes to Rain' soaked through but exhilerated, and perhaps even a little bit more awake and ready to experience it all again.
4.5
Even though the 'I' in the above quote is a specific character speaking after waking from fever dreams brought on by a nasty case of cholera, it's also the voice of the city of Bangkok/Krungthep.
The title, 'Bangkok Wakes to Rain' is doing so much work, and I love it.
Bangkok/Krungthep is inarguably the protagonist, so this personification is quite fitting. Bangkok is the 'watcher on the wall', the Nick Carraway that observes, records. "Who's doing the remembering?" "Here. This building, this ground." (p.317)
Then there's the 'Rain.'
If you take nothing else away from the reading experience, you will at least remember that it rains in Krungthep. A lot. It's just a really wet kind of place. And the rain definitely plays opposite the city, like the city and the rain are participating in a super elaborate table-top game, within which exist all the characters.
Like so:
Water and rain are present in every chapter, either as the driver of the plot as flooding forces thousands of residents to flee, or as background ambiance as students gather to demonstrate on the eave of the October 6 massacre.
Finally, 'Wakes.' I reckon that in the year of our lord 2022, most people are sick of things being called 'woke' because at this point it's lost pretty much all meaning. In its original form, however, when it first started appearing in AAVE, 'woke' was used as a means of explaining the phenomenon of going from a state of ignorance (willful or otherwise) to a state of awareness. It is this definition being invoked in this title.
There are many, many instances of characters going through life in a kind of dreamlike state before 'waking' to harsh realities, but the thing that makes this so perfect in the title is the realization (too late) that in their eagerness to build the city up (construction being an honorable mention background force/character), the weight of the new buildings--and the human souls within--are causing the city to sink. In the end, we're given snapshots of the consequences of this late awakening to the literal and figurative rain.
It's just such an amazing title, and other writers should take note when naming their own works.
This was the first Thai novel that made its way into my hands, and I really do feel like it was a great place to start because it examines so many important historical moments for both the city and the country more broadly, and was a great introduction to pertinant cultural and environmental issues impacting the development of the city and its culture right now.
And that's not even touching on the writing itself. Some of the lines describing the city are just lovely, and he has some really nice insights sprinkled throughout. Though I'm sure his exact line by line, word by word technique will strengthen in subsequent works, he displays immense talent in exposing very minute but nonetheless poignant human truths. Here are two of them:
"He was polite to a fault, his manners betraying a palpable shyness that arose from not wanting to inconvenience anyone." (p.73)
"He watched Nee [and] felt annoyed at how easily she could make herself be loved." (p.180)
Not everyone, however, had as good of a time during their stay in Sudbanthad's Bangkok.
A number of critiques of this novel revolve around the constant shifting of POV, and a lack of clear resolution for many of those POV characters. I think only a second (or third) reading would reveal if that's in fact true, but such a critique does seem to miss the point: all of the people (and animals!) whose journeys we follow are threads that, when woven together, form the city; the only thing that really endures even as, over time, it is reshaped by everyone born or sucked into it. Each thread is important, sure, since without them there is no tapestry, but do we need to follow each one from start to finish to really understand its significance?
A follow-up to that criticism that I find more valid is the non-linear chronology. 'Bangkok Wakes to Rain' goes all over the place timeline-wise. We start in (probably) the present, then suddenly we're in 19th century Siam, then we're in the 90s (maybe), then we're in the late 70s (definitely). It's a bit like riding a wooden roller coaster: afterwards half the riders will describe the experience as exhilerating, and the other half will complain of neck pain.
I think the style of reveal of information necessitated this choice and it didn't really bother me, especially once we got to the 'each poor soul I encounter [...] is my own' line and I was like 'ohhhh, ok, so I was right to understand that the city is the main character and that it is made up of the memories/experiences of its residents, though the soul of the city and the land it sits on is this kind of eternal sentience.'
Not going to be everyone's styalistic preference since it doesn't all come together in this neat bow like 'Cloud Atlas', (or does it?) but it certainly wasn't a thoughtless decision.
I personally walked away from 'Bangkok Wakes to Rain' soaked through but exhilerated, and perhaps even a little bit more awake and ready to experience it all again.
4.5
victoriathuyvi's review against another edition
5.0
I came into this book not knowing what to expect at all. I came out with a story full of love, loneliness, rhythm, and motion. Sudbanthad writes in such a creative and clever way, pushing forward themes of cyclical nature, history, alienation, and climate anxiety. It's a genre-defying novel in the same way it defies linear, chronological construction. I loved it and will definitely reread it in the future, for I am sure there were links and nuances I must have missed.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
5.0
What to say about this gorgeous, gorgeous novel? It takes the form of tightly inter-linked stories about two people who meet and have a child, but also backwards in time to colonial Siam, forwards into the future, connecting with their families histories and futures. Nee is a young woman, a university student who marches in the protests in the mid-seventies and survives the violent response. She later meets a photographer and tentatively forms a connection with him, carefully not speaking about what she can't bear to talk about. Her sister has moved to Japan where she owns and runs a Thai restaurant popular with Thai students and expats, but the shadow of the violence reaches her in Tokyo. A missionary from New England despairs of doing anything worthwhile in Siam and writes asking to be reassigned, even as he begins exploring the city he's stranded in. Three children ferry a woman through the now-flooded streets of Bangkok. She wants to see the place her family once lived, back when Bangkok had not been covered by the ocean.
The novel begins with what first look like unrelated short stories, but that eventually resolve themselves into a coherent narrative. It's a wonderful format when it's well-deployed as it is here, Sudbanthad builds the novel in layers of history; of his characters, but also of Bangkok itself. It's such a pleasurable thing to read a well-crafted and superbly written novel where every chapter is carefully placed into the greater whole and yet can stand on its own.
The novel begins with what first look like unrelated short stories, but that eventually resolve themselves into a coherent narrative. It's a wonderful format when it's well-deployed as it is here, Sudbanthad builds the novel in layers of history; of his characters, but also of Bangkok itself. It's such a pleasurable thing to read a well-crafted and superbly written novel where every chapter is carefully placed into the greater whole and yet can stand on its own.
anduman's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
aqrio's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
curiouslykaylee's review against another edition
2.0
This book was definitely an odd choice for me, but that is the point of my library’s reading challenge
_karinaiello_'s review against another edition
2.0
This was a book. It was fine.
Honestly, I really love the concept. The prose was lovely. But the mucked up timeline and huge assortment of characters was just too much to try to puzzle out. I feel like if each "main" character were given a short story, and the reader was allowed to hear their complete story all in one shot, it would have been much easier to even see the connections that were meant to be made by flipping in between stories and timelines. I read the entire first section, put the book on hold, came back and started over, and I still had no idea what was happening. I pushed through and as the stories progressed I could see how some of them connected, but there were too many characters to try to remember who was whose child and why I should care about them. I did mark on the table of contents who the main characters were for each chapter and maybe someday I'll go back and try to read the chapters out of order to get more of that "short story collection" feel out of it and see if that helps, but for now. This was a book. It was fine.
Honestly, I really love the concept. The prose was lovely. But the mucked up timeline and huge assortment of characters was just too much to try to puzzle out. I feel like if each "main" character were given a short story, and the reader was allowed to hear their complete story all in one shot, it would have been much easier to even see the connections that were meant to be made by flipping in between stories and timelines. I read the entire first section, put the book on hold, came back and started over, and I still had no idea what was happening. I pushed through and as the stories progressed I could see how some of them connected, but there were too many characters to try to remember who was whose child and why I should care about them. I did mark on the table of contents who the main characters were for each chapter and maybe someday I'll go back and try to read the chapters out of order to get more of that "short story collection" feel out of it and see if that helps, but for now. This was a book. It was fine.
bairee's review against another edition
5.0
Man was this book a rollercoaster.
I couldn't quite wrap my head around this novel at the beginning and the time jumping back and forth was very confusing for me at first but as I became more accustomed to the authors writing style I became completely enthralled in the narrative of so many well thought out and depth-filled characters that I was wholeheartedly invested in.
I feel that all heavy subjects featured in this book were handled in a very respectful and tasteful way whilst still giving enough detail and emotion attached to the events that it genuinely tugged at my heart strings and really opened my eyes to the harsh, brutal yet beautiful nature of life.
I'm absolutely in love with the portrayal of the "future" throughout the novel and I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed that facet of the story as it's usually not at all my cup of tea so i'm very pleasantly surprised!
This was the first book i've read that focused on or even really featured Thai characters unfortunately but after reading this book it definitely won't be my last. I really love how the author balanced tragedies and shortcomings with showing the natural beauty of the country and the strength and community of the citizens.
100% would recommend!
I couldn't quite wrap my head around this novel at the beginning and the time jumping back and forth was very confusing for me at first but as I became more accustomed to the authors writing style I became completely enthralled in the narrative of so many well thought out and depth-filled characters that I was wholeheartedly invested in.
I feel that all heavy subjects featured in this book were handled in a very respectful and tasteful way whilst still giving enough detail and emotion attached to the events that it genuinely tugged at my heart strings and really opened my eyes to the harsh, brutal yet beautiful nature of life.
I'm absolutely in love with the portrayal of the "future" throughout the novel and I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed that facet of the story as it's usually not at all my cup of tea so i'm very pleasantly surprised!
This was the first book i've read that focused on or even really featured Thai characters unfortunately but after reading this book it definitely won't be my last. I really love how the author balanced tragedies and shortcomings with showing the natural beauty of the country and the strength and community of the citizens.
100% would recommend!
g_reads23's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
2.5
Well written but confusing story lines with a lot of characters to keep tract of