The Dream of a Thousand Lives: A Sojourn in Thailand

Average Customer Rating: List Price: $14.95 Asia Trips Trips Price: $10.17 Your Savings: $ 4.78 ( 32% ) Subject To Change Without Notice Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: Seal Press
Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 959.3044 EAN: 9781580050623 ISBN: 158005062X Label: Seal Press Manufacturer: Seal Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 288 Publication Date: 2001-12-10 Publisher: Seal Press Studio: Seal Press
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Editorial Reviews: Canadian poet Karen Connelly was a young woman when she left home to live for one year in Denchai, a small farming community in northern Thailand. This lyrical portrait of her true-life adventures radiates wit and literary charm. The swampy jungles, the lure of hedonistic Bangkok, the austere, ambient Buddhism, and the torrential rains serve as backdrops for Connelly's carefully crafted prose. Her account combines a keen sense of adventure with an affinity for Thai culture, chronicling the country's intriguing underpinnings and exotic charms.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: A Taste of Northern Thailand Comment: A young highschool girl takes a huge risk on going on a one year Rotary exchange to rural Thailand.Initially the change in culture is beyond her understanding. Rather than bailing she decides to stick it out and the reader gets the pleasure of following along on her adventure. Karen Commelly is able to let us smell,taste, hear and even feel the real "Land of Smiles" and begin to understand its enchantment. My wife and I had just returned from a month in Northern Thailand where we also had begun to understand this strange and wonderful land. Customer Rating: Summary: A little much Comment: Althought the story has merit, it was hard to read for all the poetic descriptive language. If I were looking for poetry, I would have loved it. I was, however, looking for a good story about Thailand, and had to wade through a too much flowery description. By the end of the book, it was almost a joke. Customer Rating: Summary: Very glad I've discovered Karen Connelly!! Comment: From what I've heard people who've known me a long time say I'm "well read". That's easy, for reading is my favorite pastime. I'm now over 50 and may have read thousands of books in my lifetime, only 2 of which I read from start to finish without stopping. "The Dream of a Thousand Lives" is one of those two books. Karen Connelly has a style of writing that can only be described as "a gift" (if not genius). Little wonder that she's won so many prestigous awards at such a young age. This is the first book I've read from her as author. It was such a pleasureable experience that I was almost angry went her story came to its end. The first thing I did afterwards (true) was get on Amazon.com and order more of her work. I can hardly wait for it to arrive! Customer Rating: Summary: Written with Spirit from the Heart Comment: This book truly uncovered the beautiful, bucolic experience of the heart of Thailand. This book is not about the fascinating big-city life in Bangkok, so ubiquitous in other travel books about Thailand. In contrast, this book takes you to a Thailand not frequently experienced by tourists...shouldn't be experienced by tourists with little respect and no other expectation beyond "fun" ........ should only be ventured by those willing to absorb (or should I dare say love) a culture and a lifestyle so different that at first, austerity and beauty are not immediately distinct to the mind conditioned to the comforts of "modernized" cities or suburban living (whether in Asia or the West). As a Thai who was educated in the West, this book actually imparted to me a "piece of heart" about my birth country that I did not previously believe to be a possible endeavor for written pages. Thanks Karen....... for doing the impossible! "Kob Kun Mak Krub" for the sincerity so salient throughout every description. Customer Rating: Summary: Fine Writing Comment: This is a wonderfully insightful look into Thai culture. The narrative of the author's personal experience is well crafted and straightforward leaving the reader with a true sense of life in Thailand. More Reviews