Thread: Sightseeing: the book

Has anyone read the book Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap (Picadoor Press)? It is wriitten by a Thai-American author who has his feet in both worlds.

I am very impressed by his chapter called "Farangs". It is interesting to hear a Thai perspective about tourism for a change.

It is interesting how farang fictional writer always assume the role of master narrative. They can't resist the temptation to explain Thai culture as if they are a designated spokesmen. On the other hand, Rattawut Lapcharoensap simply writes about it as he had experienced it. In many ways it is the most powerful fictional book about Thailand. He puts authors like Christy Moore and John Burnette to shame because he doesn't depent on prositutes to build his story line. He talks instead about family relationships, draft dodging, and dealing with foreigners instead. It is a refreshing change to the lexicon of writers about Thailand.

I thought almost all the books about Thailand had to be about prostitution, corruption, drugs, and maybe snakes. Farang tourists buy them, and think that's Thailand.

Yeah I flipped through Sightseeing.

I kow what you're saying -- it does seem more "true" since it's written from a Thai-American perspective. So much better than the forumlaic genre writing of Burkett Moore and the rest of those expat carpetbagging crowd.

But is Thai-American the same as "Thai"? Doubt it. I got the sense the author was a little too enamoured with fancy pants european literary theory. A lot of the commentary and observations seemed ponderous.

I'm still waiting for the "authentic" Thai voice to make it into English.