(The Last Executioner: Memoirs of Thailand's Last Prison Executioner) [By: Jaruboon, Chavoret] [Feb, 2007]

by Chavoret Jaruboon

Chavoret Jaruboon was personally responsible for executing 55 prison inmates in Thailand's infamous prisons. As a boy, he wanted to be a teacher like his father, but his life changed when he chose one of the hardest jobs in the world. Honest and often disturbing – but told with surprising humour and emotion – The Last Executioner is the remarkable story of a man who chose death as his vocation. The Last Executioner is not for the faint hearted. It takes you right behind the bars of the infamous 'Bangkok Hilton' and into the shadows of its grim death chambers.

Genres: Nonfiction, Asia, Memoir, Biography

Paperback

First published December 1, 2006

About the author

Born in 1948 in Bangkok's Sri Yan neighbourhood to a Muslim mother and a Buddhist bigamist, Chavoret Jaruboon worked as a rock musician, nurse, soldier and prison guard, before taking on the role of prison executioner at the Bangkok Hilton. He is now enjoying his retirement and is devoting himself to his first love; writing.

Reviews

[venezuela · Rating 4 out of 5]

the job demands of a prison executioner. and the pressures of being devoted to the inside life. and the guilt and responsibility of shooting. and the redemption in preisthood, right after. Are there more Buddhist executioners than others? every Buddhist goes their period of monkhood, in their lives, and he goes through this right after his last shooting/execution. (as the last executioner of thailand. ) i enjoyed that he mentiioned the role and nature of tourists (and prison tourists-- young idealists, what he calls, fans of "Dead Man Walking"--which now i want to watch) in this setting. And it seems more open to outsiders ... almost as if they are setting a business of it. And yes, the speciality is it sounding like the tourism industry. the police arresting convicts they can afford. The money that is made on Visting Days, the once in a year days where, families of the prisoners are allowed to interact/picnic with their families without bars in between.

i dont know why i am interested in prison life, or why executioners intrigue me.

i was glad to be finished with executing. I could now talk about it and write about it. It would not have been appropriate to do so while i was still an executioner in case it looked like i was enjoying it. Plus, who would believe me if i spoke about my depression over killing criminals while continuing to do it?

he gives you lunch at his home. if you're an interested enoughvisitor. he loses nothing from giving you a meal and sharing his life with you. you take the experience, but have nothing to give back in return. you dont have to pay. unless you want it to go to the prisoners fund.

nothing like meals for prisoners. no not money . hot meals will make them healthier.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author of this book is, without a doubt, a wise man. The way he talks about his family is certainly something I can relate to, as it reflects my own father's views. He has also led a very interesting life, and one worthy of a biographical record. So then, why the bad review?

The main problem I had with this book was the recalling of all the executions along with the details of the crime. These were many, and they all followed the same structure with a similar vocabulary. The middle of the book just seemed incredibly repetitive as a result and I began to lose interest.

I feel a bit disappointed as a reader. I felt this story was like biographical gold-dust, and it could've been told in a much better way. It only seemed to skim the surface of this life and reached no real depth.

QUOTATIONS I LIKED:
"I think the secret to a good marriage lies in establishing a good friendship with your spouse."

[Jaclynn (JackieReadsAlot) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel a bit disappointed as a reader. I felt this story was like biographical gold-dust, but he just wasn't as honest as we all hoped he would be while writing this. Come on, it's the "Bangkok Hilton", and he describes it as a decent place to be without many hardships and where the guards try their best to look out for the inmates? Puh-lease! He seems like a very nice man, one of the good ones, but surely he wasn't totally blind to what was occuring around him. He very lightly touches on the rapes and violence but never goes into it, instead focuses on his own personal experiences as executioner. That was interesting, as were the backgrounds into some of the crimes that received death penalties. I wish the editor had cleaned up the wording a bit and perhaps helped with the writing but all in all it is an interesting read. Lacking depth but interesting.

[Francesca · Rating 3 out of 5]

The start was fairly interesting, things got a bit slow and repetitive from when he talks about his executioner duties. The last chapter felt like a bit of a moralistic lecture that felt a bit rushed and out of place.

There are a lot of typos and grammatical errors here, the editors should have taken more care. Not too many that it affects the readability of the story however.

Overall fairly interesting but I wouldn’t read again.

[gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and well written

Having had many long holidays in Thailand, I'd read many books about "the Bangkok Hilton" they were usually stories from a prisoner's point of view, so reading this one was showing life inside from a totally different point of view, I found it really informative and interesting, well done!

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book appears to be very casually written and takes quite sometime to get to the part where the author is an executioner.
I enjoyed the details regarding his relationships with his father, friends and Americans.
He goes into lots of detail about his childhood and growing up in Thailand which is interesting.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a American living in Thailand, so the insight into Thai culture was very good. It was also made into a Thai movie with very high production quality. If you are wanting a good insight on Thai culture it’s definitely worth reading.

[Speedstar25 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent narrative of Chavoret's life, from young till he retired. He has a difficult job on his shoulders but he carried out with professionalism.

[Aamos Anttila · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy and a quick read. A really interesting insight into the not often explored psyche of the prison executioner.

[♡ Hel Nemisis ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Regardless of the two stars, I genuinely don’t think that this is not worth a read. It’s just solely the writing that lacks dither—this book has potential but was not written, or let’s say translated, to its best potential. Anyhow, reading this was almost like a trip down memory lane. I’ve lived next to Thailand for 7 years so I was around the areas mentioned in the book often. It did give me a little fresh perspective. I kind of wish I could go back to these places now and cogitate upon what has really happened there—perhaps try to imagine how it all went down.

[Kerry Janse Van Rensburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Last Executioner

The Last Executioner

This is a true snap shot of the life of Bang Kwang executioner and his story which is a remarkable read.
His story is very unusual as the world has so few like this.

It is a book that has left it's imprint on my mind and I have gained insightful knowledge of Thailand's view of criminals that were given the death penalty

[Saturday's Child · Rating 3 out of 5]

No sensationalism or graphic details this is just the story of a man who took a job in Thailand's Prison Service to financially support his family. As an extra part of his role he became an Executioner, the last to use a HK MP5 submachine gun. Written in a very matter of fact way his story is an interesting one.

[Chalky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've seen this book many times in Bangkok and airport bookshops but never thought of buying it.

A friend, a very warm-hearted one, lent it to me.

Surprisingly fascinating. A tough job that the author ( its autobigraphy) didn't particularly want to do, but in his honest, perhaps at times unquestioning, and often loyal sense of duty carried out.

Almost half way in. Definitely worth a read.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a slow start about his childhood and early life before he became a prisoner, this book really improved for me - an interesting point of view that's not often heard in books on this topics where they are usually from the prisoners point of view.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an engaging and challenging read. Chavoret's looking back and retelling was fascinating and disturbing. Overall, I found him to be a likable, family focused man with a very difficult job. The time invested for this read was definitely worth it.

[Paul Sailes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly good insight into a local's view of the Vietnam war impact on towns in Thailand. Repetition made it monotonous nearer the end but the author writes in an honest way with much humility.

[Melissa Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense

I enjoyed the look at the Thai government system. The experiences of the executioner were haunting ans thought provoking. very different from an American viewpoint

[Nattaporn · Rating 4 out of 5]

So interesting, good as expect.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

a bit dry in a few places, but overall inereesting