A Monkfest in Chang Mai

On the first day we came to Chang Mai we visited our favorite temple, Wat Pra Singh. It was clear at the time they were preparing for something big. There was much building going on – one sculpture three stories tall and several sitting areas for hundreds of chairs.

Slowly the building took shape, and each day we revisited, more monks seem to be milling about. The place was clearly gearing up for something. Then, after weeks of preparation, what Herman and I are calling a Monk-fest began, complete with live music, lots of ceremonies, plenty of praying, and a nightly session where an aged monk climbed on to a dais, and droned on in Thai, while several hundred monks and spectators prayed.

After two days, of witnessing these events, an English-speaking monk informed us that the

aged monk speaking nightly was the President of all monks in Thailand, and monks from all over Asia had traveled here to hear his lectures on the Dharma. As it turned out, this festival was a five-day advanced training session for monks which also included the cremation of another venerable monk (we have no idea who).

Indeed, I have never seen so many monks gathered in one place in all my travels. Unfortunately, we were not able to understand any of his teaching because we only speak a few words of Thai. It was, however, fascinating simply to sit in the background and watch the various ceremonies and listen to the chanting. On the last night, the three story structure they had build was burned to the ground, accompanied by fireworks and loud music. It turned out that it was the venerable monk’s funeral pyre.

You can view all the pictures of this on http://hermanandalan.blogspot.com

Happy New Year to All.

Book Review: The 38 Million Dollar Smile, a Donald Strachey Mystery by Richard Stevenson

When the heir to a steel fortune vanishes in Thailand with 38 million dollars, private eye Donald Strachey and his lover, Tim, are hired to find the missing person. At first the job seems like a dream come true – more like a much-needed vacation in an exotic location rather than a job – but trying to piece together a puzzle while dealing with an unfamiliar culture and an alarmingly corrupt criminal justice system proves to be both costly and dangerous. Donald is forced to rely on the help of Bangkok private eye, Rufus Pugh, who guides Strachey through the maze of sights, politics, religion, customs, and pleasures unique to Thailand.
They do, of course, eventually find the missing heir, but find themselves neck deep in a totally different and much more dangerous situation. Strachey has to use all his considerable wit to figure a way to keep himself, his lover, and his client out of harms way.

This is the first Donald Starchey mystery that I have read, and even though I am not a fan of mystery novels, I came to this book with high expectations, having heard much praise of previous Richard Stevenson books. I must say that I walked away from this story with mixed feelings.

One the positive side, the story is fast paced and interesting. It has enough twists and turns to keep one guessing, which makes it a page-turner. Also, it’s clear the author did his homework on Thai culture, and gives accurate details of Thai customs and of Bangkok street-life. I’ve lived almost two years in Thailand, and I enjoyed the author’s descriptions of Bangkok and Thai society. And surprisingly, the main characters in this story have emotional arches (they grow from their experiences), which is all too often missing in mystery novels that I’ve read.

On the not so positive side, the plot twists were fun, but too far-fetched to be believable, ending in a situation that for this reader was unsatisfying. There was a huge buildup, and then I felt it fizzled, as if the author was in a hurry to wrap things up, or worse, not sure of how to end it. Also, I felt that there were several key plot elements that were blatantly obvious, telling where the story was heading. I wanted to be surprised at then end, but that didn’t happen.

Still, it was an enjoyable read, even for a reader who seldom likes mysteries. Stevenson fans will no doubt enjoy the trademark plot intricacies, unique characters and lush descriptions of Thai culture. Indeed, I can recommend this book without hesitation.

I'm blogging at Speak Its Name today.

Hi everyone,

Season's greetings. I'm blogging about the inspiration for my new novel, The Lonely War, today at Speak Its Name. Please jump on over and find out about where the story came from and enjoy a short excerpt.

Also, leave a comment and you'll be entered in a drawing for a free ebook of The Lonely War. You can enjoy the blog entry at: http://speakitsname.com/2009/12/22/1711/

BTW: there is a confusing typo in the second paragraph. It says, " I wanted to make a statement about dad." and it should say, "I wanted to make a statement about dadt." Although my father is one of the characters, the story doesn't make any kind of statement about him. : )

Holiday blessings to all,
alan chin

Short Story Review: This Christmas by J.M. Snyder

Ned Matthews is all alone this Christmas. All the other students, save one, have gone home for the holidays. But Ned’s parents are vacationing on a Caribbean cruise to escape the snow and sleet. The only other man left on campus is Bobby Cratchett, the boy Ned had a crush on all during high school, and who is even sexier now that they’re both in college.

Ned doesn’t mind missing Christmas with his parents, but the knife twisting in his gut is that his recent breakup with Jake, his now ex-boyfriend, has left him with nobody – no lover, no friends, no prospects, and no desire to get tied down with another loser. Hurt and bitter, Ned retreats into his hard, thick, protective shell and refuses to let anyone near, not even if they are sexy as hell and the only other man on campus.

Alone and feeling sorry for himself, Ned falls into a troubled sleep where he has a dream of Christmas past, reliving life with Jake-the-flake. He barely has time to shake off those memories before he has another dream of Christmas present, where he envisions how it could be with Bobby Cratchett.

Moments after waking he has Jake on the phone begging for a second chance, and Bobby at the door inviting him to come to his apartment for the night. What to do? How will Ned’s Christmas future unfold?

This is a smart, funny, sexy, poignant short story that often touches brilliance. It packs so much story and emotion into a meager thirty pages that I was left admiring the author’s exceptional skill.

This story is a gifted study in how to introduce a not-too-likable protagonist, and by the end of the story have the reader totally engaged and pulling for him. The characters and emotions are real. Anyone who has ever suffered a broken heart will identify with this main character. Indeed it sparked memories of bitterness long buried in me. I was touched.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It has a marvelous voice that is lean on description and fast paced. The author expertly nails the voice of a college-aged student.

I highly recommend this read. In fact, This Christmas is one of eight stories featured in J. M. Snyder’s So In Love, an anthology of contemporary stories celebrating gay love in its many forms. My only complaint about reading This Christmas is that I didn’t get to read the other seven stories in So In Love. But I can assure you, I will purchase the anthology and read them all. Bravo!!

Learn more about This Christmas at http://www.jmsnyder.net

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Starting To Feel Human Again

Two day ago I began feeling stomach cramps shortly after enjoying a spicy lunch at one of my favorite cheap restaurants here in Chang Mai, Thailand. Normally I have no issues dealing with Thai food, even the burn-your-lips-off spicy stuff. But those cramps grew worse through the afternoon, followed by a headache and other unsavory symptoms. By night time I lay in a cold sweat and couldn’t sleep.

You guessed it, food poisoning. Pepto didn’t help, gallons of water didn’t flush it away. Normally poisoning only lasts 24 hours but this little bugger was tenacious, and hung on an extra day.

I was able to sleep through the night and am now feeling human again. I forget who said: “If you’ve got good health, you’re a wealthy man. Everything else is gravy!” But one dose of food poisoning is all it takes to make me a believer.

While I was laid up in bed, my husband found the time to update our travel blog with pictures from our latest adventure in Southern China. If you are at all interested in village life in China, these pictures are a must-see. You can view them at: http://hermanandalan.blogspot.com

So I will be out and about Chang Mai today, taking it slow. Perhaps I’ll walk to the park and read. I’m currently reading Drew Banks’s Able Was I. It’s not what I’d call gripping but it’s well written and keeps me turning pages. I’ll post a review soon.

I’m wishing good health to everyone this holiday season.

Book Review: Marengo by Carey Parrish

Reviewed by Alan Chin
Self-published

Rob Brent and Jeff Schrader, two gay American journalist living in the UK for a year, take a flat at Mrs. Rose Mary Shugart’s townhouse in a posh section of London. They congratulate themselves on their fantastic luck at finding something inexpensive in such a wonderful neighborhood. Of course, they have no idea what delights and dilemmas await them.

There are five flats in the townhouse, including Mrs. Shugart’s, and each one houses someone a bit off-kilter. They are quirky and funny and lovable, and perhaps a little dangerous. There is Mrs. Shugart herself, a grandmotherly snoop with a tidy pension but rents flats for the social interaction with interesting people. There is Mr. Humbolt, the elderly queen who sells diamonds for Warwickes, and is more of a busybody than Mrs. Shugart. There is Rob and Jeff, two men who seem like a gay couple but never do anything in public to confirm everyone’s suspicions. On the top floor resides Miss Bullivant, a middle-aged woman who is attractive for her age but slightly desperate for romance. Across the hall from her is another new tenant, Richard Lawrence, a rather handsome man who keeps to himself and goes out of his way to keep his business private. Mr. Lawrence, is not all what he seems; he hides a secret that could prove perilous to everyone at Mrs. Shugart’s townhouse.

The charm of the characters at Mrs. Shugart’s townhouse pulled me in and kept me turning pages. This story has a delightful tone, but it is agonizingly slow to heat up. For half of the book it seems to wander aimlessly along without regard to plot or purpose. What I didn’t realize was the author was laying a foundation that would pay off in the latter half of the book. When one of the tenants suddenly dies, the story takes a sharp turn and things begin to simmer. And even though I could tell where the plot was headed, I was kept interested to see how it played out. I hoped for a surprise at the end, and was not disappointed.

This was an excellent story by author Carey Parrish. Still, I came away with three minor complaints. One is I felt that the author, particularly in the beginning, over-wrote the descriptions. I wanted the pace to be faster, and felt like taking a red pen to his wordy prose to speed things along (it’s an issue I sometimes find with my own writing.)
The second issue was that the author head-hops, that is, the point of view shifts from person to person in mid-paragraph. Although I never had any problem following who’s pov I was reading from, it occasionally felt awkward.
The last issue happened in the last thirty pages, when the author spent twenty pages recapping everything I had already figured out for myself. It was simply twenty unneeded pages when I was anxious to read the ending – much like a speed-bump when I’m in a hurry.

Those minor issues aside, I very much enjoyed this read, and have no reservations about recommending it to all reading audiences. Bravo!

To read more about Marengo press here.

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New Movie Every Romantic Must See

I took Herman to the movies last night, something we rarely do because there are so few good movies made these days. We knew nothing about this movie other than the title: New York - I Love You. We were in the mood for entertainment, and it was the only non-Thai movie playing at the local theater here in Chang Mai.

The movie turned out to be a dozen or more love vignettes, all taking place in New York, all quirky with strong characters, and all had an enjoyable twist at the end. Each vignette was written by a different writer and directed by a different director.

IT WAS FABULOUS! A great cast, strong characters, interesting situations, and the twist at the end of each short was wonderfully brilliant. Most were clever, some were touching, some made me examine my own life. This is a movie I will buy and have in my collection so that I can watch it often. I thought the writing was brilliant, the acting superb, the stories totally engaging.

There were two movies this year that I loved. One was New York - I Love You. The other was Julie&Julia.

If you're the romantic type, or just want to take your special friend to a date movie, don't miss this, and don't wait for the DVD.

my $0.02