'Thai Love' – book review
Thai Love is Karel Poort's debut novel. The story is about a single man over fifty named Koop who is financially independent through an inheritance. During a holiday in Phuket, he meets the Thai bargirl Two who knows how to charm him in a refined way.
Life (a poem by Chiranan Pitpreecha)
Book review: 'The Burma deception' by Roel Thijssen
The Burma Hoax is the sixth espionage novel in the Graham Marquand series and has its origins shortly before the end of World War II, when Thailand was secretly making overtures to the United States. In those last months, the 'Thailand route' was the only way for the Japanese rulers to bring war booty from the occupied territories to safety. American OSS agents manage to intercept one of those convoys and thus amass great wealth
'The smile behind exciting Thailand' is the first book by Ger de Kok. Ger has, according to him, a good insight into the real Thailand. After visiting Thailand for many years, he decided to write down his opinion and his experiences with Thailand in this book.
Book review: 'Bangkok wakes to rain'
In early 2019 Riverhead Books – an offspring of Penguin Books – published 'Bangkok wakes to Rain', the literary debut of the mainly Brooklyn-based Thai author Pitchaya Sudbanthad.
“Sometimes I wonder if I was born for the accident. Is this my life now is this my destiny? I pray to Buddha that it will not be so. I don't want this life. Now I'm a country girl trying to escape the clutches of a tiger only to be swallowed by a crocodile. My whole life has been hell and the end is nowhere in sight.”
Book review: Thai cuties
The book 'Thai cuties' by Charles Schwietert is the umpteenth in the series of books about the relationships between farang and Thai ladies. The book is a representation of true events and that always gives an extra dimension to the story.
This book by Thongchai Winichakul describes how the memories of the massacre at Thammasat University on October 6, 1976 were experienced on a personal and national level. He tells how memories were suppressed because they were too painful and how the memories were distorted. There were no commemorations on a national level for the first twenty years.
It's Gonna Move (a poem by Naowarat Pongpaiboon)
The South East Asia Write Anthology of Thai Short Stories and Poems. An anthology of award-winning short stories and poems. Silkworm Books, Thailand.
This poem was written during the October riots of 1973 when the Thanom Kittikachorn government was overthrown. By "weeds" is meant the illegitimate, tyrannical authority; 'the little snail' stands for the many unknown people who then lost their lives in Bangkok.
Book review: Bencharong Chinese porcelain for Siam
Two years ago River Books in Bangkok published the chic looking book Bencharong – Chinese Porcelain for Siam. A luxuriously published book about an eminently luxurious and exclusive artisanal product. The American author Dawn Fairley Rooney, who lives in Bangkok, was not ready for her test piece. She has already published nine books, four of which are about Southeast Asian ceramics.
'Thailand, soft as silk, flexible as bamboo' is perhaps the most famous book about Thailand by a Dutch author. Sjon Hauser wrote the book in 1990 after he fell under the spell of Thailand as a tourist ten years earlier.
The Royal Plowing Ceremony took place again yesterday and predicts a prosperous economy for 2022. The two sacred oxen chose water, grass and beans on Sanam Luang, indicating an abundance of water and food. They also drank liquor, which portends more robust international trade and a booming economy.
The youngest printing clerk makes a mess when he prints paper. He is called sawdust head. Due to his mistakes, photos of people and animals are printed on top of each other, which produces undesirable effects. All the more so since it concerns the election poster for a boyfriend of the field marshal dictator, a wealthy, influential mining boss of Chinese descent.
The filmed introduction of James Bond in 'Dr. No' in 1962 introduced Western cinema audiences to a world that stimulated their imagination and took them to exotic places that most could only dream of at the time: Jamaica, the Bahamas, Istanbul, Hong Kong and, of course, Thailand.
Two herders of water buffalo fighting bulls want to cross a narrow suspension bridge at the same time and are not prepared to take a step back. After a compromise, the bulls refuse to cooperate and misery ensues…