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A review by steadygiant
Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
3.0
Took a long time to finish because I could never really get into it. It's all over the place. At first seems to be a collection of short stories. Then names reappear in later stories, so they're connected. Then stories get continued in later ones, so they're different timelines. Goes from historical fiction to sci fi. Fair bit of experimentation with perspective.
If you only speak/read English, there isn't much fiction from Thai authors, translated or otherwise, available for you. I appreciate the uniqueness of this book. It goes places I haven't seen other books go, but I just couldn't engage with it.
I recommend the short story *Monsters* by this author, published in the *Story Quarterly* literary journal from Rutgers-Camden, volume 49 [here](https://storyquarterly.submittable.com/submit/48055/purchase-storyquarterly-49-published-2016). This story was broken up and published in this book, and one of its characters is followed further in the book, but I think the original short story stands well on its own and is more compelling than the entire book, so go read that in its original form.
I also recommend [b:Sightseeing|212246|Sightseeing|Rattawut Lapcharoensap|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347713953s/212246.jpg|859221] as a good collection of short stories by a single Thai author. [b:The Lioness in Bloom: Modern Thai Fiction about Women|549184|The Lioness in Bloom Modern Thai Fiction about Women|Susan Fulop Kepner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348960734s/549184.jpg|536432] was a decent collection of stories from Thai authors from the 19th and 20th centuries.
If you only speak/read English, there isn't much fiction from Thai authors, translated or otherwise, available for you. I appreciate the uniqueness of this book. It goes places I haven't seen other books go, but I just couldn't engage with it.
I recommend the short story *Monsters* by this author, published in the *Story Quarterly* literary journal from Rutgers-Camden, volume 49 [here](https://storyquarterly.submittable.com/submit/48055/purchase-storyquarterly-49-published-2016). This story was broken up and published in this book, and one of its characters is followed further in the book, but I think the original short story stands well on its own and is more compelling than the entire book, so go read that in its original form.
I also recommend [b:Sightseeing|212246|Sightseeing|Rattawut Lapcharoensap|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347713953s/212246.jpg|859221] as a good collection of short stories by a single Thai author. [b:The Lioness in Bloom: Modern Thai Fiction about Women|549184|The Lioness in Bloom Modern Thai Fiction about Women|Susan Fulop Kepner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348960734s/549184.jpg|536432] was a decent collection of stories from Thai authors from the 19th and 20th centuries.