🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹 "And in the end,it's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years. จำนวนปีในชีวิตหาได้มีความหมายไม่ แต่ชีวิตในจำนวนปีที่คุณอยู่อย่างมีค่าและมีความหมายนั่นต่างหาก เป็นสิ่งควรคำนึงถึงมากกว่า";เจนกล่าวกับอสนี
Catherine has always wondered what was beyond the English Channel. When she met British army officer Arthur Lindley at age eighteen, she accepted his proposal so that she can travel and see the rest of the world. Unfortunately, as soon as she took her wedding vows, Catherine got ill and was not able to travel to Siam with Arthur. In order to be reunited with her new husband, Catherine embarked on a journey to Siam with George Rowland and his fiancée who are friends of her uncle. Also travelling with them is Justin, who is the guest of Rowland from Siam. The passage to Siam took six months and by the time they arrived in Singapore—where Arthur is waiting—Catherine and Justin are already in love with each other. Catherine also belatedly discovered that Justin is also known as Prince Vijjuprapha of Siam.
This is a sweeping tale of forbidden love. I am mesmerized with this historical fiction of a book, set in the 19th century. I love getting inside the head of Catherine, a representation of a woman confined to the role of finding a husband by the time she reach the legal age, wearing corsets in her every day life, wanting freedom but conforming to what society dictated at that time. I understood her weakness and flaws. I felt conflicted with her, especially when it comes to understanding Siam’s culture and concept of marriage, to wondering if love is enough to overcome culture clash and language barrier.
Catherine may be a woman from the 19th century, but her courage and headstrong nature is fit for a modern woman. This is a novel set when there are no airplanes yet, when travelling across the world would take half a year. Catherine took a leap so that she will not keep wondering, and endured the consequences later on.
As a lover of historical fiction, may I just say that this book not only gave me an inkling about Bangkok in the 1800s, it also made me feel as if I have lived through it.🥰
A Passage to Siam is a bestseller novel by V. Vinicchayakul, translated by @lucysrisuphapreeda
I was given this book to read by the English translator. This is not my usual genre; as a fantasy reader I am not the target audience. I cannot fault the translation, and as someone who lives in Thailand, I enjoyed reading about the difference of Bangkok in the past. Absolutely nothing to do with the translator, and down to the original author, but I found the main characters very annoying 😅
First thing’s first: I have been somewhat allergic to historical fiction, especially historical romance. This is not my usual genre, but I was excited to read this translated Thai lit!
A PASSAGE TO SIAM bills itself as a story of forbidden love, but I found the political and cultural tensions it explores to be of greater interest. We follow Catherine as she jumps at the opportunity to escape her humdrum life in the UK and travel, and in the mean time fall in love with Justin, who happens to be a Thai prince.
I unfortunately found the romance to be a bit lackluster: the foundation for Catherine and Justin’s love seemed shaky and surface level at best. It wasn’t very believable, which is a shame because it’s the main point of the book. However, it was interesting to see how they navigated the very real cultural differences while learning more about Thai royal culture in the 19th century (did you know that between the first five Thai kings, they had over 300 children?! This was one of the many wiki rabbit holes I went down as my interest was piqued reading this book).
I sympathized a lot with Catherine, trying to assimilate into a very structured culture with a pretty difficult language learning curve, while her attentive husband never truly understood just how hard it was on her. Because of this, I did actually enjoy the way it all wrapped up - not quite a happy ending, but one I felt did them all justice.
While I enjoyed reading about various aspects of Thai culture, I wonder how much it would make sense to someone not from the culture. There are a lot of passing comments explaining some aspects, but never a ton of detail. This book is of course translated from Thai so how much does a Thai person need to explain to another Thai person about their culture? Does the translator owe the reader any explanation? I think not, but I can imagine the lack of deeper explanation being a point of frustration to non-Thai readers.
Beyond the love story, what I struggled with the most was that the tenor and pacing of the book. PASSAGE is languid, and rarely did I ever feel any plot tension, even at eventful moments. Emotionally and tonally it felt a little flat, which made it hard for me to stay engaged.
Overall, if you enjoy historical fiction and/or have always wanted to learn a bit more about Thai history, this may be worth your time. I’m grateful that it was translated to give someone like me the chance to explore her culture.
"...when I first heard the name, The Kingdom of Siam, all I knew was that it was a small country in the East, or as the Siamese say, in Burapha..."
I have never been much of a historical romance reader, despite my love for costumed TV dramas and sweeping epics set in imperial palaces. But over a rainy week of commuting this spring, I tumbled into the 18th century, from quaint English gardens to bustling Singaporean ports to the houseboats and gilded halls of Siam.
A Passage to Siam by V Vinicchayakul, translated by @lucysrisuphapreeda is an easy read. It feels like nestling into an armchair with a book and a strong cup of tea to escape a rainy day. It's steeped in the theatrics of soap operas, with small historical details that invoke the aromas and tastes of its settings.
We follow Catherine, whose heart longs to be free of her English village, of its mundanity and rigid expectations. She marries an officer posted to Siam who can promise that freedom, and who she is to join a year later. It is on that passage to join him that she meets and falls for a young Thai officer, a royal in disguise. This man, Prince Vijjuprapha, is dutiful, quietly resilient, and steadfast in his love for Catherine.
Vinicchayakul explores the complexities of interracial relationships here, in particular the pressures of filial piety, duty and social expectations on a relationship attempting to transcend cultures. I found the themes fascinating, set against the reign of Rama IV when Siam was under threat of European colonial powers jostling on either side of it. This Siam is one cleverly negotiating the 'standard of civilisation' and reimagining itself to its foreign visitors. Its young royals were being educated abroad and returning home to strengthen and grow their home. This stubbornness, desire for freedom and loyalty to one's self is reflected in Catherine and Prince Vijjuprapha.
In her author's note, Vinicchayakul describes how she wanted to craft a story true to reality, for life is made up of both fulfilment and disappointment. This was a quick, simple read but one worth missing my train stop for more than once!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I really liked the book’s Thai setting and how it wove local culture into a romantic narrative. The author presents an interesting concept of the "prison of love," wherein love, however well-meaning, can simultaneously restrict and control. The prince's desire to keep his wife with him at the expense of her autonomy raises interesting questions about gender roles, freedom, and how love operates across different cultural and social contexts.
I did struggle with some aspects of the storytelling, though. The romantic tension felt forced, with moments like "I felt eyes on me and he was looking at me,” which was overly dramatic & awkward to me. Some plot points also felt a bit too convenient, which helped to move the story forward but lacked sufficient buildup or emotional depth.
I also found wish there was a little more explanation on certain cultural details. For example, the Siamese belief about stairs being outside the house was intriguing but left half explained. I understand this might be a familiar concept for a Thai audience, but it seemed like a missed opportunity to introduce & explain Thai culture for unfamiliar readers.
V. Vinicchayakul, the pen name of Vinita Diteeyont, was born in Bangkok and educated at Chulalongkorn University before earning a PhD in literature curriculum and instruction from the University of Northern Colorado. She taught Thai literature and creative writing at Silpakorn University until retiring from academia in 1995, but has continued to publish prolifically, with more than a hundred novels to her name. Writing in Thai, her fiction blends romance, social commentary, and Buddhist reflections, and many of her works have been adapted for television and film. Recent translations, including A Night Full of Stars and A Passage to Siam: A Story of Forbidden Love, have introduced her stories to English‑language readers.
It's not bad and it gave me a sneak peek into the history of Thailand. I found both Prince Saifa and Catherine kinda annoying though lol they totally deserves each other