What do you think?
Rate this book
Moving Parts
Surreal and puncturing short stories from the Thai master of the form.
In a pink-walled motel, a teenage prostitute brings a grown man to tears. A love-struck young boy holds the dismembered hand of his crush, only to find himself the object of a complex ménage à trois. A naked body falls from the window of a twenty-story building, while two female office-workers offer each other consolation in the elevator…
In these wry and unsettling stories, Prabda Yoon once again illuminates something of the strangeness of modern cultural life in Bangkok. Disarming the reader with surprising charm, intensity and delicious horror, he explores what it means to have a body, and to interact with those of others.
Supported by English PEN Translates.
In a pink-walled motel, a teenage prostitute brings a grown man to tears. A love-struck young boy holds the dismembered hand of his crush, only to find himself the object of a complex ménage à trois. A naked body falls from the window of a twenty-story building, while two female office-workers offer each other consolation in the elevator…
In these wry and unsettling stories, Prabda Yoon once again illuminates something of the strangeness of modern cultural life in Bangkok. Disarming the reader with surprising charm, intensity and delicious horror, he explores what it means to have a body, and to interact with those of others.
Supported by English PEN Translates.
250 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
13 people are currently reading
531 people want to read
About the author
Prabda Yoon
49 books46 followersSee ปราบดา หยุ่น for Thai profile.
Prabda Yoon (Thai: ปราบดา หยุ่น; RTGS: Prapda Yun; born 2 August 1973 in Bangkok) is a Thai writer, novelist, filmmaker, artist, graphic designer, magazine editor, screenwriter, translator and media personality. His literary debut, Muang Moom Shak (City of Right Angles), a collection of five related stories about New York City, and the follow-up story collection, Kwam Na Ja Pen (Probability), both published in 2000, immediately turned him into "...the talk of the town..." In 2002, Kwam Na Ja Pen won the S.E.A. Write Award, an award presented to accomplished Southeast Asian writers and poets.
Prabda has been prolific, having written over 20 books of fiction and nonfiction in ten years, designed over 100 book covers for many publishers and authors, translated a number of modern Western classics such as Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita and Pnin, all of J. D. Salinger's books, Anthony Burgess's' A Clockwork Orange, and Karel Čapek's R.U.R. He has also written two acclaimed screenplays for Thai "new wave" filmmaker Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, "Last Life in the Universe" (2003) and "Invisible Waves" (2006). Prabda's literary work has been translated to Japanese and published in Japan regularly. He has exhibited his artworks (paintings, drawings, installations) in Thailand and Japan. He has also produced music and written songs with the bands Buahima and The Typhoon Band.
In 2004, Prabda founded Typhoon Studio, a small publishing house with two imprints, Typhoon Books and Sunday Afternoon. In 2012, he opened Bookmoby Readers' Cafe, a small bookshop at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. In 2015, Prabda wrote and directed his first feature film, "Motel Mist", which was selected to premiere and compete at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2016. The Sad Part Was, a collection of twelve short stories mostly taken from Prabda's Kwam Na Ja Pen in English, translated from Thai by Mui Poopoksakul (who won an English PEN Award for her translation), was published by the London-based independent publisher, Tilted Axis, and released in the UK on 3 March 2017. It is said to be the first translation of Thai fiction to be published in the UK.
Prabda Yoon (Thai: ปราบดา หยุ่น; RTGS: Prapda Yun; born 2 August 1973 in Bangkok) is a Thai writer, novelist, filmmaker, artist, graphic designer, magazine editor, screenwriter, translator and media personality. His literary debut, Muang Moom Shak (City of Right Angles), a collection of five related stories about New York City, and the follow-up story collection, Kwam Na Ja Pen (Probability), both published in 2000, immediately turned him into "...the talk of the town..." In 2002, Kwam Na Ja Pen won the S.E.A. Write Award, an award presented to accomplished Southeast Asian writers and poets.
Prabda has been prolific, having written over 20 books of fiction and nonfiction in ten years, designed over 100 book covers for many publishers and authors, translated a number of modern Western classics such as Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita and Pnin, all of J. D. Salinger's books, Anthony Burgess's' A Clockwork Orange, and Karel Čapek's R.U.R. He has also written two acclaimed screenplays for Thai "new wave" filmmaker Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, "Last Life in the Universe" (2003) and "Invisible Waves" (2006). Prabda's literary work has been translated to Japanese and published in Japan regularly. He has exhibited his artworks (paintings, drawings, installations) in Thailand and Japan. He has also produced music and written songs with the bands Buahima and The Typhoon Band.
In 2004, Prabda founded Typhoon Studio, a small publishing house with two imprints, Typhoon Books and Sunday Afternoon. In 2012, he opened Bookmoby Readers' Cafe, a small bookshop at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. In 2015, Prabda wrote and directed his first feature film, "Motel Mist", which was selected to premiere and compete at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2016. The Sad Part Was, a collection of twelve short stories mostly taken from Prabda's Kwam Na Ja Pen in English, translated from Thai by Mui Poopoksakul (who won an English PEN Award for her translation), was published by the London-based independent publisher, Tilted Axis, and released in the UK on 3 March 2017. It is said to be the first translation of Thai fiction to be published in the UK.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
Want to read
June 6, 2021
August 30, 2018
This book is published by a groundbreaking small UK publisher Tilted Axis who publish “books that might not otherwise make it into English, for the very reasons that make them exciting to us – artistic originality, radical vision, the sense that here is something new.” Their name refers to their aim to tilt “the axis of world literature from the centre to the margins ...… where multiple traditions spark new forms and translation plays a crucial role.”
It was founded by Deborah Smith, the English-Korean translator of Han Kang’s “The Vegetarian” and “The White Book” and the winner with her of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize for the former book.
Prabdya Yoon is a Thai writer, novelist, filmmaker, artist, graphic designer, magazine editor, screenwriter, and media personality. He himself is a Thai to English translator (including of Salinger and Nabakov). His primary education was in Bangkok but he then studied in America for 10+ years before returning to Thailand in 1998.
Last year Tilted Axis published The Sad Part Was - seemingly the first Thai literature translated into English and the first chance for English readers to access an author who has genuinely transformed the literary culture of his country.
This book, like the first translated by Mui Poopaksakul, is a translation of Suan Ti Kleunwai – his fourth collection of short stories, originally published in 2001.
The book opens (again like the first book) with an English examination of a Thai word – in this case “rang” in noun form: body, shape, form, figure and verb form: to draft, to sketch and we are told
And that serves as an excellent introduction to the book – 11 chapters each based around a body part, all (like his previous book) playful but perhaps lacking a little in the post modernity of that book.
My favourite was probably – "New Hand" in which a young boy asks a girl if he can hold her hand to which she replies “Sure, take it” and leaves him to care for her hand overnight as a test of his devotion, only to find that on the other hand (quite literally) she is testing his best friend. "Yucking Finger" – features a man with a finger that critiques his every decision and ends with a poignant touch when his daughter is travelling to see him at the end of his life and he reflects on her birth.
Other stories I have to say I found either lightweight or scatalogical though and overall I did not enjoy this collection as much as “The Sad Part Was” and felt if anything it had regressed from his earlier work, which was a landmark in Thai literature.
Perhaps as it was only published a year later in the original Thai this is not surprising but I would I think have preferred to have read some of the author’s more recent short stories or his novels to see how his style has developed.
It was founded by Deborah Smith, the English-Korean translator of Han Kang’s “The Vegetarian” and “The White Book” and the winner with her of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize for the former book.
Prabdya Yoon is a Thai writer, novelist, filmmaker, artist, graphic designer, magazine editor, screenwriter, and media personality. He himself is a Thai to English translator (including of Salinger and Nabakov). His primary education was in Bangkok but he then studied in America for 10+ years before returning to Thailand in 1998.
Last year Tilted Axis published The Sad Part Was - seemingly the first Thai literature translated into English and the first chance for English readers to access an author who has genuinely transformed the literary culture of his country.
This book, like the first translated by Mui Poopaksakul, is a translation of Suan Ti Kleunwai – his fourth collection of short stories, originally published in 2001.
The book opens (again like the first book) with an English examination of a Thai word – in this case “rang” in noun form: body, shape, form, figure and verb form: to draft, to sketch and we are told
The Thai word leaves open two possibilities: the body as both a mere rough sketch of the self and at the same time its foundation. The stories in this collection explore the interlocking aspects of our physicality.
And that serves as an excellent introduction to the book – 11 chapters each based around a body part, all (like his previous book) playful but perhaps lacking a little in the post modernity of that book.
My favourite was probably – "New Hand" in which a young boy asks a girl if he can hold her hand to which she replies “Sure, take it” and leaves him to care for her hand overnight as a test of his devotion, only to find that on the other hand (quite literally) she is testing his best friend. "Yucking Finger" – features a man with a finger that critiques his every decision and ends with a poignant touch when his daughter is travelling to see him at the end of his life and he reflects on her birth.
Other stories I have to say I found either lightweight or scatalogical though and overall I did not enjoy this collection as much as “The Sad Part Was” and felt if anything it had regressed from his earlier work, which was a landmark in Thai literature.
Perhaps as it was only published a year later in the original Thai this is not surprising but I would I think have preferred to have read some of the author’s more recent short stories or his novels to see how his style has developed.
September 19, 2018
The exciting publisher Tilted Axis, founded in 2015 by MBI-winning The Vegetarian translator Deborah Smith, has as their mission statement:
Moving Parts is the second collection of short stories they have published from Thai writer Prabda Yoon, translated by Mui Poopoksakul, after The Sad Part Was, which was notable as one of only a handful of Thai fiction to have been translated into English.
Moving Parts is a collection of 11 short stories, spread over 160 pages, linked thematically as they all centre on a particular part of the body, and typically with a slightly uncanny flavour.
For example, in New Hand, a boy plucks up the courage to ask a girl if he can hold her hand, except in the world of the story this involves the girl literally giving her hand to the boy for him to look after overnight. In Mock Tail, perhaps my favourite story, a girl is contemplating sleeping with her boyfriend for the first time, but her real concern is that he will discover her secret: she was born without a tail, a mocktail, a group looked down on by society and the object of a particularly prized form of porn movie.
I suspect this collection suffered for me by comparison to my immediate prior read, Samanta Schweblin's Mouthful of Birds: Stories, but I didn't find the collection particularly compelling. Most of the stories have an interesting idea like the two above, but don't really then do much with it, and at times the subject matter (buttplugs, love motels, predatory teachers, porn movies, a penis-less man) seemed to be trying too hard to be provocative.
I note from Gumble Yard's reviews (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) that he found The Sad Part Was significantly stronger than Moving Parts, so perhaps I should try the earlier work.
But while it is great to see Tilted Axis widening the scope of international literature in English, I would struggle to recommend this particular collection.
To shake up contemporary international literature.I have very much enjoyed the previous books of theirs I have read - The Devils' Dance, The Impossible Fairy Tale and One Hundred Shadows.
Tilted Axis publishes the books that might not otherwise make it into English, for the very reasons that make them exciting to us – artistic originality, radical vision, the sense that here is something new.
Tilting the axis of world literature from the centre to the margins allows us to challenge that very division. These margins are spaces of compelling innovation, where multiple traditions spark new forms and translation plays a crucial role.
As part of carving out a new direction in the publishing industry, Tilted Axis is also dedicated to improving access. We’re proud to pay our translators the proper rate, and to operate without unpaid interns.
Moving Parts is the second collection of short stories they have published from Thai writer Prabda Yoon, translated by Mui Poopoksakul, after The Sad Part Was, which was notable as one of only a handful of Thai fiction to have been translated into English.
Moving Parts is a collection of 11 short stories, spread over 160 pages, linked thematically as they all centre on a particular part of the body, and typically with a slightly uncanny flavour.
For example, in New Hand, a boy plucks up the courage to ask a girl if he can hold her hand, except in the world of the story this involves the girl literally giving her hand to the boy for him to look after overnight. In Mock Tail, perhaps my favourite story, a girl is contemplating sleeping with her boyfriend for the first time, but her real concern is that he will discover her secret: she was born without a tail, a mocktail, a group looked down on by society and the object of a particularly prized form of porn movie.
I suspect this collection suffered for me by comparison to my immediate prior read, Samanta Schweblin's Mouthful of Birds: Stories, but I didn't find the collection particularly compelling. Most of the stories have an interesting idea like the two above, but don't really then do much with it, and at times the subject matter (buttplugs, love motels, predatory teachers, porn movies, a penis-less man) seemed to be trying too hard to be provocative.
I note from Gumble Yard's reviews (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... and https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) that he found The Sad Part Was significantly stronger than Moving Parts, so perhaps I should try the earlier work.
But while it is great to see Tilted Axis widening the scope of international literature in English, I would struggle to recommend this particular collection.
May 12, 2020
Has some exuberance in its ideas (a body that floats up rather than falls when the protagonist jumps from a bridge; a talking finger), but I found the writing a bit adolescent somehow. Maybe I mean pedestrian. Anyway, apart from a couple of stories (the teenager's hair one was good), not for me.
March 27, 2023
"It's an ordinary day, with most people's lives taking their usual course: ...those who have to sweep the streets must keep swinging their brooms. Those who have to beg must keep their palms outstretched. Those who have to govern the country must keep up the corruption. All in all, the day is entirely normal. True, it's a bit boring, but deep down everyone's happy for the banality to be maintained, if trading it away meant sacrificing certainty and stability along with it."
Moving Parts is Prabda Yoon's 4th collection of short stories (translated from Thai by Mui Poopoksakul). The common trait for all 11 short stories in this collection would be "moving body parts". For instance, a judgmental finger (Part 1: Yucking Finger), a missing tongue (Part 2: Evil Tongue), a missing penis (Part 3: Destiny's a Dick), a missing hand (Part 6: New Hand), a missing eye (Part 9: Eye Spy: A One-Act Play) and etc. Through the use of body parts as symbolisms, Prabda Yoon exemplified his trademark satirical and dark humor writing style in exploring the postmodern city life of Bangkok, this time with notions of surrealism, absurdism, and a little on the experimental end. Like his previous collection (The Sad Part Was), Prabda maintained his playfulness and wittiness throughout the stories, and perhaps in a "louder" manner.
My personal favorites would be "Destiny's A Dick" (set in a whorehouse, a prostitute was curious about a regular customer who does not have a penis), "Evil Tongue" (a murderer who was sentenced to prison for murdering his mother and sliced out her tongue), "New Hand" (a boy asked a girl if he can hold her hand where the girl literally dismembered her hand for the boy), "Mock Tail" (set in a society where everyone has tails, a girl is concerned that her boyfriend would discover her secret where she is born without a tail, and she had to wear a "mocktail"). There are some impressive observations and descriptions in these stories. For example, the satirical description of a whorehouse by Prabda in "Destiny's A Dick" is impeccable: "If prostitution is the world's oldest profession, as they say, then the pink motel was akin to an important museum preserving the trade that has escorted civilization through time, ensuring the perpetuation of pleasure as it continues its course"; "...the pink-walled motel, a melting pot of different cultures that was more happening than a United Nations meeting"; "Here was proof that free knowledge could be found anywhere, even above the door to a whorehouse - a genuine oasis of peace, a place full of truths. Whoever saw it as a den of illegality clearly hadn't been enlightened to the fact that all eternal truths in human life were illicit". That said, there are some stories which I am not sure whether its executed well or perhaps they are beyond my level of understanding. All in all, though this collection is not as impressive as The Sad Part Was, this is still an enjoyable 4/5 star read!
Moving Parts is Prabda Yoon's 4th collection of short stories (translated from Thai by Mui Poopoksakul). The common trait for all 11 short stories in this collection would be "moving body parts". For instance, a judgmental finger (Part 1: Yucking Finger), a missing tongue (Part 2: Evil Tongue), a missing penis (Part 3: Destiny's a Dick), a missing hand (Part 6: New Hand), a missing eye (Part 9: Eye Spy: A One-Act Play) and etc. Through the use of body parts as symbolisms, Prabda Yoon exemplified his trademark satirical and dark humor writing style in exploring the postmodern city life of Bangkok, this time with notions of surrealism, absurdism, and a little on the experimental end. Like his previous collection (The Sad Part Was), Prabda maintained his playfulness and wittiness throughout the stories, and perhaps in a "louder" manner.
My personal favorites would be "Destiny's A Dick" (set in a whorehouse, a prostitute was curious about a regular customer who does not have a penis), "Evil Tongue" (a murderer who was sentenced to prison for murdering his mother and sliced out her tongue), "New Hand" (a boy asked a girl if he can hold her hand where the girl literally dismembered her hand for the boy), "Mock Tail" (set in a society where everyone has tails, a girl is concerned that her boyfriend would discover her secret where she is born without a tail, and she had to wear a "mocktail"). There are some impressive observations and descriptions in these stories. For example, the satirical description of a whorehouse by Prabda in "Destiny's A Dick" is impeccable: "If prostitution is the world's oldest profession, as they say, then the pink motel was akin to an important museum preserving the trade that has escorted civilization through time, ensuring the perpetuation of pleasure as it continues its course"; "...the pink-walled motel, a melting pot of different cultures that was more happening than a United Nations meeting"; "Here was proof that free knowledge could be found anywhere, even above the door to a whorehouse - a genuine oasis of peace, a place full of truths. Whoever saw it as a den of illegality clearly hadn't been enlightened to the fact that all eternal truths in human life were illicit". That said, there are some stories which I am not sure whether its executed well or perhaps they are beyond my level of understanding. All in all, though this collection is not as impressive as The Sad Part Was, this is still an enjoyable 4/5 star read!
October 8, 2018
MOVING PARTS deals with the way the body can betray and bewilder. In "Part 1: Yucking Finger", a man's index finger calls out "yuck!" whenever it disapproves of something its owner does or says. In "Part 5: Mock Tail", which is set in a world where most people have tails, a tail-less girl is nervous about confessing her lack to the boy she loves. In "Part 6: New Hand", a schoolgirl (bloodlessly, painlessly) removes her own hand and gives it to a boy to look after as a test to see if he could be boyfriend material. All this may be a bit too weird for some readers, but I found the best stories in the collection to be delightfully playful and funny, stacked with puns and wordplay, often ending in disarmingly silly punchlines, and rich in odd little moments that you'll want to stop and read aloud to your other half or cat or whoever else is in the vicinity.
As with most collections, some of the stories here didn't 100% work for me, but even these stories had something that made them a little special or memorable—a strange twist a few lines before the end, an unusual structure, a bizarre minor character. The only story that left me completely cold was "Part 8: A Hairy Situation", where Yoon never quite manages to subvert the ickiness of the premise—a young, sexy teacher being seduced by one of his students. I should also say that readers looking for psychologically complex characters and/or detailed descriptions of real life will be disappointed: as Yoon himself admits/explains in an interview with WILDNESS,
"... the fact that I see writing as an artistic practice interchangeable with design or painting or sculpture or film or music also informs the way I lay the foundation of my storytelling, particularly how I tend to focus largely on ideas and attitudes rather than character development and the other features that are supposed to be of high literary value. I get bored quickly with common dramatic themes and characters that resemble real life and real people. Of course, when I create my characters and situations I want them to feel real and engaging, but I’m not interested in spending time and words describing scenes in detail or show the particulars of my characters or build a complete literary human being or something like that. Big literary works that feel like meticulously constructed worlds are certainly impressive, and they’re definitely works of art, but I have neither the talent nor the interest to compose such a work. I’m more inspired by ideas and moments."
For my full review (including notes on the translation and comparisons to other books I love), head over to my blog, STRANGE BOOKFELLOWS: https://strangebookfellowsblog.wordpr...
As with most collections, some of the stories here didn't 100% work for me, but even these stories had something that made them a little special or memorable—a strange twist a few lines before the end, an unusual structure, a bizarre minor character. The only story that left me completely cold was "Part 8: A Hairy Situation", where Yoon never quite manages to subvert the ickiness of the premise—a young, sexy teacher being seduced by one of his students. I should also say that readers looking for psychologically complex characters and/or detailed descriptions of real life will be disappointed: as Yoon himself admits/explains in an interview with WILDNESS,
"... the fact that I see writing as an artistic practice interchangeable with design or painting or sculpture or film or music also informs the way I lay the foundation of my storytelling, particularly how I tend to focus largely on ideas and attitudes rather than character development and the other features that are supposed to be of high literary value. I get bored quickly with common dramatic themes and characters that resemble real life and real people. Of course, when I create my characters and situations I want them to feel real and engaging, but I’m not interested in spending time and words describing scenes in detail or show the particulars of my characters or build a complete literary human being or something like that. Big literary works that feel like meticulously constructed worlds are certainly impressive, and they’re definitely works of art, but I have neither the talent nor the interest to compose such a work. I’m more inspired by ideas and moments."
For my full review (including notes on the translation and comparisons to other books I love), head over to my blog, STRANGE BOOKFELLOWS: https://strangebookfellowsblog.wordpr...
October 26, 2021
Sayang nya aku kurang begitu suka sama kumcer di buku ini, aku excited banget baca ini karena sesuka itu sama the sad part was karena kumcer nya menyentuh, kalo di buku ini jujur aja b aja sih kayak gk ada yng wow banget :(
October 6, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Would give it 4.5 stars if I could! Prabda Yoon is an original writer, who unabashedly explores the human body with humor, satire, and sincerity. Mui Poopoksakul is a masterful translator. She creates a cohesive style throughout, allowing the reader to enjoy this collection as a novel- each story building upon the last despite having unique voices and themes. Mui also gives the reader a chance to hear the Thai through the English, without disrupting the flow of the story. A truly brilliant pairing of translator and author and book worthy of the English Pen Award.
April 12, 2021
This review is taken from my IG account @descanto
Moving Parts: Which part is moving?
Moving Parts is the second collection of short stories written by Prabda Yoon, a Thai writer and translated by Mui Poopoksakul after the Sad Part Was - which I do love.
There are 11 short stories spread through 160 pages narrate the urban life set in Thailand. They portray the social life such as prostitution and divorce. Some stories sometimes are left open to interpretation. They all centre on a particular part of the body too.
My favourite short story entitled New Hand for example. It tells a story about a boy who tries to gather his courage to ask a girl if he can hold her hand. Nay, it doesn't really mean holding hand literally. In this story, it involves the girl's intention to the boy for him to look after overnight.
I also love another story entitled Destiny's Dick. Telling a penis-less man who keep visiting the brothel just because he wants to be acknowledged as a real man. Even the escort ladies in that brothel keep spreading the rumours about his penis. It goes on like that until a young escort comes and confront him - leaving him - as a man and an adult crying.
I personally think that most short stories in Moving Parts do have an interesting idea despite the matters they want to rise: buttplugs, porn movies, the penis-less man as aforementioned, and some more. Yet I do not know why I still pick the Sad Part Was instead of Moving Part. I guess it's because I can relate myself to the storiea in The Sad Part Was while in this novel, some are just okay yet not so provocative.
BOOK 8: MOVING PARTS BY PRABDA YOON for my #ReadTiltedAxis Month
Translated by: Moi Poopoksakul
📍 Thailand
Published by @tiltedaxisbooks/ @tiltedaxispress
Moving Parts: Which part is moving?
Moving Parts is the second collection of short stories written by Prabda Yoon, a Thai writer and translated by Mui Poopoksakul after the Sad Part Was - which I do love.
There are 11 short stories spread through 160 pages narrate the urban life set in Thailand. They portray the social life such as prostitution and divorce. Some stories sometimes are left open to interpretation. They all centre on a particular part of the body too.
My favourite short story entitled New Hand for example. It tells a story about a boy who tries to gather his courage to ask a girl if he can hold her hand. Nay, it doesn't really mean holding hand literally. In this story, it involves the girl's intention to the boy for him to look after overnight.
I also love another story entitled Destiny's Dick. Telling a penis-less man who keep visiting the brothel just because he wants to be acknowledged as a real man. Even the escort ladies in that brothel keep spreading the rumours about his penis. It goes on like that until a young escort comes and confront him - leaving him - as a man and an adult crying.
I personally think that most short stories in Moving Parts do have an interesting idea despite the matters they want to rise: buttplugs, porn movies, the penis-less man as aforementioned, and some more. Yet I do not know why I still pick the Sad Part Was instead of Moving Part. I guess it's because I can relate myself to the storiea in The Sad Part Was while in this novel, some are just okay yet not so provocative.
BOOK 8: MOVING PARTS BY PRABDA YOON for my #ReadTiltedAxis Month
Translated by: Moi Poopoksakul
📍 Thailand
Published by @tiltedaxisbooks/ @tiltedaxispress
November 7, 2023
What a reading month so far - four books and three five stars, including this one. Prabda Yoon unfortunately only has two short story collections translated to English at the time of writing this review, both works from 2001 and 2002, and both translated more than five years ago, but I need more because this is officially one of my new all-time favorite authors.
I see both of the collections get a LOT of mixed reviews, so let me just say that this style of writing and what Yoon is doing with language just works really well for me. The style is experimental without being overly so, they are surreal stories that work as allegories for real human experiences and feelings, and sometimes Yoon just throws the rug out from under us by defying expectations of how a story is written, language is used, and often likes to subvert expectations with highly bizarre situations, people, or dialogue. Or all three.
This collection might have on the surface less emotional weight or substance than The Sad Part Was, but "New Hand" and "Belly Up" are beautiful stories that touch on very different and important themes of family and self-discovery/realization, while "Yucking Finger" and "Butt Plug" respectively reflect on the life choices we make and how we perceive death and empathy. The emotional depth is there, it's just not as obvious as in "The Crying Parties".
In general, I'd say this collection has stories that work better as stories, The Sad Part Was was primarily fragments and pieces strewn together that made a beautiful mess together - here, the narratives feel more more defined and put together. It's easier to tell what Yoon is trying to say in each story.
Long story short, LOVED this and I love Yoon. If this review made you interested at all, PLEASE support this author.
I see both of the collections get a LOT of mixed reviews, so let me just say that this style of writing and what Yoon is doing with language just works really well for me. The style is experimental without being overly so, they are surreal stories that work as allegories for real human experiences and feelings, and sometimes Yoon just throws the rug out from under us by defying expectations of how a story is written, language is used, and often likes to subvert expectations with highly bizarre situations, people, or dialogue. Or all three.
This collection might have on the surface less emotional weight or substance than The Sad Part Was, but "New Hand" and "Belly Up" are beautiful stories that touch on very different and important themes of family and self-discovery/realization, while "Yucking Finger" and "Butt Plug" respectively reflect on the life choices we make and how we perceive death and empathy. The emotional depth is there, it's just not as obvious as in "The Crying Parties".
In general, I'd say this collection has stories that work better as stories, The Sad Part Was was primarily fragments and pieces strewn together that made a beautiful mess together - here, the narratives feel more more defined and put together. It's easier to tell what Yoon is trying to say in each story.
Long story short, LOVED this and I love Yoon. If this review made you interested at all, PLEASE support this author.
June 11, 2020
The stories in this book are are written around the theme of the body. Some people are betrayed by their bodies; some are enthralled by others' body parts; yet more are coming to terms with their own bodies.
There's an air of surrealism to these stories that comes through as a fun and quirky element, hiding the serious points made about the reality of Thai city life. The city is firmly in the background of these stories, with very little description. It's the characters, their beliefs and interactions that are the defining features. Some highlights for me are the comic-engrossed boy of Feet First whose world is wrapped up in the battles of the superheros and demons he's reading about. Also, the shy boy of New Hand whose female friend literally gives him her hand when he asks for it. This leads to some discoveries about the nature of people and their relationships. The potential trauma of opening up yourself to the one love is brought home sharply by the couple in Mock Tail.
Whilst I did enjoy these stories, I felt that his earlier work also published by Tilted Axis Press was much stronger. I've not read these stories in the original language, but it's said that Prabda Yoon uses a lot of wordplay in his stories, making their translation difficult. So the work of Mui Poopoksakul in translating his stories must be highly commended too.
There's an air of surrealism to these stories that comes through as a fun and quirky element, hiding the serious points made about the reality of Thai city life. The city is firmly in the background of these stories, with very little description. It's the characters, their beliefs and interactions that are the defining features. Some highlights for me are the comic-engrossed boy of Feet First whose world is wrapped up in the battles of the superheros and demons he's reading about. Also, the shy boy of New Hand whose female friend literally gives him her hand when he asks for it. This leads to some discoveries about the nature of people and their relationships. The potential trauma of opening up yourself to the one love is brought home sharply by the couple in Mock Tail.
Whilst I did enjoy these stories, I felt that his earlier work also published by Tilted Axis Press was much stronger. I've not read these stories in the original language, but it's said that Prabda Yoon uses a lot of wordplay in his stories, making their translation difficult. So the work of Mui Poopoksakul in translating his stories must be highly commended too.
December 8, 2019
I best know Prabda Yoon author of Moving Parts (2002) as the screenplay author of indie Thai films. This is the second collection of short stories put out by Tilted Axis Press. The overall theme of the collection is body parts and it has some fantastical elements in several of the stories on par with "magic realism." It is somewhat uneven, but inventive and engaging in most stories. One of my favorite stories was "A Hairy Situation" which finds a young and appealing music teacher with long hair giving the student class beauty with long flowing locks a ride home. It seems innocent enough but there are hints of mischievousness between the two. This story like most ends with a subtle twist-some of the twists are less subtle, but that seems to be the format. Some other standout stories for me were: "Destiny's a Dick," "A New Hand," "Long Heart," and "Butt Plug."
April 10, 2022
While The Sad Part Was focuses on the comical absurdities of life, Moving Parts focuses on the more surrealistic parts of it. The author's note about the meaning behind the word "rang" (ร่าง) gives us the context of these short stories, that they explore the interlocking aspects of our physicality (i.e. the body as both a mere rough sketch of the self and at the same time its foundation), and we see that in the titles as well as the subject matter of each short stories. Metaphorical and sometimes nonsensical, this was an enjoyable read.
January 12, 2025
I loved this collection of weird body horror short stories. These stories were so poignant that it took me by genuine surprised. I also loved getting a new insight into the city/culture of Bangkok that in west we aren’t always privy to. My favorite stories were definitely: Destiny’s a Dick, Mock Tail, New Hand, and Belly Up.
Before picking this book up I had not heard of Prabda Yoon (or tilted/axis), but after finishing this collection, consider me a fan! I heard that his other collection is stronger than this one so I will definitely be adding that to my TBR. I’m so glad that this little book fell into my hands and became the first book I read this year ♥️
Before picking this book up I had not heard of Prabda Yoon (or tilted/axis), but after finishing this collection, consider me a fan! I heard that his other collection is stronger than this one so I will definitely be adding that to my TBR. I’m so glad that this little book fell into my hands and became the first book I read this year ♥️
January 25, 2025
Short stories that leave you wondering where the ideas came from, where they could head had the story been just a few pages longer & what if this sort of thing really happened.
The almost erratic, fast paced style of writing kept me on my toes & had me struggling to put the book down at all. I laughed, I was curious, I was aghast - what more could you want?!
The stories do evoke thought about how people really are treated based on looks, how we communicate with others, and how we view ourselves. While the short stories have the ability to offer a bit of relief in an otherwise heavy world, it also draws to the surface a few questions and answers about the way in which societies function.
The almost erratic, fast paced style of writing kept me on my toes & had me struggling to put the book down at all. I laughed, I was curious, I was aghast - what more could you want?!
The stories do evoke thought about how people really are treated based on looks, how we communicate with others, and how we view ourselves. While the short stories have the ability to offer a bit of relief in an otherwise heavy world, it also draws to the surface a few questions and answers about the way in which societies function.
January 31, 2022
Inventive, surreal, very quirky and sometimes downright bizarre stories about bodies, life, and awkward social interactions. Prabda Yoon seems to have taken certain phrases -- give me your hand, mocktails -- very literally and run with them, often turning things upside down. I think my favorite was Mock Tail because it cleverly highlights how absurd and cruel our fixation on human differences is. Most hilarious line for me was Suggested alternative title, (Re)Moving Parts.
February 27, 2024
Well this was a little weird. If you liked Life Ceremony, this is definitely one to pick up next.
As the chapter titles suggest, each short story relates to a body part from talking fingers and humans with tails to dismembered hands. The stories are weird, freaky, and unsettling. But, they were all very original and some of them were making me laugh and gasp.
I feel like there’s no need to go into any more detail because the stories are so short, it’s best to go in blind.
As the chapter titles suggest, each short story relates to a body part from talking fingers and humans with tails to dismembered hands. The stories are weird, freaky, and unsettling. But, they were all very original and some of them were making me laugh and gasp.
I feel like there’s no need to go into any more detail because the stories are so short, it’s best to go in blind.
Want to read
December 6, 2025Prabda Yoon, born in Bangkok in 1973, studied graphic design in New York before returning to Thailand in the late 1990s. He writes primarily in Thai, with short stories and novels that pushed Thai literature into postmodern territory. His collection Probability won the S.E.A. Write Award in 2002, and English translations like The Sad Part Was have carried his style abroad. He runs Typhoon Studio in Bangkok, where he continues to publish, translate, and make films.
October 30, 2018
I have mixed feelings about this collection of short stories. The storylines are generally taut, well-paced, and imaginative. The prose is light and genial. But the stories usually rely on an ironic twist for their effect, which is short-lived nonetheless. So despite being examples of efficient storytelling, they're not the type of stories you mull over after reading.
December 24, 2023
Prabda Yoon har en god fantasi. Han har også gode ideer. Og han skriver faktisk godt – her i engelsk oversættelse ved Mui Poopoksakul. Men når jeg nu skal være ærlig, så havde jeg oplevelsen af, at de fleste af historierne faldt lidt fladt ned som fesne maveplaskere.
Læs min anmeldelse på K’s bognoter: https://bognoter.dk/2023/12/24/prabda...
Læs min anmeldelse på K’s bognoter: https://bognoter.dk/2023/12/24/prabda...
December 8, 2024
Anthologies aren’t really my thing, but this book is hands down my favorite collection of short stories. I’m so glad I picked it up when I was in Thailand last week, looking for a Thai-authored book to read.
Yoon’s writing is so relatable and fun! My favorite stories in this book are “The Yucking Finger,” “Mock Tail,” and “Butt Plug.”
Yoon’s writing is so relatable and fun! My favorite stories in this book are “The Yucking Finger,” “Mock Tail,” and “Butt Plug.”
May 25, 2025
Some literature doesn't make the translation. I feel that these stories have quite a different meaning in Thai since each story relies heavily on wordplay.
I loved the Yucking Finger and the magical elements of Belly Up.
Sadly, the other stories were a bit too "on the nose" to make another bad Yoon pun.
I loved the Yucking Finger and the magical elements of Belly Up.
Sadly, the other stories were a bit too "on the nose" to make another bad Yoon pun.
June 5, 2025
As both a Thai and an English reader, the translation was nice, but I guess some things aren't just meant to be understood universally. In Thai, there's this particular sentence that a character said, "เดอะโชมักโกออน", and it made me chuckle while the English translation just said "the show must go on, as they say in English", which doesn't capture the humour of it at all.
November 15, 2018
This book was a let down. It started strong with good style and a dash of surrealism in modern Bangkok, but despite a body theme it felt disjointed, a bit sluggish, and regressive around sexuality. Even stories with a lens of surreal were predictable.
July 22, 2025
a few stories were abit harder to grasp, but some other stories were interesting (i liked the one abt the man without the penis) - 11 short stories that ties to diff body parts, and talks about challenges different people face
Read
August 18, 2025Moving Parts by Prabda Yoon is a collection of intriguing though sometimes baffling and uneven short stories. The strongest of these stories play on conventional ideas and perceptions, adding inventive twists to them.
December 2, 2025
Gillar inte noveller och gillar inte… som slut på några texter överhuvudtaget. Den kändes poetisk och djup men på ett grunt och barnsligt sätt. Kroppsdelar som talar hit o-dit, o-träffande punchlines, ointressant. Säkert bättre på thai ksnske vad vet jag
January 6, 2018
เราอ่านของปราบดาฯไปเรื่อย คงเพราะถูกจริต ก็ชอบ คนที่ไม่ชอบ ก็ไม่ชอบ ไม่เป็นไร
September 28, 2018
2.5 stars
November 11, 2018
Surreal, fantastical, sly and witty stories, with lots of word play and mind games and lateral thinking. An unusual delight, although a few of the stories seem to end too abruptly.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews