Bangkok Blogger|Tales from Thailand

If you have a look you will find a surprisingly large number of novels written by Westerners set in Thailand and Bangkok in particular. The two main types are the auto-biographical accounts of Westerners banged up abroad in Thai jails such as the Bangkok Hilton and novels about the bar scene and hapless farangs who get caught up in the world of bar girls and sick buffaloes. Some are ok and some are dire but when I first moved to Thailand I found it hard to resist them as at first there was a certain novelty factor gained from reading about a place you are living in but did not know much about. After a while they all get to sound the same and you go back to reading ‘proper’ books.

The other weekend though I was away at the beach and I realised I’d forgotten my book so I went down to the hotel shop and lo and behold there was an array of books set in Thailand. Whilst having a quick flick one tag line jumped out at me: ‘Jeremy Clarkson with a Gun’. I couldn’t resist it so I picked up the book so get a better view of the cover: gun (check), flames (check), scary looking man (check) quote from Radio 5 live (check), sticker proclaiming the book was set in Thailand (check). I was sold. The book was, in case you feel the urge to run out and get a copy, Live Fire by Stephen Leather. The name sounded familiar too and it turns out it is the same guy who wrote the infamous Private Dancer, also set in Thailand.

Is Live Fire any good? Well I read it in about two days so it is very readable and provides a few laughs along the way. The Thailand part is set is Pattaya no less so you can guess what goes on! The book has two main story lines: a group of British Muslims on a Jihad and some rough-diamond-cockney-geezer-types living in Thailand whilst coming back to the UK every now and then to do a blag. The main character is Dan Shepherd, an undercover cop, send out to Patts to infiltrate the gang. Its a good romp and better than a lot of books set in Thailand although that isn’t really saying much but if you want a good beach read and its definitely worth a punt.

Read any good books set in Thailand lately?

Since coming to Thailand I’ve been reading lots of books about the land of smiles.  Some have been fiction and some have been non-fiction accounts of peoples’ time in the country.  One that I finished recently was Farang: Thailand Through the Eyes of an Ex-pat by Dr Iain Corness.

It is a collection of short stories written by a guy from Australia and England who moved to Thailand during the latter part of his life.  He doesnt get up to much but I learned a few things from some of his tales and it is very easy to read.  There is also a part 2 if you liked the first one.

I’d probably recommend it to people who are yet to reach Thailand or have only just got here as some of the topics covered you will quickly discover for yourselves!

Its an easy read and you do learn a bit so you can’t really go wrong.

To view the list of other books about Thailand click here today.

Since arriving here I have been reading books about Thailand and Bangkok inparticular to find out more about the country and its customs.  Guide books such as those by Lonely Planet have been good but there are also quite a lot of fiction books set in Thailand and Bangkok.  One of the more popular authors writing fiction set in Bangkok is John Burdett and English born ex-laywer who started writing novels a few years ago.

There are three books in his series:  Bangkok Eight, Bangkok Tatto and Bangkok Haunts.

There are all easy to read and give a good insight into Bangkok and the various people who live here from corrupt cops, ladyboys, English teachers, monks and army generals.

These books are well worth a read and are great beach fodder.