Comrade Aeon’s Field Guide to Bangkok

by Emma Larkin

In Bangkok, a plot of land behind a city slum resonates with the hopes, dreams and fears of the local community. For Comrade Aeon, a homeless insurgent who fled to the jungle after a military crackdown on student protestors in 1976, it’s a verdant refuge and the place from which he documents the underbelly of the city. For Ida Barnes, an ex-pat whose husband may be cheating on her, it’s an inviting retreat. For Witty, an urbane property developer married to one of the city’s most famous movie stars, it’s a ‘Bangkok Unicorn’ – that rare chance to make his mark on the Bangkok skyline. But the slum-dwelling spirits who guard its secrets know that it holds a much darker history, that it masks the silent politics at the heart of Thai culture.

Genres: Fiction, Asia

371 pages, Paperback

Published May 6, 2021

Reviews

[ClaireJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tale written about a diverse collection of characters from different backgrounds who live in the city of Bangkok. The author creates a clear, vivid picture of the difference in social class within the city.

The descriptions of Bangkok are written spectacularly, I was swept into this famous city and experienced the sights, sounds, taste and smells throughout the story. The rundown slums of the poorer classes to the elegant homes of the privileged are all brought alive in your imagination. This author certainly is a talented storyteller.

However, there are a lot of characters to keep track of. I found it hard to remember who was who,leading to me wanting more depth to characters who I felt attached to such as Sunan, Aeon and Ida. But I understand that the author wanted to delve into different sides to Bangkok so it is not exactly a negative thing just something I personally felt I needed more of.

It is a story that centres around political corruption, traditions, spiritual faith, social class and diversity. I recommend this to those who love literary fiction that explores different cultures.

[Imran Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up Emma Larkin's novel, "Comrade Aeon's Field Guide to Bangkok" to feed my interest in Thailand. The novel didn't disappoint.

Initially, I found the novel 'dreamy' and almost fantasy like in nature, especially around the character Ida. However, as the plot progressed and the other characters came into their own my enjoyment of the novel steadily increased.

The author weaves together several disparate characters into a charming whole. The characters span Thailand's socioeconomic and even political spectrums thus providing readers with insights into Thai society.

A charming novel especially for readers familiar with Thailand (or expat life in Asia). If you struggle with the book early on, stick with it as it gets better quickly.

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

A propulsive and fascinating read from start to finish set in exotic Bangkok that is rich in Thai culture and customs. Larkin brings the city and characters to life superbly and depicts the gritty underworld lurking just below the surface of the normal cityscape. A compelling, intriguing and thoroughly enjoyable piece of literary fiction. Highly recommended.

[Ron Emmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning: contains spoilers

The Bangkok-based author of Comrade Aeon’s Field Guide to Bangkok goes by the name of Emma Larkin, and a glance at previous titles explains why a pseudonym is necessary. Everything is Broken: The Untold Story of Disaster under Burma’s Military Rule is unlikely to be on the essential reading list of the current rulers of Myanmar, though Ms. Larkin must surely be on their black list.

But back to Bangkok. While the plot, set in 2009 around a search for missing bodies from the 1976 and 1992 military massacres in Bangkok, is daring enough, the great achievement of this novel lies in slicing clean through the multiple strata of hierarchical Thai society and giving penetrating glimpses into how each level thinks and acts.

The main characters include a property developer looking for a cheap plot of land that will make his fortune, and his wife, a former movie star and current scriptwriter of soap operas. It’s interesting to note that a fascination with these soap operas is the only common link in this book between all levels of Thai society.

A significant but absent persona is Win, their son. Win disappeared during Black May 1992, when soldiers opened fire on protesters in Bangkok. Even 17 years later, his parents half-expect him to reappear, and he floats through the background like a ghost.

Then there’s the bored Western housewife, who spends the entire book contemplating suicide by jumping from their 27th-floor apartment. Her husband’s busy having an affair with her best friend while her teenage son is lost on his phone.

Down in the bottom tier of society are the inhabitants of the Slum of Bountiful Pleasantness. Among them, the matriarch Yai Sunan from Isaan (Thailand’s impoverished northeast) is the main source of gossip and kind-heartedness. Ice and Toon are a couple of layabouts always looking for a lucky break.

Most intriguing of all is the elusive, indeed almost invisible, Comrade Aeon, a survivor of a student massacre at Thammasat University in 1976. After hiding with Communists in the jungles of the northeast for a few years, he slipped back into Bangkok, built himself a lean-to in an overgrown corner of this slum, and lined the walls with volumes of his Field Guide to Bangkok, which covers every topic imaginable from building subsidence to the constituent smells of the reeking canals and the rise to fame of his movie-star idol.

Sadly this field guide is no longer available as Comrade Aeon’s lean-to was burned down as part of a cover-up of the discovery of a mass grave. Yet as he wanders the streets of the city, searching for increasingly difficult-to-find patches of overgrown greenery in which to hide, Comrade Aeon is still scrawling cryptic messages on walls, pavements and electricity boxes, using spray cans, charcoal and ink markers, “so that if someone were to catalogue them and arrange the pieces in the right order they would be able to reassemble the lost memories that the city has tried to forget.”

Those familiar with Bangkok will no doubt read this novel with a wry smile, recognising many of the archetypes and quirks that create this vertical city’s unique character. Yet Emma Larkin’s caustic look at Thai society might just make those who have never set foot in Sin City think twice before doing so.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having visited Thailand's capital made this novel all the more fascinating to read. Larkin succeeds in bringing Thai culture to life and is not afraid to delve deeper into a darker chapter of this city that is lingering between past and future.

[Rhiannon Bevan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't believe this picked up in the last third, only to have an underwhelming ending :(

[Alyssa Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the “Thailand” books I’ve read, this one is the best.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is set in the Thai capital in 2009 and introduces a varied and interesting cast of characters. I was drawn into this by the intriguing element of mystery.
This diverse group of people is connected by a little plot of land. I liked most of the characters, even those that misbehaved at time and it was difficult to know who I was backing.
The conclusion brought everything together, even though some of the characters didn’t get the outcome that I may have wanted.
It’s a very readable book, I found it easy to become invested in the characters. The fictional soap opera that is playing out during the novel adds another layer to the story. The excerpts from the script are amusing to read.
The Bangkok setting is vivid and I can visualise all of the places, even though I have only visited via Google!
Overall, I was really impressed with this book, it was really well put together. I am hoping to see more great stories from this new author in the future.

My thanks Granta Publication and Netgalley for the Earc in return for an honest review.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comrade Aeon’s Field Guide to Bangkok by Emma Larkin was an interesting book especially as i have been to Bangkok many times for a holiday. I found Emma's book very well written throughout, with great descriptions of their Thai culture and the Thai customs.and wrote about recent history within Bangkok.
I loved the way Emma wrote about Bangkok, its a Place I love to go to and she described it beautifully.

However, it has changed so much over the years.

Does Bangkok ever Sleep?

The answer is No............is one of the most busiest capitals I have ever been to but so beautiful in other ways.

So it was great to read about then and now!

Big Thank you to Granta Publication and Netgalley for the Earc in return for an honest review

[Lucy Mangan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved the set up of this book. The descriptions of the city were so immersive and I truly felt like I was in Bangkok alongside the characters I was reading about. It showed a much less touristy side to the city that isn’t always portrayed.

However I feel like the ending was a bit rushed. It felt like the author ran out of pages. There were storylines that felt like they were not fully developed and some characters left me wanting know more about them. I think I was hoping for more.

Don’t get me wrong this was a great way to feel like I was travelling from home but the ending ruined it a little bit for me.

[Deepak K · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 6 October 1976 massacre, also known as the 6 October event (Thai: เหตุการณ์ 6 ตุลา RTGS: het kan hok tula) in Thailand, was a violent crackdown by Thai police and lynching by right-wing paramilitaries and bystanders against leftist protesters who had occupied Bangkok's Thammasat University and the adjacent Sanam Luang, on 6 October 1976. Prior to the massacre, thousands of leftists, including students, workers and others, had been holding ongoing demonstrations against the return of exiled former Prime Minister Thanom Kittikachorn to Thailand since mid-September



Black May (Thai: พฤษภาทมิฬ; RTGS: Phruetsapha Thamin), also known as "Bloody May", was a series of mass protests and subsequent crackdowns by security forces and police in Bangkok in May 1992. A rally of over 200,000 people led by Chamlong Srimuang was held on 17 May, caused by the extending of the military regime of Suchinda Kraprayoon, the 1991 Thai coup d'état leader. An estimated 52 to 100 protesters were killed, 696 were injured, and 175 had "disappeared" afterwards. King Bhumibol Adulyadej summoned both Chamlong and Suchinda on 20 May, and the Suchinda regime later received a sweeping amnesty along with other law reforms, signed by Bhumibol.



Comrade Aeon is a homeless person, scouting the jungles and streets of Bangkok and capturing stats about the city in a journal he carries. He survived the 1976 crackdown, fled to the jungles and attempted to rekindle his life as a teacher, but the whitewashing of history did not settle well with him and he had to quit the job.

The story progresses through some disparate women characters. We have Ida Barnes, an American expat housewife, whose apartment overlooks a section of jungle, wandering around the city, slums and jungle. We also have Wongduan, a movie star who also writes soap opera, with an architect husband, perpetually in sorrow over the disappearance of their son during the Black May protests. Then there is Grandma Yai, a resident of the slum near the jungle, who has an eatery selling Khanom Khai nok kratha and has many loyal customers of her own.

The architect Witty decides to build a skyrise apartment at the place where the jungle is situated, but when the workers start digging the jungle, bones appear. This triggers memories in Comrade Aeon who had witnessed the dumping of bodies by soldiers. How the various characters react to this discovery forms the rest of the plot.

Touching upon topics of historical whitewashing, intertwining them with soap opera episodes and the motivations of the different characters, the author does a good job in putting together an interesting narrative.

[Robin Newbold · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first came across Emma Larkin having read her travelogue Finding George Orwell in Burma, which I loved, particularly its look back at the old colonial days and unearthing of what now feels like ancient history. Browsing a bookshop on a recent visit to Bangkok I spotted Comrade Aeon’s Field Guide to Bangkok, her first work of fiction.

Having lived in Thailand, I was particularly interested in her fictionalised view of one of the world’s great capitals. What is most perceptive is that Larkin weaves in fiction with real-life events, the centrepiece the country’s political travails encapsulated by the Black May protests of 1992 that saw a number of university students “disappeared”. Similar events have occurred in both 1976 and more recently the near civil war in 2009, which the author also draws on, as did I re the latter in recent novel Bangkok Burning.

The premise of CAFGTB, a long-winded title and intricately plotted book with a wide cast of characters, centres around a disused plot of land in the central business district. There is a battle between the developers and local slum dwellers over the land, which is basically jungle on the fringes of the shanty town.

Larkin writes descriptively and often beautifully about Bangkok in all its gory, yes gory, as the novel is a real immersion into the underbelly of the city. It is also a satire of a lot of what is wrong and right in the country writ large, a place still riven by massive division between rich and poor, city and countryside. Needless to say when human bones are uncovered on the land, things really start to hot up, finally pitting the diverse cast of characters against one another with a spectacular and telling denouement.

It is chilling, given the country is still effectively ruled by a military junta that one of the army generals in Larkin’s book says the only thing they don’t control is “the sun, the moon and the stars”.

[Harley · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a story that centres around one single plot of land, surrounded on all sides by the ever expanding skyscraper skyline of Bangkok, a myriad of characters’ lives are unfolding. As their lives overlap, their stories intertwine and untold secrets are revealed, each of them will be changed. Even the land itself will be never be the same again. Who will be left on the other side and what will life look like for them?

This is a book with a diverse and interesting set of characters, each with their own quirks and histories that add to the novel. The setting is vividly realised and there are some brilliant moments where I felt rooted in the locations, particularly Comrade Aeon’s hut. To some extent, I think I wanted more from the characters though. There were so many, there wasn’t enough room here I don’t think to fully explore the complexity of who they were, and so at times they slipped into a little more two dimensional frames. That’s not to say they’re not well written – I felt I was able to visualise who these people were and what their wants were – but I could have done with an extra few hundred pages to get to know them better.

And I think that’s true of how I felt about the novel as a whole. I wanted more, I think, from the story. I had a sense quite early on where the story was going (and that’s not me being clever, it’s quite clear in the text I think) and so I was, in some ways, disappointed that what I thought was going to happen did indeed happen. I wanted something to twist, a different way of the story unfolding, I think. It’s not that it was predictable – there were some endings to the characters’ stories that I didn’t expect, but the general denouement was the one I expected.

Nonetheless, I would recommend this for readers who enjoy multiple character perspectives and novels with overlapping stories. It’s a novel that is never dull and, having read the acknowledgements, is rooted in wanting to tell a story that needs to be told – something I’m always on board with.

[Megan Pitman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cities are known as the most populated, busiest and bustling places on earth, but are also often described as the loneliest place to be, and the city and characters we meet in this book are no different. Set in Bangkok, the book details characters who become connected through a seemingly untouched plot of land that will impact them all in more ways than they will realise.

This book is a brilliant read, full of intricate descriptions of not only the city but Thai culture, traditions, spirits, food, wildlife and so on. With a fair few characters to follow, some of the key characters lose a little bit of depth and I would have liked to follow up a little more with some. To see how the events impact them on a more poignant level.

This book covers a dark part of history, and how the impact of history is always right beside us, how for some it brings hope and for others it brings darkness, no matter rich, poor, famous, foreign or other. When you take away the page-turning mystery elements of this book you are left with brilliant characters trying to survive the loneliness of their lives and ending up swept up and ultimately still churned out.

In the end, the stories of our characters are tied up, but loosely with a few strings that I have to admit I was desperate to pull on. This is a clever book that straddles a mix of genres and provides not only a refreshing read but a different view of city life than most tourists will experience.

Thank you to Granta Books and Tandem Collective for the early copy of this book.

[Izzy S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story surrounding by the main character Comrade Aeon a man live in the slum like a ghost who witness and collect the dark secret of military crackdown on popular protests in May 1992. It is brilliant that having a character Wongduan as a Thai soup drama writer. And here is a quote how beautiful structure two world together:

“ Comrade Aeon walks through the housing estate undetected as the closing chords of the Broken Shadows theme tune play on hundreds of televisions inside the living rooms he passes, reverberating around him like whispers of another world. “

I absolutely love this book immersive me back to my Bangkok travel memories. All those details on the jungle and the city is so accurate and vivid. I can feel the humid and sun with this book which just what I need in London commute time.

This book is like a portrait book for Bangkok. There’s lot of characters I adore. Each of them is exactly what I would curious about in Thailand as a foreign reader. Some people might find it a bit disappointing that there’s no lots of twist in this book. I do like the way this book deal with the story. There’s a feeling that this book is like a beautiful written documentary for modern Bangkok rather then a story driven book. If there’s more details of the Aeon and Win personal stories would be great. Since this is a fiction would like to see how writer image this historical mystery. Give me a version of the truth of the murders in the end is what I looking for if there’s another book in the future:)

[Novelle Novels · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
We have this book set in Bangkok where an overgrown plot of land behind the city slum resonates with the hopes, dreams and fears for the local community. Comrade Aeon of a homeless insurgent who fled to the jungle after a crackdown on the student protestors in 1976 and he documents the underbelly of the city. Ida Barnes is an expat estranged from her family and friends so hides away. Witty is an urban property developer married to one of the country’s legendary movie stars trying to make his mark on the Bangkok skyline.
For me the exploration of the city’s history is incredible and the descriptions of the location are done so well that you actually imagine yourself within it all from its depths of darkness to the more affluent areas. We have some very strong characters especially comrade aeon who stands out. Idas storyline is also one so many women can relate to and although the ending wasn’t as conclusive as I expected maybe that was done deliberately. We do have so many main characters that I did get lost at points. If you are looking for a book set in an area that isn’t talked about enough and a book that has many different genres within itself then this is perfect.

[John Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an ex-immigrant in Thailand (with plans to return in the near future), I see this as a piece of authentic fiction by another lifelong expatriate with a real soft spot for one of the most spectacular metropolises on Earth.

The story follows a kaleidoscope of characters. Thai hi-so royalty and acting legends, ex-communist revolutionaries, farang business expats and Isaan patong-ko sellers combine to create a narrative that is so rich and utterly believable that the author's love for the land of smiles emanates from every interaction and description.

There are real moments of narrative excellence in here, some wonderful soaring descriptions, some truly impactful moments of loss and emotional trauma. Other moments meander, for sure, and not every character in the book hits every note. But this is a great read, with some incisive commentary on Thai society. The pacing moves at a fair clip, and the way the characters' stories are enmeshed towards the end is done satisfyingly.

That this is a debut is even more impressive. I hope this isn't the author's last foray into this genre.

[Lizzey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comrade Aeon's Field Guide to Bangkok took me a long time to read, but that is no reflection on how much I enjoyed it. Larkin weaves together a rich tapestry of characters whose lives are linked by their proximity to the Slum of Bountiful Pleasantness in Bangkok and the jungle that neighbours it. All the characters were given such detailed and intricate backstories and personalities, which was impressive given how many there were. The book was full of unexpected (but not unbelievable) twists and also inevitable heartbreak. Although I wanted happy endings for all the characters, I know it wouldn't have rang true.

What I loved most about this book is that it felt simultaneously like a love letter to Bangkok and Thai people and an exposé on real and harrowing events in Thailand's history.

I've never read a book like this before and I don't think I will again. It must have taken a huge amount of time to plan and research and yet it didn't feel laboured at all. All the characters were given equal attention and all felt fully formed and real. No subplot felt superficial or out of place. It was a really impressive, entertaining and moving read.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very different to most books I've read over the past year or so but it's one that I know will stick with me for a long time to come. The author based this on the events of Black May when student protests in Bangkok city, 1992 went horribly wrong and hundreds of people went missing. In this case the murderers were known but the bodies just disappeared off the face of the earth.

In this book we follow a cast of characters from the slums to the rich property developers. In the midst of the slums is a plot of land overrun by jungle. To the locals this jungle is a dark place full of spirits, to Comrade Aeon it's home and to the rich it's a prospect of building a tower and creating more wealth.

Larkin's book is very well written, the landscape, culture, smells and sites are vividly explained. The corruption and fear of the characters is believable. To me there were a few unanswered questions in the end but I really enjoyed the story over all.

Thanks to Granta books and tandem collective for the gifted review copy.

[Kristopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

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One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four mississip-. Comrade Aeon’s Field Guide to Bangkok is a mix of several characters, exploring both the high life of luxury and the deafening noise of the slums. This book is a must-read for anyone who loves a dark mystery, along with the mystical realism of Salman Rushdie.

The genre here is mystical realism, tinged with a sense of mystery. The mystery, in this case, is long-standing and slowly unravelled as the plot proceeds, which might not be for everyone.

It’s also worth noting that Emma Larkin is a pseudonym for an American journalist working in Thailand and Myanmar. Despite this, Larkin does not set out to dismantle the Thai government in a convolute manner. Instead, she allows the reader to decide for themselves.

Comrade Aeon is a former veteran who wanders through the back alleys of Bangkok, taking note of all the intricate details that we often miss. The types of snakes that have been reproducing in the sewers, the ever-increasing pollution, or even the increasing number of dead cats that keep turning up. There’s also one person that he keeps a particular interest in; Wongduan.

Wongduan is a former actress/singer living in a new luxury apartment with her husband, Witty, a high-flying property developer. But they both carry the enormous weight of losing their son, who was protesting against the Thai government.

Plenty of conspiracies as to why start to unravel and are further added to by a local woman named Ida. She has vivid nightmares of the evolving, violent slums, which lead her to constantly passing out in unknown spots.

Deep in the City

Going into this one, I was expecting to read more about Bangkok’s gritty underworld and seedy nature. I guess Private Dancer has skewed my views on Bangkok a little because it’s not all go-go bars and prostitutes.

However, there is still a serious amount of dirty dealings. Larkin, who grew up in Bangkok, portrays these nuances excellently. The perfect example is when Witty wants to proceed with a luxury property development, but the only way to make it viable is to remove the slums.

Here, the heavies are sent in to ruffle up the residents and force them to leave. Within the foundation laying phase, the builders discover bones hidden in the ground. Could this be a mass grave? How about the protesters that went missing several years earlier? Maybe the whole thing is a government cover-up of the Sanam Luong protests?

The book loops all these problems together through several complex characters. This follows in a similar style to Shantaram, although the action is denser and easier to navigate.

Due to my lack of understanding of Thai names, I struggled to remember their names initially. Still, fortunately, they’re all so well developed, it’s easy to get a handle on who’s who.

Lost at Sea

My favourite characters are definitely the couple, Witty and Wongduan.

Although Wongduan won’t give up her search for her missing son, it does begin to stretch their relationship. By attending rallies with other parents of missing children and constantly wallowing around the apartment, Wongduan’s only comfort is in her TV scriptwriting, which is proving to be quite the hit around Bangkok.

As she campaigns for searches of nearby sites, including a mysterious container dropped in the ocean, all avenues come up empty. Because of this, the residents have stopped caring about the missing bodies, forcing the parents to take matters into their own hands.

However, despite his hard nature, it’s clear that Witty too misses his son. Entering into his son’s old room, which is still left as it once was, he takes in the touches of his son’s personality by looking over the items staring back at him.

Historical Drama

Wongduan’s TV series is a through-line in the novel and is a connection to move from one family narrative to another. Most households have the television on, at least in the background throughout.

This is also indicative of Comrade Aeon, whose obsession with Wongduan leads him to excessive studying of her actions. Within his shack, hidden away in the elusive jungle, he stores hundreds of notebooks filled with scribbles, illustrations and magazine cut-outs of the subtle changes in Bangkok. And his prime possession is the one in which he keeps a running history on Wongduan’s life.

Closing Thoughts

Comrade Aeon’s Field Guide to Bangkok is a great novel that transpires the far reaches of a dirty city, all the way through to the untouched jungle. With excellent character depth, motivations and outcomes, this one is a must-read for anyone looking to explore some Bangkok mysteries.

Although the tension is slow-building, I highly recommend this book to anyone who’s previously enjoyed Shantaram. A mystical tale taking place in a diverse environment, there’s still a lot to learn about Thailand.

[Dunj · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

It took me a thousand years to read this book, but I can't tell you exactly why. I guess the plot was not propelling enough, and so my attention wandered, but part of it was down to my inability to properly concentrate lately. I did like it - there is much to like. The locations felt lush and particular, and because I haven't read any Thai related lit before, this felt new and satisfying. I liked the characters too, and many ideas presented. But, alas, as others have pointed out already, there are just too many lanes to follow, and others being introduced very late in the game, so it all loses direction and fizzles out in the end. I did end up feeling attached, so I forgive many mistakes.

[Klaas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Living in Thailand and reading this book gave me a lot of enjoyment and so many déjà vus. However, for those who have not lived for a longer period in Thailand some parts and atmospheres will be difficult to understand which really is a pity. What influence stealing the book with clippings from Wongduan from the hut of Aeon and giving it to Wongduan had on the whole story, I do not clearly understand, maybe another kind of mystery in Bangkok which I still have to discover. A must read (hate these words!!) for all falang in Thailand.

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a Bangkokian. The author has a deep understanding of my city and the broader sense of Thainess. She explores a dark chapter of Thai history and the yearning of those affected to confront their challenges in their own way. Some problems can’t be solved by simply throwing money at them; some can’t be solved at all. I admire her use of Thai names, paired with just a few lines of explanation to truly convey their meaning in English. It was a bit hard to keep track of the characters at times, but overall, I really enjoyed the book.

[Nico · Rating 5 out of 5]

It puzzled me how this book got so many 3-star reviews until I realised that it doesn’t hold the same value to whoever doesn’t know and love Bangkok.

For me, it hit very close to home. Emma Larkin knows Bangkok extremely well and intertwines fiction with non-fiction (the students massacres of ‘76 and ‘92)).
When I realized at the end who Comrade Aeon was (I don’t want to spoil it but it’s a spoiler only for Bangkokians), it just melt into a puddle of tears.

[Catalina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating foray into Bangkok's world anchored into the wider Thai culture and recent history. Emma Larkin uses an eclectic cast of characters to present to the reader the various realities of Bankok: from the slums with its down to earth characters to the rich and famous venerated like Gods to the expats living in luxuries almost unimaginable to those that keep this well oiled machine working, to the extremely corrupt government and tyrannic military.

This is going to sound strange, but I've requested this mainly because the title reminded me of The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll. Needless to say that the 2 novels are worlds apart, but in many ways Comrade Aeon is not far from Maqroll. I really enjoyed Aeon's strange ways, his inquisitiveness, his awareness of the world around him but also felt a tinge of sadness for him, he really was a lost soul.

Despite not being overly familiar to this part of the world, the story painted the exact image I had in mind of Bankok and Thailand. Nothing surprised me: not the poverty, not the corruption, not even the suppression of freedom with no means of ever getting justice. I suppose the author used all the cliche out there to better appeal to a western readership. Also the fact the "mystery" element is not that mysterious doesn't help either. I think it was rather evident where the story was going since before the 50% mark. Or at least it was for me.

Nevertheless Comrade Aeon's Field Guide to Bangkok kept me engaged and indeed entertained throughout! A read I recommend for those looking for a novel set in other parts of the world.

*Book from NetGalley with many thanks to the publisher.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A diverse group of Bangkokians are all connected by an almost 20 year old mystery - even if they don’t know it. Lovely prose, easily and smartly showing the differences in their characters, their lives and their station with Bangkok’s social class and structure.

I enjoyed this a lot, clearly written with a lot of local knowledge and affection for the people of Bangkok.

[Shaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this. Such lovely writing that flows and meanders and evokes the feeling of walking through the heavy, wet air of Bangkok.

And with this she weaved a complex plot in which the character's lives interweaved with and impacted upon each other, like city alive.

I really loved it.

[k.]

warm like concrete in the sun. complex like the aroma of corpse earth.
not masterful. an exploration of bangkok: a city you can disappear in, ruled by those who can have you killed.
would have liked more focus on comrade aeon, and less on the numerous others, but alas.
rator: 37

[LimeCream · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this well written book very much. This is the first I have read by this writer, but will be looking out for more.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

[Ole Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is just a lovely read, the plot is imaginative and wholly believable, or so I think anyway. I believe Emma Larkin is one to watch, and I’m looking forward to more fiction from her hands. I gave it only 4/5 just because I’m stingy with marks, but it’s close to a 5/5.