The Year of the Flood
by Margaret Atwood
This book is the prequel to Oryx and Crake.
Rating: C+
The Year of the Flood is a very disappointing companion to Oryx and Crake, the latter of which features interesting storylines and characters. The Year of the Flood, in contrast, focuses too much on characters, plot threads and situations that simply are not interesting. While I enjoyed Oryx and Crake very much, The Year of the Flood bored me.
Bangkok Haunts
by John Burdett
Things get pretty crazy for Sonchai Jitpleecheep, described as a “devout Buddhist Royal Thai Police detective” working District 8 of Bangkok, as he works to solve this murder mystery. When a snuff film turns up, he must investigate the murder of a young woman who was found “naked on her own bed with a bright orange rope about a centimetre thick still twisted tightly around her neck” (p. 25). The catch is that this woman used to have a sexual relationship with Jitpleecheep at a time when she worked in a bar that he ran with his mother. Colonel Vikorn, the chief of District 8, has a suspect in mind, but Jitpleecheep is not convinced that this man is the killer. Vikorn doesn’t care that the man might be innocent because “gangsters of Vikorn’s stature are masters at seeing opportunity where mere mortals see only darkness” (p. 29). Vikorn would prefer that Jitpleecheep wrap up the investigation as quickly as possible so that the detective can focus his attention on more-important matters – helping Vikorn to build his porn empire.
Rating: B+
This novel is a fun read that provides interesting glimpses of life in Bangkok, including Buddhism, funeral casinos, farangs (people of Western descent), and “the tendency … of young Thai men to change sex” (p. 74). The author has obvious fun in telling this tale and says at one point, “Sorry to lay a culture shock on you … farang” (p. 157). The main character is both interesting and likable as he struggles to maintain honesty and integrity under extremely challenging circumstances. All of these elements distinguish the work from mysteries set in Western locales, but the storytelling is somewhat lacking. While Burdett has assembled an intriguing collection of characters and situations, he doesn’t fully develop them to their full potential. As a result, this book is not on the same level as those from the true masters of the murder mystery genre.