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Bangkok Days (2009)

by Lawrence Osborne(Favorite Author)

3.21 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0865477329 (ISBN13: 9780865477322)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

North Point Press

review 1: Readers of this book should take note of these words in chapter 4: "...memoirs are rarely empirical in nature. They are statements of purpose, descriptions of life as the writer WOULD LIKE IT TO BE." (His emphasis) "...but the faultless memoir doesn't exist---indeed, it's a lame, moralistic fantasy." James Frey couldn't have put it better. That Osborne isn't concerned with facts or accuracy shows in his writing. The book is loaded with mistranslations, transliteration errors, inaccuracies, and bald-faced lies.Some of the mistakes are minor, and could be just typos: The word for 51 is spelled "haa sip ek" when it should be "haa sip et". "Rot-din gern' (for traffic jam) should be "rot-dit gern". He says he was in room 7036, which would put him on the 70th floor of a hospital... more with only 12 floors.If you're trying to impress your readers with your foreign language skills, you should at least get the right word:He says "maeng-da" are insects. The word he's looking for is "malaeng". A "maeng-da" is a water beetle.Sacred tattoos are called "roi sak" in the book, which just means tattoo. Sacred tattoos are called "sak yant(a)".He writes that "Amarin" means angel. Wrong again. It means the god Indra.He claims nobody knows the meanng of Kluay Nam Thai. (He guesses "banana forest".) It's the name of a variety of banana.A couple of times he makes reference to "the northern girls of Issan" which makes about as much sense as saying "the midwestern girls of New England".He does include lots of interesting trivia, though:Sukhumvit's the longest road in the world.Bangkok's the hottest city in the world with average temps of 40 degrees celsius.The British make up the largest group of foreigners in Bangkok.The Thai national anthem was composed by the King. The above trivia would be even more interesting if any of it were true. He tells us that "guaytio nam" is "Thailand's national dish, which you'll never find in a Thai restaurant." Both the name and the dish itself are from China, and it's sold in restaurants throughout the city. (Apparently, Osborne forgot he'd told us that he was being served guaytio in the no-hands restaurant.)When I read the first chapter, I thought the book showed promise. I thought it would follow the struggles of a lonely farang on the down-and-out. He certainly sounds like he's broke. He has to make less than 500 baht last five days. He's so desperate, he steals money from a middle-aged Japanese woman. But, after that, nothing adds up: He never mentions work, but when he gets sick, he goes to one of the most expensive hospitals in town. This brings you to the most ridiculous chapter in the book. Despite having a life-threatening illness, he goes downstairs to a bar and is served alcohol. His roommate lights up a cigarette. His friend suggests a trip to Nana Plaza, which they make with their IVs still in their arms.This book makes "The Hangover Part II" look like a documentary.
review 2: I don't buy a lot on non-fiction in general and non-fiction re Thailand in particular. Very Thai by Philip Cornwel-Smith and John Goss and HEART TALK by Christopher G. Moore are the last two to come to mind. And true to form, I have not purchased this book ... but if I were to purchase some Thailand non-fiction this would be the next in order. Osborne has a fluid writing style that almost reads like fiction as do the stories, which isn't that difficult in a city like Bangkok, Thailand. Osborne has street cred, entertains, and also has plenty of reviews for this book already so I'll keep this short. Bangkok Days has good writing - I'll just have to wait till I have an extra purple in my wallet and splurge. less

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