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Rating: 
Summary: A love story
Review: Here is a book written by a US journalist based in Vietnam suddenly obsessed by the disappearance of the royal family during the last revolution. It's a sweet little book that suffers for the journalist's attempt to write using more adjectives and longer sentences and for its meandering narrative. Having said this it does make for a pleasant read on the way to a visit of Laos, for example, and as mentioned in one of the other reviews, it is often the side comments that offer the most interesting colour to one's view of Laos.
Rating:
Summary: Travelogue & mystery novel all in one; couldn't put it down
Review: Upon reading Christopher Kremmer's book, one feels that he has thoroughly researched his information - as is apparent through the numerous interviews he reports throughout - but without sacrificing the novelistic beauty of his writing to a dry academic account. Kremmer is in Laos ostensibly searching for the fate of the last Lao King, who was spirited away by the Communists after the Lao Revolution and whose fate has never been made public. Although this search is the coil around which the book revolves, his many other experiences are bright and brilliant. An Australian, Kremmer's style is low-key and without much of the typical arrogance that might be ascribed to Westerners in developing countries. His conversations with Lao people in the present are seamlessly interwoven with depictions of complex Lao history. The only criticism I can offer is that Kremmer's focus on the issue of the last king is sometimes neglected. This might be because there is practically no information about the king or the crown prince's fate. However, it was distracting and in the late stages of the book - despite enjoying his adventures for what they were - I was demanding to know what had happened to the royal family. In this sense, the book is like a cliffhanger with no resolution. At the time of publication, there was still no official statement about the Lao royals. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Laos after the revolution. More than just a search for the last king, Kremmer has written about the country today, the social and economic effects of the revolution, and cultural aspects.
Rating: 
Summary: Tangentially interesting, but meandering and pointless
Review: Who cares if the king of Laos died 23 years ago or 21 years ago? I was hoping to learn more about the country, history, and people, but this was the wrong book. This guy goes on a crusade that never gripped me; the minor details he mentions in passing were much more interesting than his quest. There must be more interesting books about Laos than this.
Rating:
Summary: Tangentially interesting, but meandering and pointless
Review: Who cares if the king of Laos died 23 years ago or 21 years ago? I was hoping to learn more about the country, history, and people, but this was the wrong book. This guy goes on a crusade that never gripped me; the minor details he mentions in passing were much more interesting than his quest. There must be more interesting books about Laos than this.
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