wayword.pages.dev

Rattawut lapcharoensap farangs meaning

          “Farangs” is a story of a half-Thai, half-American teen, working with his mother at a hotel in Thailand, and his courtship of an American tourist....

          The Asian Reporter's
          BOOK REVIEWS

          Sightseeing

           offers new view of Thailand

          Sightseeing

          By Rattawut Lapcharoensap

          Grove Press, 2005

          Hardcover, 250 pages, $19.95

          By Pamela Ellgen

          Many Western tourists know Thailand for its quaint villages, crystal clear seascapes, and beautiful women.

          The opener, "Farangs" - Thai slang for foreigners - wittily maps out his territory.

        1. The award-winning opener, 'Farangs', is set on an unnamed Thai island where time is measured in terms of tourist seasons.
        2. “Farangs” is a story of a half-Thai, half-American teen, working with his mother at a hotel in Thailand, and his courtship of an American tourist.
        3. ("Farang" means "Caucasian," and like the Hindi "farangi" or the Indonesian "bule," is often used derisively.) The narrator again is an.
        4. In the story “Farangs,” the narrator is caught between his fascination with Westerners and his elders' resentment of them.

          5. In Sightseeing, award-winning author Rattawut Lapcharoensap explodes this romanticized vision of the country with gritty, provocative tales of elemental human struggles — growing up, finding love, aging, and death.

          This poignant collection of short stories also explores the struggles inherent to the Thai people — social and economic disparity, government corruption, and a love-hate relationship with Western tourists, a.k.a. farangs.

          The opening story, titled simply "Farangs," is a brilliant and charming account of an adolescent boy’s love for a bikini-clad American tourist. It illustrates in no uncertain terms the flaws of an industry that both