Read till it shatters

Read till it shatters

Nationalism and identity in modern Thai literature

Authored by: Thak Chaloemtiarana

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Description

This book introduces readers to modern Thai literature through the themes of modernity, nationalism, identity and gender. In the cultural, political and social transformations that occurred in Thailand during the first half of the twentieth century, Thai literature was one of the vehicles that moved the changes. Taking seriously ‘read till it shatters’, a Thai phrase that instructs readers to take apart the text, to break it down, to deconstruct it, Thak Chaloemtiarana challenges the Thai literary canon from the margins and suggests ways of expanding and enriching it.

Thai literature is scarce in translation and requires the skills of a scholar fluent in Thai to comprehend it. Thak is a political scientist turned literary scholar who is bilingual in Thai and English and an avid reader of Thai fiction by authors up and down the social scale. Here he offers lively insights into his favourite literary genres with fresh readings of early Thai novels, Sino-Thai biographies and memoirs of the rich and famous.

‘Thak Chaloemtiarana is an inquisitive man. Late in his career he switched from politics to literature. In these chapters, he draws on a lifetime of reading about writers and writing in Thailand over the past century. He nods towards the usual big names—King Vajiravudh, Luang Wichit, Kulap Saipradit, Kukrit Pramoj—but spends more time on those found in the lesser visited stacks of the libraries, the secondhand bookstalls, and the shelf by the supermarket checkout. His themes are familiar—Thailand and the West, Thai nationalism, the Thai-Chinese, and women under patriarchy—but the angles of vision are original. With a cast ranging from motor-racing princes through sexy Egyptian mummies and a feminist serial murderer to starlets touting breast-enhancement techniques, this book educates, enlightens, and entertains.’
— Dr Chris Baker, Bangkok-based author with Pasuk Phongpaichit, A History of Ayutthaya (Cambridge 2017)

Details

ISBN (print):
9781760462260
ISBN (online):
9781760462277
Publication date:
Aug 2018
Note:
Asian Studies Series Monograph 10
Imprint:
ANU Press
DOI:
http://doi.org/10.22459/RS.08.2018
Series:
Asian Studies Series
Disciplines:
Arts & Humanities: Cultural Studies, English Language & Literature, History, Linguistics; Social Sciences: Anthropology, Indigenous Studies
Countries:
Southeast Asia: Thailand

Reviews

By combining a love of reading, a career of scholarship and warm humanism, Thak educates, enlightens and entertains.
— Chris Baker, Bangkok Post, 6 September 2018

‘Each of these essays is original, provocative and, not least of all, entertaining … Beyond their value to Thai literary criticism, these essays contribute to a better understanding of Thailand’s social history in the twentieth century … Anyone with an interest in modern Southeast Asia will enjoy and benefit from these essays.’
– Patrick Jory, SOJOURN: Journal of Social issues in Southeast Asia Vol. 34, No. 3

‘This lively introduction to modern Thai literature by a noted political scientist should be helpful for students in many different fields.’
Thammasat University Library Book Review Blog, 16 August 2021.

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