Siam or the Woman Who Shot a Man: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Repetitive and lacking a plot
Review: Although somewhat hard to find, this book is well worth the effort- It's an engaging piece about life in the Sixties that doesn't revolve around the American "Free Love" Era. Instead, it focuses on the tremendous influence America had in Thailand and the pathetic ignorance of the Americans who were there to "help" during this time. As Claire takes us around the Thailand she knows, she gives us a little bit of history and a LOT of first hand observations, which allow us to form our own opinions and conclusions. This isn't a mystery or a travelogue, but, instead, is a facinating look at the personal reflections and interactions of a single person who is wise enough to open her eyes and take it all in. Let the reader/listener interpret it for themselves . . . and, just maybe, be a little sad to see Claire get on the plane bound for home, with so much still to see.

Rating:
Summary: Simple
Review: Everything about this book is simple. There are times when prose reads as simple and that's because it is. The story is simple as it virtually is nonexistent. And Claire is simple in that she is the most clueless person in Thailand. The ending of the book also lacks complexity as the ending is there only if you supply your own.

Ms. Tuck seems to describe the environs of Claire with detail, however unless one has been there who can know? If paradise is living virtually surrounded by open sewers with the primary form of food being bottled water, by all means head east. Claire latches on to a businessman, why, basically because he is the only one who would engage in more than sentence fragments with her. When he disappears without explanation it rapidly becomes clear to everyone but Claire why in all probability Jim Thompson vanished.

So we are treated to Claire obsessing over a pendent that is gone, and a trinket here and there that has gone missing. We are repeatedly tortured with the subtleties of the Native Language, not due to its being more intricate than another, rather Claire is less intricate than most. Her Husband's employer is an acronym that most will ferret out very near the book's beginning, but not our Claire. You get the impression Claire would have trouble spelling ABC, CBS, NBC, and so on.

If the fictitious Claire had given a fraction of the time and thought to getting married that she applied to her lost pendent, we all would have been saved from this book.

Rating:
Summary: You won't put it down until you're done
Review: Having just returned from a trip to Thailand, I found this book mesmerizing and was disappointed only that it wasn't longer! I think this book is especially enjoyable for someone who has visited the places featured in the book. The Jim Thompson House is still there, and it is just as described in the book. The book does not have a tidy and neat plot, but I think that gives it some originality. Like another reviewer, I wish I could be part of a book club to discuss many of the "mysteries" contained within the book.

Rating:
Summary: Educational, but not creative
Review: I read this book and and found it to be a tedious endeavor. The main character(she was so empty headed and dull, I can't even remember her name), well, she wanted to know what happened to this wealthy man that ran a silk company. He had been abducted, this bothers the character very badly, and what makes the book kind of a downer, you'd think the main character would find out what happened to the guy, but in the end... oh well, you can figure out what I'm trying to say. Well, the prose was very noncreative and flat, but she did have an eye for observation and wrote the settings and atmosphere of the novel convincingly. She made you feel as if you were in Thailand. Another thing, if you like traveling, this might be the book for you, Ms Lily Tuck did a good job of explaining Thailand. But if you are expecting poetic imagery, or a explosive plot, you might not like this book.

Rating:
Summary: A short novel that's not worth reading
Review: It isn't often that I read a novel by a respected and admired author that I find so little to like and undeserving of any kind of literary merit or praise.

Lily Tuck's "Siam" tells the story of a young, twenty-five year old woman named Claire, who impulsively marries an American, who helps build airfields for the army and is living in Thailand on the eve of the Vietnam War.

Claire joins her husband in Thailand, and the novel describes her experiences living in a country which is exotic and strangely beautiful on the surface, but also extremely "ugly" and even "sinister" beneath the country's seemingly beautiful facade.

Despite this short novel's well depicted, exotic locale (realistic and well done), the book isn't really about much of anything. Claire's marriage is shown to be falling apart:no reasons or motivations given, other than the fact that James doesn't seem to be in love with her (if, in fact he ever was) and seems to enjoy being away, working. Claire and James are sketchily described at best and never rise above being shown as more than just "types"--rather than interesting "individuals" in their own right.

What small amount of plot there is, concerns itself with the mysterious disappearance of a Silk enprenneur, named Jim Thompson, and Claire's obsessive attempt to find out the reason for his disappearance while he was flying somewhere else in Thairland supposedly while vacationing.

Claire's interest in Bill Thompson, (an actual, historical figure who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, is never plausibly spelled out for the reader, other than just to be told that the object of her search was an exceedingly polite and well bred man, who had exquisite artistic tastes)and seemed altogether different from her husband, whom Claire is obviously no longer in love with anymore than her husband is with her.

Lily Tuck's unwillingness to describe any of her characters in any depth made it impossible for this reader to care in any way what happens to them---which isn't much of anything, except that Claire never finds out what happened to Jim Thompson and an unexpected act of violence occurs in the swimming pool of the house where she is living, at the close of the novel.

Besides the dearth of an interesting plot and the lack of interesting characterization, there is a seemingly endless attempt on the part of the author to explain the intricacies of the Thai language as Claire struggles to familiarize herself with with Thailand's customs and traditions.

Page after page is filled with ITALICIZED Thai words and expressions--as though Lily Tuck is trying to compensate for her lack of plotting and poor attempts at characterization, by illustrating how much she knows about the Thai language.

Perhaps other readers will find virtues in the book which I have somehow missed seeing. But as far as I'm concerned--except for the lush descriptions of Thailand's fauna and plant life--there is little reason to read "Siam."

Don't waste your time!

Rating:
Summary: Read it by the pool in Thailand
Review: This is a book to read by a pool in Bangkok, before going to visit Jim Thompson's house or the Royal Palace and heading to a nice restaurant. By no means deep, it catches well the flavor of Thailand, and Claire, the main character, is definitely not the most interesting heroine in litterature. Nonetheless, there is some suspense and we get an idea of the Thai monarchy, its recent history, some of the complexities of this beautiful country, and what it means to be an expat in Bangkok. Things haven't changed much since the late sixties. I liked it, though.

Rating:
Summary: Allusive, disturbing and incredible
Review: This is a novel that obviously promoted strong pro and con sentiments. I found that many of the reasons that the readers were disturbed by the novel was what I liked best about it. This is certainly not a book for those that must have all their questions answered. This novel is a suggestion of Thai history, allusive, mysterious and provocative.

This is a story of a rather naive young American woman, Claire, who marries impulsively to a military contractor working out of Thailand during the Vietnam war. She must cope with a new culture, servants she distrusts and a husband that she becomes suspicious of. Yet, there is a tone of mystery, a friend they met at a dinner party disappears. Based on a real event, Jim Thompson, an American silk buisnessman disappears during a vacation. Claire becomes obsessed with his absence, along with other issues of her life that begin to unravel.

At first, her arrival prompted her to take Thai language lessons, research Thai history and culture in the local library and join a military wives weekly tour group. The plunge into Thai culture begins to take it's toll on Claire. She mistrusts the servants, and later finds items missing that she treasures. Worst, she doubts her debonair husband and fears he is having affairs with friend's wives. She takes to examining his dirty laundry for evidence of infidelity. She can't sleep and begins to drink more. She misses her home and her family. She finds the Thai food disgusting and the outside town filthy. There is a palpable tension that the author alludes to, a crisis in the making and a constant referral to the violence of the Thai past intersecting with this woman's life.

I guarantee all your questions will not be answered. The ending is allusive and disturbing. While accepting the novel as it is would be my advice, I would relish the opportunity to review this book in a book club setting. I am sure the interpretations would be various and vast. Don't let the originality put you off to an incredible unique novel.

Rating:
Summary: Allusive, disturbing and incredible
Review: This is a novel that obviously promoted strong pro and con sentiments. I found that many of the reasons that the readers were disturbed by the novel was what I liked best about it. This is certainly not a book for those that must have all their questions answered. This novel is a suggestion of Thai history, allusive, mysterious and provocative.

This is a story of a rather naive young American woman, Claire, who marries impulsively to a military contractor working out of Thailand during the Vietnam war. She must cope with a new culture, servants she distrusts and a husband that she becomes suspicious of. Yet, there is a tone of mystery, a friend they met at a dinner party disappears. Based on a real event, Jim Thompson, an American silk buisnessman disappears during a vacation. Claire becomes obsessed with his absence, along with other issues of her life that begin to unravel.

At first, her arrival prompted her to take Thai language lessons, research Thai history and culture in the local library and join a military wives weekly tour group. The plunge into Thai culture begins to take it's toll on Claire. She mistrusts the servants, and later finds items missing that she treasures. Worst, she doubts her debonair husband and fears he is having affairs with friend's wives. She takes to examining his dirty laundry for evidence of infidelity. She can't sleep and begins to drink more. She misses her home and her family. She finds the Thai food disgusting and the outside town filthy. There is a palpable tension that the author alludes to, a crisis in the making and a constant referral to the violence of the Thai past intersecting with this woman's life.

I guarantee all your questions will not be answered. The ending is allusive and disturbing. While accepting the novel as it is would be my advice, I would relish the opportunity to review this book in a book club setting. I am sure the interpretations would be various and vast. Don't let the originality put you off to an incredible unique novel.