I have no idea what to expect from Bangkok 8, but I do know what I want, what led me to it: a hunger for noir spurred by reading about John Banville’s dalliance with genre, but noir that was not his child, was perhaps a bit more hip in its wry insight, noir with an Oriental flavor, something on the light side to ease me into Pamuk’s Snow.
Bangkok 8 may deliver something else entirely, but sometimes that is half of the fun (and at other times it is the sum of one’s disappointment).
gh
I am on page 137 and can safely say that to this point Bankok 8 has provided that which I sought.
gh
My brain has been trying to process the news about Vonnegut all morning. It is one of those things that causes something deep and vestigial to blow a whistle and throw up a stop sign.
Kurt was on my mind even before I heard NPR’s piece, probably because Burdett uses some Vonnegut staples such as having purposely flat characters as playing pieces and using very short chapters to propel the narrative.
gh
I finished Bangkok 8 last night. There was a tedious stretch near the middle from which the story never fully recovered, but I enjoyed the mystery and cultural insight throughout.
I have no idea what to expect from Bangkok 8, but I do know what I want, what led me to it: a hunger for noir spurred by reading about John Banville’s dalliance with genre, but noir that was not his child, was perhaps a bit more hip in its wry insight, noir with an Oriental flavor, something on the light side to ease me into Pamuk’s Snow.
Bangkok 8 may deliver something else entirely, but sometimes that is half of the fun (and at other times it is the sum of one’s disappointment).
I am on page 137 and can safely say that to this point Bankok 8 has provided that which I sought.
My brain has been trying to process the news about Vonnegut all morning. It is one of those things that causes something deep and vestigial to blow a whistle and throw up a stop sign.
Kurt was on my mind even before I heard NPR’s piece, probably because Burdett uses some Vonnegut staples such as having purposely flat characters as playing pieces and using very short chapters to propel the narrative.
I finished Bangkok 8 last night. There was a tedious stretch near the middle from which the story never fully recovered, but I enjoyed the mystery and cultural insight throughout.
Worth reading.