lembeh Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 This story must have been knocking around for donkeys years in various incarnations. Was a short story first, what, 8 to 10 years ago? Then the "on line" version then a book. I would think its been "filled out" and perhaps lost a lot in the meantime. But lets be honest here, *none* of the books on Thailand (at least by the "farang" authors) can be called "literary classics". Compare to, say "Saint Jack" by Theroux (set in Singapore), any of the Malayan trilogy by Burgess (malaysia), The Quiet American by Greene (vietnam), Burma Days by Orwell, Somerset Maugham?s stories on Malaya and Borneo, The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher Koch (Indonesia)...... -j- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 josh_ingu said: This story must have been knocking around for donkeys years in various incarnations. Was a short story first, what, 8 to 10 years ago? Then the "on line" version then a book. I would think its been "filled out" and perhaps lost a lot in the meantime. But lets be honest here, *none* of the books on Thailand (at least by the "farang" authors) can be called "literary classics". Compare to, say "Saint Jack" by Theroux (set in Singapore), any of the Malayan trilogy by Burgess (malaysia), The Quiet American by Greene (vietnam), Burma Days by Orwell, Somerset Maugham?s stories on Malaya and Borneo, The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher Koch (Indonesia)...... -j- Got to agree with all that JI. The so-called 'Bangkok school of fiction' is a joke alongside the likes of Burgess and Maugham. 'Private Dancer' probably comes closest to being a classic of the genre, in that it encapsulates so many familiar fantasies (and realities), but Stephen Leather isn't in the same league as Graham Greene. He has a background in journalism and it shows. Everybody has their own idea about what makes a good book and good writing. A lot of people like a simple uncomplicated read with a plot that keeps the pages turning. Some like a bit of fancy wordplay. Some flinch at long words. Some enjoy a bit of philosophy with their porn. Some like anal. Takes all kinds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jitagawn Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Pure drivel as is most if not all of the" Bkk /hooker meets farang school" fiction-Barrret et al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Got to disagree, Dean Barrett's "Memoirs of a Bangkok Warrior" was great, anyone ever in the military/war time knew guys like that, and their story was well told. I do agree that most of the BKK/Farang books are pure self indulgent crap, with the writer often trying to live out his fantasy life...but mindless entertainment is fine sometimes. As I and others said, "Private Dancer" is reminisent of many stories told, and told again in BKK over the years. Look into it a lot deeper, it isn't your basic Bar girls are evil crap, it really did a good job of detailing the punter and how he lost himself in the plot so to speak. It was a lot better/refreshingly different then the typical "super farang" who has it all figured out and is living the high life in LOS, with his BMW, and CIA back ground, who always comes out on top crap we usually get... I'd love to rewrite the opening to a few books "...I had been in BKK many times during my tours in Vietnam, and during my days as a covert operative in SEA...at least that was the story I would tell, until some guy at the Lone Staar who really was in Special forces figured out I was full of shit, and kicked my ass..." Might make for interesting reading... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Reminds me of my Vientiane days old one. everybody from the US embassy you ran into in the Samlo Pub would look over his shoulder and whisper, "I can't say" when asked what he did. I got to know the electrician from there, a top guy from Oregon, who told me they were all clerks in the agricultural advice department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allatsea2000 Posted April 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 thanks for all the narrative tips, but honestly this is not about literature, just answer the question posted, instead of hijacking it, and taking it on a new direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted April 22, 2006 Report Share Posted April 22, 2006 A lot of the pubs and go-go places are still there. The names may have changed but still there with many of the same folks dropping in. IMO, I liked the book and the story :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted April 22, 2006 Report Share Posted April 22, 2006 josh_ingu said: This story must have been knocking around for donkeys years in various incarnations. Was a short story first, what, 8 to 10 years ago? Then the "on line" version then a book. I would think its been "filled out" and perhaps lost a lot in the meantime. -j- Spot on with the time line -j- , I was chatting with Kim Fletch about this last night. Stephen did start the idea late 95 when Fletch still had Jools but was completed in Mid 96 when Big Dave had taken over. We all know the disagreements he had with publisher who refused to publish it and it was 98 he put it on the the Net. Not sure about the differant versions, I have a signed bound copy of the Original Manuscript as were all "The Jools Crew" of them dark distant days and the Internet Version (98 version that is) is identical, never looked for more recent versions or read the book so I cant comment. As I said before every event did happen to one person or another and rather than try to confuse the issue with numerous characters that would have confused the reader, he retold them thru easy to "learn" central characters. Ah Memories Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted April 22, 2006 Report Share Posted April 22, 2006 allatsea2000 said:thanks for all the narrative tips, but honestly this is not about literature, just answer the question posted, instead of hijacking it, and taking it on a new direction. Oops sorry. It's so easy to get side-tracked on NP. The short answer is the book is fiction but like all fiction it is based on fact. The places and people in the book are a mix of reality and the writer's skill in re-arranging them. So in a sense they never did exist but in another sense they still do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted April 22, 2006 Report Share Posted April 22, 2006 khwaimaisabai said: I agree that the plot is not really original, the earliest version of which was (I believe) "A Woman of Bangkok". Interestingly that book was written in the 1950's, well before the Viet era, which shows that the influx of GIs was not the origin of the Thai bar girl. "Woman of Bangkok" is set in the 1950s, when the nightlife was centred around Democracy Monument in the many nightclubs that used to be there. But it was actually written in the 1960s. The late Jack Reynolds was also a journalist, but he was the first to write about the "wicked women" of Bangkok's honey for money scene. The book is still a good read, but it hard to find -- long out of print. Someone borrowed my copy and went off with it. If you look at some of the late Jorges Orgibet's writing -- Orgibet was one of the founders of the FCCT -- you'll find his fascinating descriptions of the nightlife scene in the late 1940s and 1950s. He credits the Japanese occupiers, followed by the thousands of British and Indian troops who came to disarm them at the end of WWII, for the growth of the wild side of Bangkok. The American GIs in the 1960s and early '70s were more or less newbies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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