Bangkok Days: A Sojourn in the Capital of Pleasure By Lawrence Osborne (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $25) BEACH READING
REVIEWED BY KATY B. OLSON Special to Florida Weekly
Author and adventurer Lawrence Osborne finds himself among scamps and scoundrels, monks and prostitutes, as he makes his way through Bangkok’s labyrinthine days and hazy nights. Visiting and revisiting the city over the years to satisfy not only his yen for adventure, but also to make the most of his few dollars, his exploits and his encounters with other hotblooded men on the lam reveal both the volatility and tranquility of a foreigner’s Bangkok experience.
Underneath the city’s constant, hovering haze, against the backdrop of wideeyed prostitutes and neon-lit girly bars, memoirist Osborne explores the ins and outs of a seemingly contradictive metropolis where entrenched Buddhism and a deep-rooted pursuit of pleasure don’t collide, but comfortably coexist. The frankness shared by the Thais and pursued by foreign escapees forms the basis of the city’s attraction and mystery. …
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