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Behind The Smile #1
Daddy's Hobby
alternate cover edition of ISBN: 9781475216882
Behind The Smile:
The Story of Lek, a Thai Bargirl in Pattaya.
Lek was born the eldest child of four in a typical rice farming family. She did not expect to do anything any different from the other girls in her class in the northern rice belt of Thailand.
Typically that would be: work in the fields for a few years; have a few babies; give them to mum to take care of and back to work until her kids had their own children and she could stop working to take care of them.
One day a catastrophe occurred out of the blue – her father died young and with huge debts that the family knew nothing about. Lek was twenty and she was the only one who could prevent foreclosure. The only way she knew was to go to work in her cousin’s bar in Pattaya.
She went as a waitress-cum-cashier, but when she realised that she was pregnant by her worthless, estranged husband, things had to change. She had the baby, gave it to her mum and went back to work.
However, now she needed real money to provide a better life for her child and to make up for spending its whole youth 500 miles away. She drifted into the tourist sex industry.
The book relates some of her ‘adventures’, her dreams and nightmares and her ‘modus operandi’. It tries to show, from Lek’s point of view, what it really is like to be a Thai bar girl – the hopes and frustrations, the hopes and the let-downs, the hopes and the lies and deceit that are part of her every day life.
Thailand is often referred to as the Land of Smiles and the author of this book agrees that it is, having spent nearly a decade there.
Behind The Smile:
The Story of Lek, a Thai Bargirl in Pattaya.
Lek was born the eldest child of four in a typical rice farming family. She did not expect to do anything any different from the other girls in her class in the northern rice belt of Thailand.
Typically that would be: work in the fields for a few years; have a few babies; give them to mum to take care of and back to work until her kids had their own children and she could stop working to take care of them.
One day a catastrophe occurred out of the blue – her father died young and with huge debts that the family knew nothing about. Lek was twenty and she was the only one who could prevent foreclosure. The only way she knew was to go to work in her cousin’s bar in Pattaya.
She went as a waitress-cum-cashier, but when she realised that she was pregnant by her worthless, estranged husband, things had to change. She had the baby, gave it to her mum and went back to work.
However, now she needed real money to provide a better life for her child and to make up for spending its whole youth 500 miles away. She drifted into the tourist sex industry.
The book relates some of her ‘adventures’, her dreams and nightmares and her ‘modus operandi’. It tries to show, from Lek’s point of view, what it really is like to be a Thai bar girl – the hopes and frustrations, the hopes and the let-downs, the hopes and the lies and deceit that are part of her every day life.
Thailand is often referred to as the Land of Smiles and the author of this book agrees that it is, having spent nearly a decade there.
- GenresFiction
Unknown Binding
First published February 21, 2012
8 people are currently reading
402 people want to read
About the author
Owen Jones
317 books67 followersOwen Jones, Amazon Best-Selling Author from Barry, Wales, has lived in several countries and travelled in many more. While studying Russian in the USSR in the '70's, he hobnobbed with spies on a regular basis; in Suriname, he got caught up in the 1982 coup; and while a company director, he joined the crew of four as the galley slave to sail, from Barry to Gibraltar, a home-made concrete yacht, which was almost rammed by a Russian oil tanker and an American aircraft carrier.
“I am a Celt, and we are romantic”, he said when asked about his writing style, “and I firmly believe in reincarnation, Karma and Fate, so, sayings like 'Do unto another...', and 'What goes round comes around' are central to my life and reflected in my work. I write about what I see, or think I see, or dream... and, in the end it is all the same really”. He speaks seven languages and is learning Thai, since he lives in Thailand with his Thai wife of seventeen years.
His first novel, Daddy's Hobby is from the seven-part series 'Behind The Smile: The Story of Lek, a Bar Girl in Pattaya', but his largest collection is 'The Megan Series', twenty-three novelettes on the psychic development of a teenage girl, the subtitle of which, 'A Spirit Guide, A Ghost Tiger and One Scary Mother!' sums them up nicely. He has written fifty novels and novelettes, including: Dead Centre; Andropov's Cuckoo; Fate Twister; The Disallowed (a philosophical comedy); Tiger Lily of Bangkok; and A Night in Annwn (Annwn being the ancient Welsh word for Heaven). Many have been translated into foreign languages and narrated into audio books.
Owen Jones writes stories set in Wales, Spain and Thailand, where he now lives. He is a life-long Spiritualist, and this belief is interwoven, in a very realistic way, into many of his books and storylines. If you like a touch of the 'supernatural', try his books
He sums his life up thus: “Born in the Land of Song, Living in the Land of Smiles”.
Facebook: AngunJones
Twitter: @owen_author
Blog: Megan Publishing Services
This book is part of the 'How to...' series of 125 manuals by Owen Jones.
The whole series can be found on Megan Publishing Services at:
http://meganpublishingservices.com
“I am a Celt, and we are romantic”, he said when asked about his writing style, “and I firmly believe in reincarnation, Karma and Fate, so, sayings like 'Do unto another...', and 'What goes round comes around' are central to my life and reflected in my work. I write about what I see, or think I see, or dream... and, in the end it is all the same really”. He speaks seven languages and is learning Thai, since he lives in Thailand with his Thai wife of seventeen years.
His first novel, Daddy's Hobby is from the seven-part series 'Behind The Smile: The Story of Lek, a Bar Girl in Pattaya', but his largest collection is 'The Megan Series', twenty-three novelettes on the psychic development of a teenage girl, the subtitle of which, 'A Spirit Guide, A Ghost Tiger and One Scary Mother!' sums them up nicely. He has written fifty novels and novelettes, including: Dead Centre; Andropov's Cuckoo; Fate Twister; The Disallowed (a philosophical comedy); Tiger Lily of Bangkok; and A Night in Annwn (Annwn being the ancient Welsh word for Heaven). Many have been translated into foreign languages and narrated into audio books.
Owen Jones writes stories set in Wales, Spain and Thailand, where he now lives. He is a life-long Spiritualist, and this belief is interwoven, in a very realistic way, into many of his books and storylines. If you like a touch of the 'supernatural', try his books
He sums his life up thus: “Born in the Land of Song, Living in the Land of Smiles”.
Facebook: AngunJones
Twitter: @owen_author
Blog: Megan Publishing Services
This book is part of the 'How to...' series of 125 manuals by Owen Jones.
The whole series can be found on Megan Publishing Services at:
http://meganpublishingservices.com
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 12, 2020
You know the scene from Seinfeld, when George has ingenious idea how they're going to film the show about NOTHING? This is it. Except it didn't turn out to be exact opposite, like Seinfeld show did. This is really about nothing, unless you consider badly written "adventures" of scheming whore in Thai bar - a something. And there are sequels, to my complete disbelief...
November 12, 2014
There may be a Microsoft wizard for authors writing about the Thai bar scene. Girl starts off sweet - turns into a heartless, scheming she-devil. The guy is generally a bit of a loser whose brain turns to mush after a couple of nights of feigned passion. Cue heartbreak, bankruptcy and sometimes death. There's a ton of books out there that follow exactly that track.
Hats off to Owen Jones - if he knew the formula - he tossed it in the trash. This is an author who knows Thailand intimately. It's not a book that's been dashed out after a couple of drink sodden holidays to Pattaya. Owen understands the true dynamic that exists between the women who populate the bar scene and the customers who flock to meet them. In particular he captures the extreme vulnerability of the girls who can transform, not just their own lives but, the lives of their families if they can snare a foreigner.
BTS is an entertaining and poignant take on the Thai bar scene. For anyone who wants to understand more about what happens in the bars of Pattaya - it's a must read.
Hats off to Owen Jones - if he knew the formula - he tossed it in the trash. This is an author who knows Thailand intimately. It's not a book that's been dashed out after a couple of drink sodden holidays to Pattaya. Owen understands the true dynamic that exists between the women who populate the bar scene and the customers who flock to meet them. In particular he captures the extreme vulnerability of the girls who can transform, not just their own lives but, the lives of their families if they can snare a foreigner.
BTS is an entertaining and poignant take on the Thai bar scene. For anyone who wants to understand more about what happens in the bars of Pattaya - it's a must read.
June 23, 2014
Unfortunately although the subject could be interesting and insightful the author has no style to speak of. The book reads like a GCSE story. Lacking in finesse, atmosphere, structure and pace.
August 2, 2014
Behind The Smile: The Story of Lek, a Thai Bargirl in Pattaya.
Lek was born the eldest child of four in a typical rice farming family. She did not expect to do anything any different from the other girls in her class in the northern rice belt of Thailand.
Typically that would be: work in the fields for a few years; have a few babies; give them to mum to take care of and back to work until her kids had their own children and she could stop working to take care of them. One day a catastrophe occurred out of the blue – her father died young and with huge debts that the family knew nothing about.
Lek was twenty and she was the only one who could prevent foreclosure. The only way she knew was to go to work in her cousin’s bar in Pattaya. She went as a waitress-cum-cashier, but when she realised that she was pregnant by her worthless, estranged husband, things had to change.
She had the baby, gave it to her mum and went back to work.
However, now she needed real money to provide a better life for her child and to make up for spending its whole youth 500 miles away. She drifted into the tourist sex industry.
The book relates some of her ‘adventures’, her dreams and nightmares and her ‘modus operandi’. It tries to show, from Lek’s point of view, what it really is like to be a Thai bar girl – the hopes and frustrations, the hopes and the let-downs, the hopes and the lies and deceit that are part of her every day life.
Thailand is often referred to as the Land of Smiles and the author of this book agrees that it is, having spent a decade there.
Lek was born the eldest child of four in a typical rice farming family. She did not expect to do anything any different from the other girls in her class in the northern rice belt of Thailand.
Typically that would be: work in the fields for a few years; have a few babies; give them to mum to take care of and back to work until her kids had their own children and she could stop working to take care of them. One day a catastrophe occurred out of the blue – her father died young and with huge debts that the family knew nothing about.
Lek was twenty and she was the only one who could prevent foreclosure. The only way she knew was to go to work in her cousin’s bar in Pattaya. She went as a waitress-cum-cashier, but when she realised that she was pregnant by her worthless, estranged husband, things had to change.
She had the baby, gave it to her mum and went back to work.
However, now she needed real money to provide a better life for her child and to make up for spending its whole youth 500 miles away. She drifted into the tourist sex industry.
The book relates some of her ‘adventures’, her dreams and nightmares and her ‘modus operandi’. It tries to show, from Lek’s point of view, what it really is like to be a Thai bar girl – the hopes and frustrations, the hopes and the let-downs, the hopes and the lies and deceit that are part of her every day life.
Thailand is often referred to as the Land of Smiles and the author of this book agrees that it is, having spent a decade there.
May 31, 2020
I picked this up because I find the topic interesting. I've been to Thailand many times and worked there for a time. You never fail to see local Thai girls with farangs - not just in Pattaya (I've only been to Pattaya once) but in most of the big cities in general. And especially in the airport, you see so many Thai-farang couples that I have often wondered what that kind of relationship was like. I have nothing against farangs marrying bar girls and prostitutes - I mean they're just like everyone else, they want and deserve to be loved as well... but there's such a big culture gap there - I often wondered if a relationship/marriage based solely on sex and drinking is actually enough to make it last...?
So the premise was interesting but the writing needs a lot of improvement. I mean the stuff that comes out of Lek's mouth... the way he does the dialogues... it's so English half the time, that's not really how Thais talk. It kept putting me off, it didn't make the characters sound authentically Thai. Also, for a guy who's into a relationship with a former bar girl, there's a startling lack of sex. They always just... "go to sleep". What's that about? They aren't even married yet and she's already blue balling him lol. And somehow he just sticks with it even if he knows he can find someone better - and by better I mean hundreds of other Thais who wanna marry a farang more to be treating him better than how Lek treats him. Doesn't make much sense... But anyway, it was interesting enough that I finished the audio so 3 stars.
So the premise was interesting but the writing needs a lot of improvement. I mean the stuff that comes out of Lek's mouth... the way he does the dialogues... it's so English half the time, that's not really how Thais talk. It kept putting me off, it didn't make the characters sound authentically Thai. Also, for a guy who's into a relationship with a former bar girl, there's a startling lack of sex. They always just... "go to sleep". What's that about? They aren't even married yet and she's already blue balling him lol. And somehow he just sticks with it even if he knows he can find someone better - and by better I mean hundreds of other Thais who wanna marry a farang more to be treating him better than how Lek treats him. Doesn't make much sense... But anyway, it was interesting enough that I finished the audio so 3 stars.
August 4, 2012
I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it. I like stories that take place in foreign countries, so this was right up my alley. It was an easy read and flowed smoothly. Owen did a great job of creating a character readers could connect with and care about. I loved learning little tidbits about the Thai culture and the author's descriptions allowed me to be able to picture the scenes and get a sense of what it might be like to actually be there. I appreciated learning the back story of Lek and the circumstances that led to her working as a bar girl in Pattaya. Often we only see one side of the sex industry in countries like Thailand and the rest is left up to ur own assumptions. The story ended rather abruptly (I wasn't expecting it) so I'm looking forward to the sequel and finding out what happens next!
July 28, 2014
A harrowing journey following the life of Lek who has to leave her village in order to pay back the huge debts owed by her father and only found when he died.There is a child which she has to hand over to her mother so she can take a job in her cousin's bar in Pattaya in order to earn enough to pay this money but as with a lot of young girls there she drifts into the sex industry. She decides to create a better life for her daughter because of spending so much time so far from home and ther sex industry can pay for that.
The book follows some of Lek's dreams but leaves you in no doubt what it's like to be a Thai Bar Girl.
I'm determined not to have to issue a Spoiler Alert' as this book is a series but you'll have to follow the books to see who she meets and how life turns out away from this way of life.
The Author paints a very realistic picture of this kind of life.
The book follows some of Lek's dreams but leaves you in no doubt what it's like to be a Thai Bar Girl.
I'm determined not to have to issue a Spoiler Alert' as this book is a series but you'll have to follow the books to see who she meets and how life turns out away from this way of life.
The Author paints a very realistic picture of this kind of life.
July 12, 2016
"Daddy's Hobby (Behind The Smile - The Story of Lek, a Bar Girl in Pattaya)" by Owen Jones is an insightful look into the life of a Thai bar girl. It is a moving story that shines through its exemplary realism. Jones shows real life drama as I imagine it much more likely than stories on the subject that I have read. It tells a tale of tragedy and hope, of love, prostitution and the grey area between without drifting into thriller and political territory, which makes ir so much more powerful.
Well worth reading.
Well worth reading.
July 29, 2014
Yes Mr Jones the book i read Was Very important to me ,It gave me an outlook of some people that was Very interesting , and i am looking at reading your second novel in time to come .
Keep up the good work and Good luck Thank you Murray
Keep up the good work and Good luck Thank you Murray
November 1, 2012
Enjoyed the book but finished too early for me. Was so involved with the main characters I needed to know more about their lives post the end of the book. Sequel maybe??
November 22, 2013
Day after day, the same...interesting view of women for hire in the orient...
August 18, 2021
First of all, the book reads easily, and naturally explains Thai traditions over the course of the story when they come up, so it is a pretty informative read on both the traditions and the worldview.
It also has an interesting perspective on Thailand`s bar life and the circumstances that led the girls to choose these jobs. It is earnest, but not over the top – yes, they get money out of men for a living, but it is more dangerous for them, and they try to have as much fun as they can. It may sound surprizing, but I guess this is how they find a measure of comfort and strength in their situation, to not wallow in self-pity and go on.
I was worried something truly horrible will happen to one of the girls to demonstrate how dangerous their profession is, but I am glad the book didn`t go that way :)
I liked the character interactions, they have distinct personalities and relationships.
I find Lek an extremely interesting woman, who loves so loyally, is very smart and obviously tries her best, even if she does not always know what to do. It makes her very human and real, and demonstrates what this kind of life did to her worldview, how she is influenced by her previous experience, and how she struggles to stay in control to not get hurt is very moving. Also her religiousness is a nice touch!
Also I hope Lek will find out what is best for her and will be happy, and I would like to know how her further life went on!
It also has an interesting perspective on Thailand`s bar life and the circumstances that led the girls to choose these jobs. It is earnest, but not over the top – yes, they get money out of men for a living, but it is more dangerous for them, and they try to have as much fun as they can. It may sound surprizing, but I guess this is how they find a measure of comfort and strength in their situation, to not wallow in self-pity and go on.
I was worried something truly horrible will happen to one of the girls to demonstrate how dangerous their profession is, but I am glad the book didn`t go that way :)
I liked the character interactions, they have distinct personalities and relationships.
I find Lek an extremely interesting woman, who loves so loyally, is very smart and obviously tries her best, even if she does not always know what to do. It makes her very human and real, and demonstrates what this kind of life did to her worldview, how she is influenced by her previous experience, and how she struggles to stay in control to not get hurt is very moving. Also her religiousness is a nice touch!
Also I hope Lek will find out what is best for her and will be happy, and I would like to know how her further life went on!
April 19, 2020
I didn't really think I was gonna like this one. But it was excellent. I don't love the cover, which I guess is why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Its Just that if thats a Picture of Lek, she seems so young. She looks like a 10 year old, but the book is supposed to be about Lek when she was in her 30s? But other than that, and the abrupt ending I loved this! And the narrator (I listened to the audible version), did a FABULOUS job. Her voice fit Lek perfectly, and her accents seemed perfect. Overall, I highly recommend. And I would LOVE to listen/read the next book in the series.
This book was given to me at my request. (Thanx Owen!) I am providing an honest and voluntary review.
This book was given to me at my request. (Thanx Owen!) I am providing an honest and voluntary review.
August 20, 2016
This is a unique book that gives the reader a view into the perspective of a Thai woman working in the Pattaya bar scene. Having spent some time myself as a child living in Thailand, and visiting Pattaya on vacations, I was fascinated by this story. As a child, I was not exposed to the seedier side of Pattaya, and thankfully had no clue about it. I only saw the beautiful side of the beach community, with its yacht clubs and sailing lessons.
The stories in the book remind me of the many tales I would hear from my male counterparts in the CIA, who had almost all gone to Thailand to experience the “local talent”. In fact, at times it seemed like it was a prerequisite to success for the male officers to have experienced the sex industry in Thailand. And yes, my experience is recent, even with the threat of contracting HIV.
At times I wondered if Craig, Lek’s love interest, was actually Archie from my own book. The thought made me cringe and laugh at the same time.
Although there were points in this book where I felt like I needed to take a shower due to the descriptions of some of the sex acts, I found the story kept my attention and I rooted for Lek to realize her dream of marrying a foreigner and escaping the Pattaya bar scene.
The stories in the book remind me of the many tales I would hear from my male counterparts in the CIA, who had almost all gone to Thailand to experience the “local talent”. In fact, at times it seemed like it was a prerequisite to success for the male officers to have experienced the sex industry in Thailand. And yes, my experience is recent, even with the threat of contracting HIV.
At times I wondered if Craig, Lek’s love interest, was actually Archie from my own book. The thought made me cringe and laugh at the same time.
Although there were points in this book where I felt like I needed to take a shower due to the descriptions of some of the sex acts, I found the story kept my attention and I rooted for Lek to realize her dream of marrying a foreigner and escaping the Pattaya bar scene.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews