After two months of confrontational protests, punctuated by the disruptive takeover of public streets and retail space by Red Shirt protesters, the comforting rhythm of daily life in Bangkok has returned to normal this month. Besides the predictable traffic congestion, mobile street vendors have resumed selling and strolling, beggars have taken up their regular posts, and more importantly there are smiles on people’s faces again. But an uncomfortable undercurrent of uncertainty remains; how long will this calm last, and what political ugliness will happen next?

As for business, there has been a definite dearth of customers in my shop this month. Sales simply suck. Some of our regulars have resurfaced again, but many other expats have left town on holiday … or for good. Bye-bye Bangkok! And where are the tourists? About all I’ve seen lately are a few stray backpackers. I doubt we’ll see much in the way of tourist numbers until maybe the very end of this year. This summer is looking like a total wash for anyone involved in the tourist industry. I met a friend for dinner on Thursday night at a restaurant near Silom, and after our meal we walked around the area. Over on Suriwong, near the fabled Patpong go-go bar corridor, things were eerily quiet. Sidewalk cafés that are normally packed with tourists were almost all empty. Bored employees standing in front of massage joints whined pitiful sales pitches; “Massage, sir? Welcome massage” There were no takers.

One customer in my shop this week asked for a copy of Raftaran. That one puzzled us, until he added: “It’s about some guy who was in jail in India.” Ah, the title of that book is Shantaram, we informed the befuddled fellow. It’s a wonder he didn’t call the book Gamelan or Bananarama or something equally tongue twistable. Anyway, Shantaram remains a very popular title this year, especially for the backpack brigade.

Books that I’ve read lately:

David Halberstam – Teammates

Halberstam can do no wrong and this look at four Boston Red Sox teammates (Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Dominic DiMaggio, and Bobby Doerr) and their close friendship over the years is reportage of the finest order.

Charles Todd – A Test of Wills

An American writer sets his mystery in early 1900s England, just after the World War One. This one got rave reviews and it’s certainly justified. Not a quick, breezy read, but one with depth and layers of suspense.

Rory Stewart – The Places in Between

Stewart walked across Afghanistan (in the midst of winter no less) earlier this decade, skirting hostile areas, and lived to tell about it. Good writing and chilling adventures keep things interesting.

Victor Gischler – Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse

Gischler just keeps getting weirder and weirder — and bloodier and bloodier — with his crime novels. Another entertaining tale with outlandish characters and snappy dialogue. This time the story has a futuristic twist, set in the redneck corridor of the American southeast.

Barry Eisler – Fault Line

This is the first novel that Eisler has written that did not use the John Rain character, the intriguing jazz-loving half-Japanese contract killer. Once again Eisler’s character is very tech savvy, but instead of Asia, this story focuses on a pair of American brothers, one of whom is — surprise — a contract killer. Starts off slowly, but accelerates quickly and becomes a very addictive read.

Arthur C. Clarke – The View from Serendip

This is supposed to Clarke’s memoir of his life living in Sri Lanka, but other than a few recollections of his early days on the island, it mostly consists of essays and columns he wrote about space travel. I would have preferred a more insightful memoir of a westerner living in an Asian country instead of just Clarke’s takes on the planets and conjectures about the future of space travel.

Christopher Hitchens – God is Not Great

This is a controversial but well written analysis of the pitfalls of religion, organized and otherwise. Indeed, this not only pokes huge holes in the “logic” of religion, but exposes religious fanatics — of all stripes — for the dangerous loonies that they are. A very astute, and sometimes funny, book.

Jeff Pearlman – The Bad Guys Won!

This is an account of the New York Mets march to the pennant in 1986. I used to hate the Mets — and I still do — but I found this to be an entertaining read. I did have a somewhat personal interest in the book, besides my love of baseball. Manager Davey Johnson used to live in Central Florida and I met him twice; once when he came in my record store looking for an album for his wife, and another time when I caddied for him in a golf tournament at one of the Disney courses. Nice guy … and he tipped well too!

Alexander McCall Smith – Tea Time for the Traditionally Built

The latest in Smith’s delightful “No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Club” series, set in Botswana. Another amusing and heart-warming tale, one that will appeal to fans of the previous books.

Edward Marriott – The Lost Tribe

A truly adventurous travel tale of the writer’s quest to find the legendary “lost” Liawep tribe in Papau New Guinea back in the mid 1990s. This is far from a wild and reckless adventure, however. After a very disturbing incident in the last days of his stay with the tribe, the author reflects on his actions and the “need” to visit such primitive people.

Stieg Larsson – The Girl who Played with Fire

I read the first book in Larsson’s “Millennium” trilogy last year and have finally gotten around to reading this second installment. The dialogue is bit stilted and wooden at times (whether that’s due to the translation or just a Swedish thing, I don’t know) but with the compelling main characters it turns into a real page turner.

Donald E. Westlake – Cops and Robbers

This is an early Westlake “caper” novel from 1972. Fun and crazy stuff, but nearly as delightful or full of engaging characters as his beloved Dortmunder novels.

Posted by dgilliland Bangkok