Isn't the act of reading fiction inherently vouyeristic on
some level? I'm not sure what that criticism is supposed to
mean. As for the grotesque part, I'd have to agree, and
you're right, it wasn't a disincentive. I liked Bangkok 8,
but I haven't read the others, because I heard they weren't
as good. I've also read The Last Six Million Seconds, a
thriller Burdett wrote about the handover of Taiwan to the
Chinese. I got is for three bucks in the remainder bin, which
was about what I thought it was worth.
On 10/25/07, Brian Thornton <
tieresias@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>
> Having spent time in Thailand, I have to say that I
whole-heartedly
> agreed with the following:
>
> Michiko Kakutani, writing in The New York Times
(about BANGKOK 8), bridled
> at the book's "grotesque, voyeuristic scenes" and
found the female
> characters not "remotely credible."
>
> (I fully realize that to many of the members of this
list, describing a
> book's scenes as "grotesque,"and "voyeuristic" is
NOT a disincentive! ;)
>
> Furthermore, I was unsurprised by the author's
revelation that Burdett was
> working-class English with a chip on his shoulder
about it. That really came
> out in BANGKOK 8, and I knew he was talking about
England and not about
> Thailand in many of his bitter asides about the
rigidity of "Thai" society.
>
> And that ending he tacked on (and it was an obvious
tack-on) to the first
> book. Beyond laughable. I was finished with Burdett
long before I finished
> the book.
>
> Shame, really, because I found the first three
chapters to be dynamite.
>
> Your Mileage May Vary-
>
> Brian
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Robert Elkin
> To:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
<rara-avis-l%40yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 5:57 AM
> Subject: RARA-AVIS: Bangkok Ouch
>
>
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/books/25burd.html?th&emc=th
>
> Article on Burdett's 4 Thai books in today's
NYT
>
>
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