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Book Review: by Lang Reid
Monsoon Country
 Monsoon
Country (ISBN 974-89067-3-6, Shire Asia, Mahanaga Edition 2002) was
written a little while ago by Pira Sudham, a world renowned writer who was
born in a small village (Napo) in Buriram.
His life is one of which movies should be made. The son of a poor farmer, he
became a temple boy when he was 14 years old and sold artifacts to tourists
to put himself through university. Following his winning of a scholarship to
New Zealand, his career never looked back, becoming a well known and
respected author, writing in the English language and was nominated for a
Nobel prize in literature in 1990.
Pira Sudham came to understand that something had been missing from his life
- and that was not money, but the concept of questioning. Discussing his
education in New Zealand, he said, “I also learned a process of reasoning,
which is not taught to the majority of Thai children from the beginning.” So
many years later he believes that if that had been in his early education he
would have then posed “a threat to the authorities and the despots, who had
an awesome power over the Thai people, at the time.”
Pira Sudham bases all his characters in the book on real people from the
area, and even names the 16 martyrs who together comprise one of the
characters.
The book covers the son of impoverished and illiterate rice farmers, who
give their son to be a temple boy in Bangkok. A studious lad, he was helped
by his primary school teacher and the monk he was to tend for in Bangkok,
eventually winning a scholarship to continue his education overseas.
Pira Sudham is no stranger to the Thai ruling classes and in this book he
describes the Customs Department as the most corrupt department in the
country. No wonder he has not won friends in that area!
The book follows the boy’s life into adulthood and shows the problems that
ensue once away from the family roots, and what occurs when even daring to
seek self improvement.
Pira Sudham should be an example for every country person from Isaan -
despite dirt poverty, it is possible to extricate one’s self and rise above
one’s roots. This book is not just a tale of someone who ‘made good’, it is
a book so beautifully written it is almost difficult to believe that this
was written by a native of Buriram. Though written some time ago, the Isaan
region is still one of the poorest areas of Thailand, and after reading this
book, it is easy to see why Communism can still be an undercurrent. That
more privileged people should ‘buy’ the area is a disgrace.
Will Pira Sudham change the Thai society? Probably not, but he will at least
have made people more aware of the real situation. As you will be, after you
have read it. By the way, the review copy from Bookazine in the Royal Garden
Plaza had been personally signed by the author. It is now back on the shelf
waiting for you, and at B. 450 is a literary bargain.
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