A Bangkok Book Club

Note: the succeeding meetups are “Taiwan Travelogue” by Yuang Shang-zi on August 11 and “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee on September 15

• What we'll do

Finish reading, then join us in person, share your insights over a meal and/or drink(s) at Bar Storia del Caffè, The Salil Hotel. It’s on Soi Sukhumvit 57 and is a 7-minute walk from BTS Thonglor station.

Approximately 416 pages.
It’s available at Kinokuniya Bookstore for 474 baht.
On amazon kindle it’s $9.50
Or you may prefer the audiobook from audible.com with a running time of 13h 51m.

If you need the ebook please contact the host.

Synopsis
Four lives are drawn together in a sweeping, panoramic new novel. Twelve-year-old Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world’s first aqualungs. Ina Aroita grows up in naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home. Two polar opposites at an elite Chicago high school bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game; Rafi Young will get lost in literature, while Todd Keane’s work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough.

They meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, whose deposits of phosphorus once helped feed the world. Now the tiny atoll has been chosen for humanity’s next adventure: a plan to send floating, autonomous cities out onto the open sea. But first, the island’s residents must vote to greenlight the project or turn the seasteaders away.

Set in the world’s largest ocean, this awe-filled book explores that last wild place we have yet to colonize in a still-unfolding oceanic game, and interweaves beautiful writing, rich characterization, profound themes of technology and the environment, and a deep exploration of our shared humanity.

• Important to know

No entrance fee, no membership fees. Your patronage of the cafe is highly appreciated, as usage of their facility is without charge. Expect meal/drink to average 450 baht thereabouts

Note: preceding meetups: July 14 is “Playground“ by Richard Powers and then September 15 is “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee.

• What we'll do

Finish reading, then join us in person, share your insights over a meal and/or drink(s) at Bar Storia del Caffè, The Salil Hotel. It’s on Soi Sukhumvit 57 and is a 7-minute walk from BTS Thonglor station.

Approximately 320 pages.
It’s available at Kinokuniya Bookstore for 689 baht.
On amazon kindle it’s $11.99
Or you may prefer the audiobook from audible.com with a running time of 10h 12m.

If you need the ebook please contact the host.

Synopsis
May 1938. The young novelist Aoyama Chizuko has sailed from her home in Nagasaki, Japan, and arrived in Taiwan. She’s been invited there by the Japanese government ruling the island, though she has no interest in their official banquets or imperialist agenda. Instead, Chizuko longs to experience real island life and to taste as much of its authentic cuisine as her famously monstrous appetite can bear.

Soon a Taiwanese woman―who is younger even than she is, and who shares the characters of her name―is hired as her interpreter and makes her dreams come true. The charming, erudite, meticulous Chizuru arranges Chizuko’s travels all over the Land of the South and also proves to be an exceptional cook. Over scenic train rides and braised pork rice, lively banter and winter melon tea, Chizuko grows infatuated with her companion and intent on drawing her closer. But something causes Chizuru to keep her distance. It’s only after a heartbreaking separation that Chizuko begins to grasp what the “something” is.

• Important to know

No entrance fee, no membership fees. Your patronage of the cafe is highly appreciated, as usage of their facility is without charge. Expect meal/drink to average 450 baht thereabouts

Remark: Please give yourself ample time to read as this book is slightly longer than usual :-)

Note: preceding meetups: July 14 is “Playground“ by Richard Powers and August 11 is “Taiwan Travelogue” by Yang Shuang-zu.

• What we'll do

Finish reading, then join us in person, share your insights over a meal and/or drink(s) at Bar Storia del Caffè, The Salil Hotel. It’s on Soi Sukhumvit 57 and is a 7-minute walk from BTS Thonglor station.

Approximately 546 pages.
It’s available at Kinokuniya Bookstore for 476 baht.
On amazon kindle it’s $11.99
Or you may prefer the audiobook from audible.com with a running time of 17h 48m.

If you need the ebook please contact the host.

Synopsis
Profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. Four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan.

In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger. When she discovers she is pregnant—and that her lover is married—she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son's powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations.

• Important to know

No entrance fee, no membership fees. Your patronage of the cafe is highly appreciated, as usage of their facility is without charge. Expect meal/drink to average 450 baht thereabouts