WaZup! Asia

5 Comments

1. 
   Anonymous said: On October 16, 2009

   I enjoyed this book for about 200 pages then soured on it’s endless anti usa theme. To blame all the worlds ills on the usa is just to simple and ignores the worlds complexities. This guy blasts the usa but will take our money for this book? What a joker. I buy a book for entertainment not moral lambasting..If I want that I go to church (which I never do).
   Ratings: 2 / 5
2. 
   Josette said: On October 16, 2009

   I do not normally buy hardbacks, and would recommend anyone thinking about purchasing this book, wait for the paperback version. Or better yet, get it from the library. The book had a very weak ending, and was well too…….you’ll understand if and when you read it. A real dissappointment.
   Ratings: 1 / 5
3. 
   somebody nobody said: On October 16, 2009

   If you never lived in Thailand, hate the U.S. for whatever reason (for instance, you’re the type of Brit Burdette is, one who never forgave the Americans for 1776 or just can’t deal with the fact that America’s been pulling up your pants for you for the last 90 years because, for whatever reason, the Brits can’t do it themselves) you’ll enjoy this book.

   If you ever did live in Thailand, can speak the language, actually know someone who’s Thai, have any real experience with Buddhism and the its emphasis on loving kindness, compassion, and wisdom, then Burdette’s constantly sneering, denigrating rant disguised as a novel is little more than pretentious vinegar. His “Buddhist” character spends more time obsessing about fashion and using any situation as an excuse to bash all Westerners in general and Americans specifically than following any spiritual path. Unless a spiritual path is characterized by constant character assasination, obsessing on other people’s faults and shortcomings, both real and imagined, or, for that matter, fabricated, and volunteering oneself as a more noble example of what one should be. Not quite what the Buddha taught. But then, how many real Buddhists do you know that are pimps like Burdettes “only honest cop in Bangkok?” As for his metaphysical perceptions, I can only wonder if it’s the ganga he smokes that punctuates his meditation that gives him his insights into other people’s past lives. Guess neither Burdette nor his one dimensional character ever heard of the Eight Fold Path which exhorts “right speech, right vocation, right thought, right concentration,” etc.
   Ratings: 1 / 5
4. 
   KA said: On October 16, 2009

   I recently re-read this book and can now confirm my review. This book is such a pleasure to read. Great writing, great characters and great plot. I find it hard to describe a category for this book and the rest in the Bangkok series. It’s a mystery but then again it’s part thriller but then again it’s drama but then again it’s epic in some spots but then again it’s part modern humor but then again it’s a little about comparative religion. Where on earth would you find a book like this? Oh yeah, the John Burdett Bangkok series. For Buddha’s sake, buy this book!
   
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   I spotted this book in the new paperback section a while back and what a great surprise this was. You will quickly come to like Sonchai the police detective and will also want to know more about him and his life. It’s a solid detective story set in the backdrop of Krung Thep, Thailand. It’s rare that I push books on my friends but I couldn’t help myself. It’s a great read and one of those books that no one will hear about so why not help the author a little with a little free marketing. I drove my friends crazy but wouldn’t you know it, the ones who read it, liked it!
   Ratings: 4 / 5
5. 
   C. Maher said: On October 16, 2009

   I found myself thoroughly enjoying this book about 10 pages in, when I was jarred out of a captivating read by the first bitter rant about the futility of the western mindset compared with enlightened, relaxed Thai attitudes towards life. I dismissed it and read on, only to have the same sensation again and again. I disliked this book for the same reason I disliked Ayn Rand’s novels: if I wanted to be periodically force-fed doctrine about the Eight-fold Path (or the virtues of Objectivism), I would have went to a different section of the library. This book comes off as a bitter, culture-centric indictment of Western thinking by an angry Eastern writer, until one realises that the writer is not Eastern, merely another Westerner enthralled with Eastern culture and inspired to take pot shots at the futility of his own native culture. Witness Madonna, Sting, et. al… This ruined an otherwise entertaining read for me, and ended up being a chore to finish the book. Frustrating. I’m giving it 3 stars because the parts of the book that actually furthered the story were fascinating, as was the in-depth look into Bangkok life.
   Ratings: 3 / 5