Culture Monday

Just finished reading “Spook Country” by William Gibson. A definite departure from his usual topics, and a writing style that is his usual but taken to an extreme sparseness; to the point where the book is incomprehensible until the last 3rd. Interesting premise, but ultimately unfulfilling; too much effort spent for a gimmick, and a couple of potentially interesting subplots and characters (Bigend) that go nowhere. Same feeling I had with Le Carré’s “Mission Song” – great writer somehow misspent.

However, I can’t believe I waited until now to read Natsuo Kirino. “Grotesque” is such a great book. Categorizing it as Japanese or crime fiction only diminishes its universaility – bullying, trying to fit in, trying to be attractive and dealing with not being, all these aren’t solely a Japanese phenomenon. It’s the first book written by a woman that I can relate to as a guy (ok maybe not the first; one of the few though).

 

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Ok it turns out that Bigend is a main character in the previous Gibson book. That makes some sense. I still think he is underused in “Spook country” and his plot is going nowhere. The book really feels like a farce (in the operatic sense).

Silence?

And speaking of Rattawut, whose book I hope to find around somewhere. We have big problems of our own. How come we have not found a voice to explain ourselves to the world? (yes it would take someone who can write English literature, and who is not afraid of slaying sacred cows and of facing the music afterwards). I’m fascinated by interactions between Thais and farangs, but tire of them after a while – as they do ‘degenerate’ to basic interhuman relations with just a bit of exoticism thrown in. Same with us, but for some reason our self hatred leads us to either try to become farangs as fast as we can, or to wash the laundry in the family, when washing is deemed allowable at all. In the meantime we put on a good show where we are anything you want us to be, or not.

This might be a tad too cryptic. But I still don’t know why we don’t have a Rattawut, a Naguib Mahfouz, a Salman Rushdie.

But this time in Bangkok, I read some (passable) sci-fi. Saving Lévi-Strauss  for Tarawa or Palau.

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This is intentionally cryptic, as are the other posts that refer to my old old country – a particular place in Eastern Europe where I hail from. It won’t make much sense to anyone else other than me. But then, this blog is primarily for me and me only. One of the great things about having 2 passports and living in a 3rd country (make that, 2 passports from 2 different continents and living in a 3rd continent) is the freedom it affords you to criticize/or embrace almost anything, anyplace – because you’re both from and not from there. Guess you have to try it to understand. Not being beholden to a flag or a culture is immensely freeing.

Rainy days

…and nothing interesting to say. Finished reading the (very dry) Southeast Asian Urbanism. An exciting premise, and exactly what I was looking for in some ways, but the German academic writing at its most ponderous makes it a tough going. For improved readability, they could have illustrated the book with pics such as this one:

No red light in sight

Old Asia hands will recognize this as Geylang, one of Singapore’s red light districts. I was there a few days ago and did not notice anything untowards. Perhaps the action is on one of the side lorongs?

And now, working my way through Javanese Lives. Sociological research, but much more readable. Makes me wonder how priyayi is W.

Geographical detour

South-East Asia can be bewildering at times. I’m now reading David Wyatt’s A Short History of Thailand, which I picked up at the Siam Society’s bookstore in Bangkok, and the description of the ‘Tai peoples’ and their world only makes things seem more complex (Lao are Tai’s too, it seems).

Here is China’s foray into the region – Yunnan.

While Hong Kong is and it isn’t a part of South-East Asia, it would seem that Taiwan would have reasons to be, especially since its native inhabitants are Austronesians related to the orang asli of Malaysia and Indonesia.

But what is really puzzling is the influence of (and the connections of the region with) Sri Lanka – much of the SEA’s Buddhist influence comes from there, and there are repeated contacts throughout history with that island, which isn’t anywhere near.

Indonesia in books

I noticed the same thing mentioned here…. mosque sermons and calls to prayer blaring through the speakers at all hours of the night. It was startling at first. I might pick this book up (and I should get Clifford Geertz’s one as well although the advent of ‘modernity’ in the guise of Islam might make it outdated).

And this might be the only post here so far that can truly be tagged ‘anthropology’ Definitely Indonesia offers quite a lot to the anthropologist!

Shameless name dropping

I now have Karl Taro Greenfeld (he of Speed Tribes, which it seems has been made into a movie) among my LinkedIn connections. Maybe Chris Moore should be next, if he’s switched on to LI.

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This is an obscure reference to my rather narrow interests. Both are authors writing on Asian topics, one who used to live in Japan (but is working now for Sports Illustrated?! Too jock for me) and another one who is based in Bangkok. Incidentally, both came up in the Bangkok tweetup. Now you know.

Asian Godfathers

Just finished reading the book by Joe Studwell.

Asian Godfathers: from whose perspective?

 

The book is certainly interesting and it parallels some of the stories I know from Eastern Europe. I only have one question about it: whose viewpoint does it represent? Is it a Western viewpoint/criticism, or a ‘general’ viewpoint? Perhaps an Asian (non-godfather) would in fact agree with the mentioned ‘godfathers’ and find their business practices, as criticized as they are by the author, perfectly legit and acceptable in the geography’s culture. Oftentimes, Westerners appear preachy and lecturing, and having a hard time drawing a line between legitimate analysis and dogma.

Here is (Bangkok-based writer, author of ‘God of Darkness’) Chris Moore’s take on the book.

Places revisited

Last time I was in Jakarta, it rained and rained and rained. The same in Bali, to the extent where I only had a half a day I could spent at the beach and drowned the misery the rest of the time in various liquids at the restaurants lining Seminyak’s main street.

And this time in Jakarta it rained some more. So much for new beginnings. But I am not the only one to have this feeling it seems. Paul Theroux’s new book revisits some of his own grounds. I have not read it yet but it seems to intersect with many of my own treading grounds; and he seems particularly unkind to Singapore.

I’m a reader of travel books, yet I am still miffed as to the interest people have in this particular genre!

France’s finest?

I’m reading Claude Levi-Strauss. While not the fastest read (not least for the reason that I’m reading it in French), it’s really a worthy read, but there is something else I want to talk about here. Levi-Strauss. Regis Debray. What is with these guys? Since Arthur Rimbaud, some Frenchmen saw it fit to take it to the road. How about South America? Jungles, guns, girls and revolutions. And of course, later on, l’Academie Francaise, or something similarly posh – at least they had something to return to (although Rimbaud only returned to largely posthumous fame).

I’m not sure if I was a Bolivian campesino, how would I feel about comfortably middle-class European intellectuals coming from afar for a taste of the real deal. The way I see it, you either burn your ships in the harbor and go in until you come out on the other side of the continent, like conquistador Francisco Orellana (the real-life Aguirre, more lucky than his movie counterpart) in his day; sure, you might become Mistah Kurtz in the process, but it’s the risk of the endeavor; or, you stay at home and read about it. Going with a foot securely in the protective motherland is uncool.

Not so great reading

I just finished reading John Le Carre’s Mission Song. While it is a decent read, it just failed to grip me. I mean, Congo, Kivu, Mwaganza, all of these were just a big yawn I couldn’t really muster any interest in. It may be that I am inured to any news coming from Africa, but mixed race guy saved by love and let down by big bad government, well this storyline just did not cut it for me.