Kurzbeschreibung
From the back cover:
She was beautiful, she was sexy, she was sweet and she was kind. She was the closest and the farthest thing from love…
Mantana, better known as Nong Joy to her friends and family, has undertaken a perilous journey. Armed with nothing but her beauty and wit, she sets out from her small village to find a respectable job in the big city. Bangkok, however, has other plans…
Thailand Joy is the remarkable story of one girl’s descent into the neon lit world of lost innocence and jaded desire. It is hot dirty days, papaya salad, short-time hotel rooms, jealous bar girls, drunken sailors, balloon shows, fire shows, eel shows, madness, despair, laughter, and hope. It is sure to be a tale you won’t soon forget.
Reviews:
The subject matter is one that has been dealt with by numerous authors, viewing from all sides of the spectrum. I liked this book as it was non-judgmental, but informative enough for the reader to make his or her own judgments. Author Young shows a more than superficial knowledge of the innermost workings of the country girl in the big city. This is no gloss-over or pseudo-romantic imagery, but a much more down to earth example of real life. You may not like to read something that is much closer to the truth than that put forward by the pulp press. It may destroy you own 'romantic' notions. Don't be blinded by the neon lights. Read this book.
(Pattaya Mail)
David Young, an expat from northern Michigan, has written several delicious novels that explore the nightlife of Thailand’s largest city, and one which takes place in Chiang Mai.
In Thailand Joy, the story of a country girl who has moved to Bangkok to explore better economic opportunities, Young offers a hard-boiled picture of the Haves vs. the Have-nots:
“Look around you. There’s nothing but automobiles and people and dogs and pollution. The air is so thick, you’ll be able to walk on it in another few years. You don’t live in Bangkok, Joy. You live under Bangkok. Ground level is about four or five meters above our heads. Don’t believe me? Give it some thought. The only real jobs are above the second floor of office buildings. The only real places to live are condominiums, high in the sky. Smell the air. Is it fresh? Look at the faces of the people. Are they happy? Just you wait and see, Joy. Bangkok won't ever fall. Its underbelly, where you stand now, will simply harden, like rice burned in the bottom of a pan. And the survivors will be up there in their office buildings and condos, waiting to lay fresh concrete on all of this, all of us.”
(Thai Oasis)
She was beautiful, she was sexy, she was sweet and she was kind. She was the closest and the farthest thing from love…
Mantana, better known as Nong Joy to her friends and family, has undertaken a perilous journey. Armed with nothing but her beauty and wit, she sets out from her small village to find a respectable job in the big city. Bangkok, however, has other plans…
Thailand Joy is the remarkable story of one girl’s descent into the neon lit world of lost innocence and jaded desire. It is hot dirty days, papaya salad, short-time hotel rooms, jealous bar girls, drunken sailors, balloon shows, fire shows, eel shows, madness, despair, laughter, and hope. It is sure to be a tale you won’t soon forget.
Reviews:
The subject matter is one that has been dealt with by numerous authors, viewing from all sides of the spectrum. I liked this book as it was non-judgmental, but informative enough for the reader to make his or her own judgments. Author Young shows a more than superficial knowledge of the innermost workings of the country girl in the big city. This is no gloss-over or pseudo-romantic imagery, but a much more down to earth example of real life. You may not like to read something that is much closer to the truth than that put forward by the pulp press. It may destroy you own 'romantic' notions. Don't be blinded by the neon lights. Read this book.
(Pattaya Mail)
David Young, an expat from northern Michigan, has written several delicious novels that explore the nightlife of Thailand’s largest city, and one which takes place in Chiang Mai.
In Thailand Joy, the story of a country girl who has moved to Bangkok to explore better economic opportunities, Young offers a hard-boiled picture of the Haves vs. the Have-nots:
“Look around you. There’s nothing but automobiles and people and dogs and pollution. The air is so thick, you’ll be able to walk on it in another few years. You don’t live in Bangkok, Joy. You live under Bangkok. Ground level is about four or five meters above our heads. Don’t believe me? Give it some thought. The only real jobs are above the second floor of office buildings. The only real places to live are condominiums, high in the sky. Smell the air. Is it fresh? Look at the faces of the people. Are they happy? Just you wait and see, Joy. Bangkok won't ever fall. Its underbelly, where you stand now, will simply harden, like rice burned in the bottom of a pan. And the survivors will be up there in their office buildings and condos, waiting to lay fresh concrete on all of this, all of us.”
(Thai Oasis)
