Many famous authors who wrote about Asia “got it wrong.” This is what led Jerry Hopkins, an author himself, to write “Romancing the East,” a book about what these authors had to say about Asia. Jerry spoke at the Sunday, June 2 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club.
Growing up in America, Jerry was a voracious reader (he still is). For him, Asia was the continent portrayed by authors such as Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham and Rudyard Kipling. They planted a seed in him which flowered when he came to Asia 20 years ago (and stayed). Jerry said that “Romancing the East” is the first mainstream book he has written. Writing the book – it took four years to complete – helped Jerry understand why he arrived in Asia thinking what he did about Asians, and why he feels differently today.
Jerry Hopkins, author of ‘Romancing the East’, along with 40 other books, shares with PCEC members and guests his observation that many earlier writers of East Asia painted coloured visions of the country they wrote about – and they often ‘got it wrong’.
Jerry said that the Asia depicted by many authors was not the real Asia. For example, Anna Leonowens came to Thailand in the 1860s to teach the children of King Mongkut. She wrote highly fictionalised memoirs of her experience, making it sound like she was a major player in the court and a confidante of the King. Margaret Landon wrote a book based on the memoirs; the book became a play (“The King and I”); and the play became a movie (three times). Thus, audiences in the West were treated to an inaccurate portrayal of the Thai Royal Family.
Another example: Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, had a chip on his shoulder concerning the Japanese because he fought in the Second World War. “You Only Live Twice” is an anti-Japanese diatribe. Other Asian characters in Fleming’s books are depicted as the “bad guys.” Graham Greene got it right, Jerry said, in “The Quiet American.” And Somerset Maugham got it right in his depiction of India as seen by the British colonialists living there.
Jerry said that as he researched “Romancing the East,” he learned a lot about how books get written and how books can influence people and events. Eugene Burdick and William Lederer wrote “The Ugly American.” The phrase “ugly American” is often used to describe Americans who behave loudly and ostentatiously when they go abroad. Yet, the protagonist, Homer Atkins, is portrayed as a hero in the book; the title of the book comes from the fact that Homer was an unattractive man. The Ugly American” is critical of American foreign policy, Jerry said. It inspired John F. Kennedy, when he was running for president, to propose what eventually became the Peace Corps.
Jerry, a voracious reader, shares a passage from Kipling with PCEC to illustrate his thesis.
James Michener wrote a few books on Asia; the best known is Sayonara, which is set in Okinawa, Japan. During the Korean War, Jerry explained, American soldiers went to Okinawa for Rest &Relaxation. As a result, some of them married Japanese women. Sayonara tells the story of two inter-racial marriages; both end tragically. When Michener was in Okinawa researching his book, Jerry said, he was also working for the State Department which preached against inter-racial marriages.
When Sayonara was made into a movie, Jerry revealed, Marlin Brando insisted that the ending be changed. In the movie, Brando’s character, a U.S. army major, “gets the girl.” Interestingly, when he was writing an article for Life Magazine on war brides, Michener met Mari Yoriko Sabusawa, a Japanese American who had been interned in a detainment camp during Word War II. Michener fell in love with her and married her.
Jerry said that his own romance with Asia manifested itself most vividly when he was in Mumbai recently to research the chapter in his book on Kipling. He visited a railway station, looking for the school Kipling went to and the house he lived in. He read aloud a passage from Kipling’s writings. The people on the street took no notice, Jerry said, but he was very moved by it.
Many questions, some controversial, were addressed or answered by Jerry.
Jerry is the author of nearly 40 books, several of them international bestsellers – including his seminal biographies of Elvis Presley and Jim Morrison. Jerry worked as a correspondent and contributing editor of Rolling Stone magazine for 20 years before moving to Thailand in 1993. He has written two books about his new home – Bangkok Babylon and Thailand Confidential. Further information is available at www.jerryhopkins.com. For Pattaya Mail’s book review on “Romancing the East,” visit http://www.pattayamail.com/books/romancing-the-east-23730.
After the presentation, Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg updated everyone on upcoming events and called on Roy Albiston to conduct the Open Forum, where questions are asked and answered about Expat living in Thailand.
For more information about the many activities of the Pattaya City Expats Club, visit their website at www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com.
Member Len Levine advises that a community chorus is forming in Pattaya. If interested, Len can be contacted at [email protected].
Founder of Pattaya Players, Chris Parsons tells members of the Players upcoming production ‘Divorce Sale’ on the 14th & 15th of June. More details at http://pattayaplayers.com.
