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Bangkok Wakes to Rain
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
Places remember us. . . A missionary begs to be moved from disease-ridden Bangkok. A musician plays a private show for ghosts. A student abandoned by his lover bleeds to death in the street. A plastic surgeon designs a girl a new face. A woman decides whether to cook a final meal for a dying murderer. Lurching through decades, from Bangkok's rich past to its imagined, uploaded future, witness the city as it changes from a booming capitalist hub to a city engulfed by water, through human tales seeping into one another, held together by delicate threads. For fans of A VISIT FROM THE GOOD SQUAD and CLOUD ATLAS, this is a startling and intimate novel by a lyrical new writer.
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Dilara
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Bangkok Wakes to Rain is my pick for #FoodandLit this month. This is my first time listening to an audiobook. The narrator is overly dramatic, which is distracting.

#Thailand @Catsandbooks @Texreader

Texreader I‘ve learned to always listen to a sample audio clip first. The narrator can ruin an excellent book and put me in a very bad mood. I love audiobooks with good narrators 2y
Graywacke Cool that you‘re trying an audiobook. It might take a couple tries to find something that fits you on audio. 2y
Ruthiella The wrong narrator can totally ruin an audio book. Personally I find plot heavy narratives easiest to listen to. 2y
Dilara @Texreader @Graywacke @Ruthiella The narrator's a bit annoying, but he hasn't put me off the book. I roll my eyes a lot at the start of every listening session, but then I get used to him and I'm fine again 😂 I'll check things more carefully for my next audiobook! 2y
28 likes4 comments
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Smarkies
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Pickpick

A multi generational tale that focuses on #bangkok #thailand and weaves that into the story well. A mixture of historical fiction, contemporary and some futuristic story lines. You do need to invest a few chapters before it starts to gel together.
Read this for #readingasia2021
@BarbaraBB @Librarybelle

BarbaraBB I‘ve been on the fence for this one. 3y
Smarkies @BarbaraBB I was too mainly because Goodreads ratings were only ok-ish. But in the end couldn't find an option that I was interested in for Thailand... So decided to try this one out. Pleasantly surprised. 3y
Librarybelle I‘m intrigued by this one. Stacking it! 3y
Zoes_Human I absolutely loved this book! 3y
30 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Mogoeg
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Pickpick

Beautiful. Haunting. Heart-rending. I'm incapable of thinking about this book outside my own life & relationship to Krungthep (Bangkok). As I was reading I remembered that I first traveled to Thailand for an internship in BKK 30 years ago this summer. That trip changed the course of my life. Since then I've been back to BKK many times - I've been there for 2 coups (& barely missed a 3rd), 3 elections, & many many rainy seasons.... (cont.)

Mogoeg I've witnessed many of the changes that Pitchaya chronicles in the past three decades - in 1990 the city bus doors were permanently open and passengers still hung off the sides. I've seen the economy soar & crash, & high rises go up & the construction of the SkyTrain. The future he conjures seems inevitable, the waters will rise & BKK as I know it will disappear. I will have to learn to let it go except for in memories of a city I love. 4y
Cathythoughts Lovely picture! I see I have this one stacked already 😁 4y
84 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Tove_Reads
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Wow, wow, wow! How did I do this? I read 14 books this week!! How is that even possible? Rounding up: 3 * 5 stars, 5 * 4 stars, 6 * 3 stars. Really enjoyed Hidden Lake and Gone Before! Both arcs through #NetGalley 🙂

squirrelbrain Wow, indeed! 4y
BarbaraBB How IS that possible? Two books a day! 4y
Tove_Reads @BarbaraBB No idea! I worked this week, and how done lots of other things. I‘m a fast reader, but still... 4y
Daisey Wow! Great week! 4y
Suet624 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 4y
35 likes5 comments
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Mogoeg
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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‘The thicker the crowd on the sidewalk, the louder the hawkers call out. Stampedes of dusty shoes and shopping bags and stray dogs crisscross near the ground; canopies of sun-shielding umbrellas and twisty headphone cords drift above. The fruit sellers have laid parrot-green pyramids of pomelo on their tables.‘

A lovely book, wonderful writing. It‘s making me homesick for Krungthep - Bangkok - megacity of my heart, 1 of my true homes in the world

Mogoeg Photo from my old (and hopefully future!) neighborhood, Dusit, along Nakornchai Sri Road. 4y
82 likes1 stack add1 comment
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erzascarletbookgasm
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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#AcrossApril #Rain
This was the last book I read for 2019! 🌧

Eggs Beautiful 👌🏼💙 5y
57 likes1 stack add1 comment
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erzascarletbookgasm
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Pickpick

#bookreport Read ONE book this week!

These are stories of different individuals interlace with one another; they do feel disconnected in the beginning..these people appear and disappear throughout the book, and it‘s quite a huge cast. Eventually the stories tie up and you‘ll see how remarkably intricate they have been weaved together to reveal the soul of the city. I like the lovely imagery and quiet intimacy the elegant writing exudes.👇

erzascarletbookgasm (Cont.) It‘s a multiple generation story that sweeps back and forth across decades. At the heart, the book is not so much about the non-stereotype characters but about the city itself - Bangkok, or Krungthep, to the locals. A beautiful tribute to the city of angels. 5y
TrishB I got caught in a tropical storm in Bangkok- it was so weird to me as the rain was so warm!! It took hours to get to the airport as it was a deluge..... 5y
TrishB Great review I meant to say first! 5y
See All 7 Comments
erzascarletbookgasm @TrishB I can imagine you were anxious! The city always has to face flooding and traffic congestion during the monsoon season. This book paints a very probable near future of the city- sad and haunting! 5y
TrishB I don‘t think any governments are acting quickly enough really, still too many climate sceptics. ☹️ 5y
Cathythoughts “Quiet intimacy & elegant writing” beautiful description ✨✨✨✨✨stacked 5y
batsy Lovely review! 💜 5y
70 likes1 stack add7 comments
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erzascarletbookgasm
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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..”the city of Bangkok is highly vulnerable to climate change. Its 10 million people live on ground that sits only five feet above sea level—and has been sinking by more than a centimeter every year. The World Bank estimates that up to 40 percent of Bangkok could be inundated in little more than 10 years.” Image source: Shutterstock.

Reading the tagged book makes us wonder what will happen to cities and homes as climate changes.

Megabooks Yikes!! I can‘t believe anyone can‘t see that climate change is real. 5y
ju.ca.no 😔😔😔 5y
TrishB We need to get planning! 5y
See All 7 Comments
Emilymdxn I felt the same when I read this book (which I absolutely loved). If you‘re interested in the future with climate change and how to cope with it I found this non fiction read very informative and weirdly comforting as I learned how much there is that we can still do, and how many people can still be saved if we work hard 5y
Graywacke Wow... 5y
Graywacke @Megabooks (illusional power of self interest?) 5y
erzascarletbookgasm @Emilymdxn I‘ve finished reading it! What an amazing experience. The near and probable future of the city (or anywhere in the world) is sad and hauntingly portrayed. Thanks for the book recommendation. 5y
65 likes7 comments
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Tonton
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Pickpick

From the 19th century to a future derelict and doomed Bangkok, this is a story of lost men and women. The strands that connect them are centered around a house. Lovely, elegiac, love song for a city.

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Emilymdxn
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Pickpick

Magical book from the #tob2020 longlist. I‘ve never read a book from Thailand before but this gave such a vivid, sensory impression of Bangkok I felt like I was living and breathing it so much. Intricate plotting and characterisation and such fantastic description, so many different aspects of life in Bangkok, if you like dense, evocative, melancholy cities this is for you.

#tbrread #merryreaders #wintergames @Clwojick @StayCurious

Billypar Sold! 5y
Suet624 I'm trying to read a bunch of the TOB list but time and money determine what I can get to. Thanks for letting me know this is one to seek out. 5y
Theaelizabet The NYT just named this book to its 2019 Notable Book list. It really sounds fascinating. 5y
Clwojick 16pts 5y
56 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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Branwen
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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#7days7covers #covercrush 😍

Day 7 💕📚💕📚

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Nitpickyabouttrains
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Pickpick

Cool interlocking stories set in, around, or about Bangkok. Some set in the future, some in the past. Really cool.

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suzisteffen
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Pickpick

My GOODNESS, I enjoyed this book, which is partly about the persistence of memory and partly about environmental disaster and partly about a wide sweep of history. I am going to give it 5 stars because even with occasional wild rivers of language - not that I object to that; I actually love it, even though this book is also very story-driven - it‘s a love letter to Bangkok, humans, irony, and beauty in the wreckage. Ahhh!

Cathythoughts Great review! I have it stacked already 5y
suzisteffen @Cathythoughts Thanks! Hope you like it! I had to wait QUITE SOME TIME to get it as an ebook from the library, but it was worth the wait for sure. 5y
17 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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suzisteffen
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Getting started! The first short story/chapter was fascinating and alarming.

18 likes1 stack add
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ReadingEnvy
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Pickpick

Bangkok Wakes to Rain is an intertwining narrative between eras (Siam to Bangkok to New Krungthep) and characters that move in and out of each other's lives in sometimes unexpected ways. Take the sensory placeness of Murakami, the vibrant city of Thayil, and the connected but widely varied stories of David Mitchell and you'll get some of the feeling of the novel. I'll talk more about it on an upcoming podcast episode.

pppooraikul OMG I need to read this! As a Bangkokian, I have to say I‘m so proud to see a Thai author on international shelves. 🥰🤓📚👏🏼 5y
ReadingEnvy @pppooraikul yes! And there are so many Thai authors translated into English this year and last year 5y
pppooraikul @ReadingEnvy I never knew that! Great to hear, really. Still, so curious why all of a sudden? 🤔 5y
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ReadingEnvy @pppooraikul not sure but seems to come in waves! 5y
erzascarletbookgasm Great review! I just read this! 👍 5y
ReadingEnvy @erzascarletbookgasm thanks! I enjoyed this one. 5y
61 likes3 stack adds6 comments
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ReadingEnvy
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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I have Thai fruit and books for the weekend!

batsy Rambutan is one of my favourites. And I have some for this weekend, too 😊 5y
61 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Decalino
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Pickpick

This beautifully written book draws on all the senses to evoke Bangkok past, present, and future, as seen through the eyes of multiple characters. The interwoven stories examine memory and identity in a city where water has always meant life, but rising sea levels bring inevitable doom. I lived in Bangkok for three years, so this was a particularly fascinating read.

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Branwen
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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This is definitely one of my favorite books of 2019 so far. It was very reminiscent of Cloud Atlas, another favorite of mine. Multiple characters, points of view, and time periods mixed with unbelievably gorgeous writing. Many have said that its boring or too slow, but I found the pace hauntingly hypnotic. The city of Bangkok is the real protagonist of this story. Loved it so very much! I highly recommend it! 💕📚

57 likes3 stack adds
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sophierayton
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Mehso-so

I don't know what I just read. High brow literary fiction for sure. I suspect it will be up for awards, but I don't get it.

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Hestapleton
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Pickpick

A collection of loosely connected stories, centered around a condo building in Bangkok, Thailand. The book is interested in the idea that places bear witness to us and our lives. It was tricky to keep some characters straight and a bit tough to get into at the beginning. Once I got in the rhythm of the writing it got a bit easier. A fitting book to read on a gray, almost rainy, day. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

77 likes4 stack adds
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Liberty
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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IT‘S NEW BOOK DAY! Here are some of today‘s new books! What are you excited to read? 📚❤️📚

8little_paws Def. Bangkok wakes to rain!!! 6y
LeslieO Sophie Hannah! 6y
MrBook Wow! These sound superb! Look, @BookBabe ! 6y
Bklover The Secret of Clouds!!! 6y
141 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Liberty
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Some bright nature covers to combat a gray Maine day. 🌿🌺🌻

Tanisha_A 😍 6y
batsy Oooh 💚 6y
116 likes1 stack add2 comments
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erzascarletbookgasm
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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So many exciting releases this year, here‘s my #mostanticipatedrelease2019 (yeah, I can‘t choose one 😁). #anewchapter

TheBookStacker I‘m super excited for Bangkok! 6y
JennyM Look at all those beautiful covers!! 6y
RohitSawant Lovely collage! 6y
batsy 😍 Tagged book sounds so promising. 6y
87 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Liberty
Bangkok Wakes to Rain | Pitchaya Sudbanthad
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Today in kitten exploiting: Look at this gorgeous cover! It‘s out February 19th. (Book photos: now with 50% more cat hair.) 📚❤️📚

sblbooks A gorgeous kitty too! 6y
JenReadsAlot Cute kitty 😻 6y
Booksnob I‘m going to Bangkok this summer. Adding it to my list. 6y
See All 10 Comments
TheBookStacker Preordered this can‘t wait! Love the kitty 6y
tracey38 Aww, kitty is so cute. 6y
TheLibrarian What a cutie!! 😻 6y
saresmoore I just want to boop her wittle ginger baby head SO MUCH. 6y
mreads 😻 6y
TNbookworm 😻 6y
heikemarie Sosososo sweet. Kittens love being exploited. Mine tell me so all the time. 6y
165 likes5 stack adds10 comments