Welcome Me to the Kingdom: Stories

by Mai Nardone

An immersive debut set across the temples, slums, and gated estates of late-twentieth century Bangkok, Welcome Me to the Kingdom tells the story of three families striving to control their own destinies in a merciless, sometimes brutally violent, metropolis.

Spanning decades and perspectives, seamlessly shifting between the gothic and the tenderhearted, Welcome Me to the Kingdom announces the arrival of an immensely talented new voice in literary fiction. Orbiting the devastating financial crisis of 1997, these interwoven stories introduce us to three families--a Thai Elvis impersonator and his only daughter, a family abandoned by their white American patriarch, and an adoptive brotherhood of oprhaned boys--who employ various schemes and strategies to conceal, betray, lie, and seduce their way to achieving the "good" life.

Sex tourism and Buddhist cults threaten to overtake the nation while Elvis impersonators compete for their respective legacies. A spirit medium channels southern Thailand's secessionist anger into her bloody but essential work. Two strivers, down on their luck in the midst of the recession, enter a cock-fighting tournament with a legendary bird. An American leaves his family and expatriates to Bangkok, sold on the idea of an easy country--then abandons it when the Thai economy is upended. And in a city where class is fate, two friends volunteer as first responders to accumulate karmic merit toward their next lives.

Wildly imaginative and ambitious, Mai Nardone's stories capture the growing discrepancy between Thailand's smiling self-image and its ugly obverse. Through skin-whitening routines, cult conversion, Elvis costumery, gambling, and sex work, the collection's characters look for reinvention in a city unmade by a financial crisis, in a kingdom caught between this world and the next.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Asia, Historical, Contemporary, Asian Literature

288 pages, Hardcover

First published February 14, 2023

Reviews

[Book Clubbed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Mai Nardone, and Random House for the ARC.

Like anyone on this site, reading is one of my true loves in life. I also cherish sleep, however. Lately, I've found these two loves clashing, my lids falling heavy as I attempt to plow forward in a novel. My bedtime keeps creeping up earlier and earlier, soon to rival my grandmother's habits.

This is all to say that Mai Nardone deserves a more dedicated reader for his excellent debut, Welcome Me to the Kingdom. Even with my sleep-fuzzed brain, I kept chugging away, reading ten pages a night because the writing is so damn good. The character development is pristine, the sheer scope of the novel is intimidating, and the prose is imbued with an unimpeachable swagger.

I probably missed a few connections with my choppy reading style, but the book left an impression on me nonetheless. Pick this one up!

[Jasmine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Welcome Me to the Kingdom follows a cast of characters centred around the financial crisis of 1997.

Spanning decades, this collection of loosely connected stories follows several characters navigating life in Thailand.

I thought I would love this book, but it never fully captured my attention. By the time one chapter was getting interesting, it would end, and the next would focus on other characters in later years that were often less compelling.

The writing style is very frank and holds nothing back. It covers a range of heavy topics, including sex workers, cults, class disparities, child abuse, and more.

I did enjoy the setting and there were some delicious-sounding descriptions of food.

Thank you to Random House for granting my wish via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

[Ming · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of interlinked short stories is a solid debut. The stories revolve around Bangkok's underclass, the bars/sex clubs, gangsters, etc. It's gritty. This is not some bougie read.

The atmosphere reflects an oppressive and fatalistic worldview. Life is a struggle; it's a hustle and often, a con. And survival is itself a chore. The overall tone is depressing. That vibe reminds me of The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.

The writing is poetic in many places (please see my many highlights).

And each "story" has a decidedly, low-key resolution. There's no big climax or punchline. It's almost a dribble. I felt like I could have missed it if I didn't look for it. Often I was surprised that the story or chapter had concluded.

I'm curious to keep an eye on this author to see what his future titles are like. I appreciate his sharing a rare view of Bangkok. And he does so with flinching and without any gloss or hyperbole.

I've noted a small trend of more Thai American writers who are getting published. I hope there are more to follow.

[Christine Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short Stories Set in Thailand

Welcome Me to the Kingdom is a debut collection that maps the social and economic fault lines of contemporary Thailand. It does so through a chorus of voices—expats, hustlers, dreamers, and drifters.

The collection moves with quiet precision from expat detachment to local intimacy, tracing how outsiders navigate—and often misread—the rhythms of Thai life. Nardone doesn’t just observe these shifts; he inhabits them, letting characters move from the margins toward moments of unexpected connection. It’s in these pivots that the stories find their pulse.

Nardone’s stories are nimble and precise, often circling themes of identity, class, and belonging without ever flattening them into moral lessons. The prose is lean, with moments of tenderness and dry humor.

This collection rewards close attention. The tonal shifts and character pivots land best when read aloud, and it’s earned a place on my “Listen, don’t read” shelf.

[Susan Ballard (subakkabookstuff) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to this collection of stories primarily because it is set in Thailand. I would love to know more about the culture and history of this beautiful country and I was hoping this book would take me there.

I like the idea of this book, but I just couldn’t get attached to these characters - they felt distant and removed. I never got to know them and that’s hard for a character-driven reader like me. I also got lost in the day-to-day dense detail, and then suddenly, a story would stop!

Most of these bleak stories revolved around the underclass, sex clubs, and criminal elements in Bangkok. I understand that this may have been the author’s point, to show this dark side of the city, but I walked away confused about what exactly I was to take away from it.

Thank you @Randomhouse for a gifted ebook and thank you @PRHaudio for a complimentary audiobook.

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Densely written and almost unbearably bleak. Contrary to what the brightly-coloured cover suggests, this collection of short stories is a slow, crushing read.

[Alyson Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book: Welcome Me to the Kingdom

Author: Mai Nardone

Rating: 2 Out of 5 Stars



I would like to thank the publisher, Random House, for providing me with an ARC.



I'm going to be honest. I tried to get into this one and I could not. It had nothing to do with the stories or the writing. It was just simply a matter of this not being for me. I found myself drifting away from the story and thinking about other things. I know that this is a collection of short stories. I found the fact that the fact that this is supposed to be over the course of several years and the fact that the characters did not age to be a little odd. I would have liked to have seen this happen.



In this collection of short stories, we follow a three families in Thailand, who are trying to make their mark in the world. They are trying to control their own destinies and will stop at nothing to make sure that they get what they want. They are down on their luck and are finding themselves forced into situations that they normally would not be. Normally, these are the kinds of stories that I eat up. However, again, there was something about this one that did not work for me.



I like the idea of reading stories that normally do not take place in the Western world. I like learning about different cultures and beliefs. I like seeing characters in the non-Western setting. Again, it just did not work for me. The stories are actually well put together and thought out. It’s just a shame that I found myself not being pulled into them.



One thing that I did really like about the stories though was that it did not paint the best picture of life in Thailand. I know that sounds really messed up, but the we get to see how these people do have real struggles and have to face real challenges. All of this gives us a very real feeling and gives us a reason to care about what is happening to the characters. However, this was not enough to save the story for me. I needed just a little bit more drive everything home.



Overall, I think that this was the case of this just not being the book for me. I see the appeal of it.



This book comes out on February 14, 2023.

[Christopher Alonso · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot to admire here, specifically the writing. I think the strength of this collection if found in its imagery and punchy sentences. Nardone's use of similes feels surprising and obvious, like saying "of course that thing is like that thing," only you've never thought of it before. The overlapping characters across stories sometimes makes it a challenging read but also exciting.

[Emily Horsmann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group for the arc.

When I received a copy of this book I was very excited based on the premise. As I started reading, I found myself to be more and more disappointed.

The book consists of short stories spanning multiple decades involving many characters. Each time I started a new story/chapter, I felt like I was trying to play catch up figuring out who was who and what is going on in the story. We would learn about one character in one story, then wouldn't read about them again until a decade had passed four chapters later. The characters also bleed into each other's chapters so it was hard to determine who the chapter was supposed to belong to.

The only reason that I gave this book two stars as opposed to one, is that I found the author's writing to be pleasant, even if the story they were telling was confusing. I think this book would have been better as one story focused on a few of the more interesting characters. There was just too much going on.

[JoAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is so rare to find novels and creative fiction that is not only set in Southeast Asia, but written by Southeast Asian authors (rare, not impossible!) that when I saw this coming out in 2023 I JUMPED on it! And I am so glad I did. This is a book that makes my heart sing!

Nardone’s Welcome Me to the Kingdom is a novel woven in stories, revolving around the lives of Thais who live in Thailand or beyond in the diaspora, transnational and transcultural Thais. This is a book about people, individuals as they navigate the multiethnic and multicultural world of Thailand, and what it means to be Thai for them. The characters, as diverse as they are in terms of ethnicity, class, and gender, are connected together in this novel; they and their lives serve as a microcosmic diorama of Thai realities where muslims of the south grapple with discrimination, poverty stricken girls from the village migrate to the city, mixed race Thai/White kids straddle two worlds and belong not quite fully into either one.

The stories span across several decades and generations, allowing the reader a view, not only into modern Thainess, but also how the concept has changed over time and the ways in which being Thai is differently defined for individuals of different religions, classes, genders, etc. Language is a significant element in these stories, not surprisingly since Thailand (like so many other parts of Southeast Asia) has and remains affected by colonialism and its invasive culture (though it was never politically colonized). Welcome Me to the Kingdom is about the rubbing together of cultures, the tension and chafing as multiple perspectives collide. This is a historical novel offering readers a textured, multi-faceted sense of contemporary Thailand, a place in which tradition and modernity coexist, sometimes contentiously, sometimes not.

My favorite characters were Nam and Lara, their story, interwoven with Pea’s and Rick’s, was my favorite, though I probably identified most with Ping. I think readers will find a little bit of themselves in these pages, whether they are Thai or not, as the emotion driving these stories is universal. Nardome’s stories are about desire, ambition, longing, and fear — that inevitable friction between parents and children, within families, the old(er) and new(er) attempting to find common ground.

For readers who enjoy anthropology, history, and postcolonial literature, Welcome Me to the Kingdom will be an especially enjoyable read.

[Paricha duangtaweesub · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know what I was expecting with this work of fiction, especially one that is written about my home country. I sure wasn’t expecting to be on the verge of tears at the death of a strong yet tender character who managed to be thoroughly himself despite all the hardships. Yes, this country rewards persistence with the most critical punishment when you don’t start off in the right places. I felt like i was reading about a place, Bangkok specifically, that I always knew existed but never experienced. It was raw and gritty and haunting to imagine the limitations placed on these characters and the ambitions that remain just that. I think Feast was a turning point in the book for me, a tale about possibilities; I was heartbroken to find myself accepting the inevitability of certain paths in our society for certain people, especially women. My favourite is Captain Q is Dead, which showed companionship at rock bottom and kindness even amongst those working in the shadows. City of Brass is a wonderful exploration of a complicated relationship at the boundaries of cultures, of a white immigrant and an internationalized local - it also reads like a surreal fairy tale. I love the style of his writing, his particular use of verbs in painting vivid scenes of the everyday. “Whose ambitions is it to become a car accessory?” is the best summary of the soul of this book. Highly recommend.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an intense case of, "I'm not sure if the problems I have are due to the book itself or the fact that it's just not for me." I'm super open to it being the latter. Although the stories in this collection succeed in evoking a sense of Thailand over the course of several decades that would be relatable to people who have been there (I would imagine - I've only been there once briefly, on vacation) and make people who have never been to Thailand feel like they're there, ultimately the stories feel like they lack a sense of purpose. Although some of the same characters are followed over the course of decades, they never really grow. Maybe that's the point, but it's not working for me. The characters are all miserable, and mostly unlikeable. Every father is abusive. Every woman uses sexuality as currency, whether by choice or through lack of other choices. Everyone is miserable; they either start miserable and end miserable, or start hopeful (rarely) and end miserable. Either way, it ends up being a slog following people who never really seem to change or grow.

[Dana · Rating 1 out of 5]

This loosely connected collection of short stories describes various aspects of life in Thailand, from the sex trade, orphaned “strayboys”, cock fighting, drug use, ambulance chasing, corruption, tourism and ex-pats.
I found this book very difficult to read and get interested in. I know several reviewers enjoyed it but I found it to be very disjointed and hard to follow. Even trying to follow some of the main characters over time had me lost. And I guess the book is realistic but it’s very depressing and paints a grim picture of Bangkok. Even if a book is written more as literary fiction without much plot, I enjoy good character development but this book just didn’t have anything for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishers for the Advanced Reader Copy.

[Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Mai Nardone's "Welcome Me to the Kingdom." An anthology novel with short stories that connect to each other, each chapter brings to life another year and another moment in time of the lives of ordinary people. These people, whom Nardone has chosen to feature, are all interwoven and connected in some way, but it is only throughout time and experience that brings them together.

Meticulously and brilliantly written, "Welcome Me to the Kingdom" is a collection of short stories, yet also a novel of one story. I highly enjoyed it and recommend it to all.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I thought these stories were individually each quite good, though overall the book does end up being the same flavor (misery) for every story, which is the pitfall of many collections. I didn't think there was a convincing reason for the stories to be linked, either, as ultimately all it pushed me to do was feel confused about which characters were which and didn't offer much reward for remembering who was who.

3.5/5

[Eileen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was not this. The book is a set of short stories that span several decades and three families, but I had a hard time keeping track of whose story I was reading and how it connected with the other stories. It took me a few stories to realize that some of the characters in one story were in another story, but because the stories kept jumping from one family to another and from one time period to another, I had a hard time trying to figure out the connections that I think were definitely there. The stories were also in many cases depressing and tragic and I had a hard time making myself come back to the book time and time again. The book covers many serious topics, including colonialism, sex workers, sex trafficking, drug addiction, alcoholism, poverty, cults, child abuse, domestic abuse, orphans, class disparities, corruption, and so much more. I wanted to like this a lot more than I did, but I had a hard time finding any of the characters compelling, perhaps because they would show up and disappear only to reappear later. While the themes were very clear and focused, the stories of the characters felt all over the place.

Overall, I appreciate what the book was trying to do, but the execution just didn't do it for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Having just returned from Bangkok, I thought these stories would be interesting. The writing can be mesmerizing, but I often found it dense and confusing. This is not a happy collection. Dealing with the underbelly of Bangkok and characters that are sad, self destructive or just plain unhappy. Its somewhat interlinked between repeating characters, but hard to follow those connections.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interlinked story that gives a kaleidoscopic view of Bangkok mainly in the 1990s post the economic crash but with the odd story reaching before and beyond that. The focus is on three separate groups that represent very different parts of Thai society, but every one is, in their own way, struggling and forced (to a greater or lesser extent) to hustle. As someone who has been a frequent(ish) visitor there is a lot to make pause for thought and there quite a few things tackled that I have never seen represented in literature before. Definitely an interesting and thought provoking read.

[Gok · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Thailand and tells the story about 3 different families struggles, trying to survive through the poverty from 1980’s to present time. Taking us through the back streets and underworld from the characters life and point of view the. Interesting book and very well written. The back stories appear mid-chapters when seeing their stories which I really enjoyed.

[M. K. French · Rating 4 out of 5]

The devastating financial crisis of 1997 is the pivot point for three families in Thailand. One is an Elvis impersonator and his only daughter, one family is abandoned by their white American father when the economy isn't as easy as he thought it would be, and one is a brotherhood of orphaned boys struggling to reach a better life. Sex tourism and Buddhist cults complicate the landscape and opportunities for people caught in an endless cycle dictated by the class they were born in.

This book spans decades and multiple POV's. We meet different families at time points before and after the crash of 1997. Bangkok is teeming with people looking for work, and for women it's often easier to turn to sex work to make ends meet. For Nam, she has a baby when her American husband doesn't want another child, and he's emotionally absent even as she takes their daughter Lara to temple and she self harms thinking that it will repay the wrongs done to her parents with her birth. Ping's family had emigrated from China and her father valued the old ways and keeping up appearances in the neighborhood at all costs. About a third of the way into the novel, we meet the boys trying to eke out a living on their own. We also meet the Elvis impersonator's daughter Pinky, who is brought into sex work and meets Lara's father there, and briefly roomed with Ping as she attended high school.

The characters might not always know of the other lives they touched on, but the reader does. As big as Bangkok is, the interconnected stories show us the class system of sorts, the opportunity that money, color, accent, or connections bring to people. It's sad and humbling, watching them stumble through their lives, trying to find meaning, betterment, and belonging, but falling short. The chapters are episodic in nature, and each speaks to longing and a need for connecting with others, being understood. It's almost melancholy, particularly toward the end and closer to our present day. The Kingdom is different yet the same for each of the characters, a hunger for better. We can easily feel that in common with them, and hope they find it after we finish the book.

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars rounded up.

Book Summary:

Three families are struggling to survive and find their path forward in life. Given the events of the world, this is easier said than done. Their stories are set shortly after the 1997 financial crisis, which means everyone is struggling to find security and their place in the world.

Set in Bangkok, Welcome Me to the Kingdom promises to be a look into several families and their journey through this time.

My Review:

I've got to admit, Welcome Me to the Kingdom is one of those books that makes you stop and think. I loved the storytelling format, as it wraps three different families and their journeys into one larger tale.

When I first picked Welcome Me to the Kingdom, I wasn't sure if it would be a collection of short stories or a more cohesive tale. I'm thrilled with what I found inside (though I love anthologies, don't get me wrong!). In a way, this book is unlike anything I've read before. Therefore, I highly recommend keeping an eye on what Mai Nardone comes up with next.

Highlights:
Literary Fiction
Three Families
Battle for Survival
Debut

Trigger Warnings:
Financial Crisis of 1997
Gambling
Sex Work
Cults

Thanks to Random House and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Globally known as one of the most popular tourist destinations, Mai Nardone, has created a collection of stories that pulls back the curtain on the myth of "Amazing Thailand." Going as far back as the story of The King and I, people have been drawn to this small exotic country, never colonized, and filled with delights for everyone. From the cuisine to the pristine beaches, Europeans, Americans, and now the Chinese flock to the magical experiences Thailand offers.

A surge of foreigners filled the hotels and bars of Bangkok during the Vietnam war. Thus began a century of publicity that fed the seedy side of Thai life with foreign men looking for cheap thrills from Patpong Road to Phuket beaches. Tales of living like royalty on a Thai baht (tied to the dollar) lured thousands and millions to the Kingdom every year. The 1997 financial crisis dragged the value of the baht to practically nothing, and people's lives were ruined. The stories are based on this economic disaster, before and after the crash.

This collection vividly illustrates the reality behind the fantasy that was and continues to be Thailand. The characters present the vast distance between the rich and the poor in a country where only recently has a middle class clawed itself into existence. Thailand has the largest wealth gap in the world. The rich of Thailand are some of the wealthiest in the world. The poor of Thailand are the majority and continue to struggle, both in the rural countryside and in Bangkok, where they migrate, trying to survive and even live a better life. It isn't apparent when you arrive in the "Land of Smiles," but spend some time to know the real-life stories of the people you meet, and you will find heartbreaking struggles and hardships. Welcome Me to the Kingdom is not easy to read, but the author is brilliant at telling the real story through his richly drawn characters.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

[Jamie Eames · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kingdom of Thailand “the land of smiles”, is the standard sales pitch that welcomes you to the kingdom. Mai Nardone introduces you to the other side of this country and it’s not all immersed in smiles. He brilliantly creates a compelling storyline that draws you into the daily struggles and survival choices, which many local people must adopt. It digs deep behind the facade of those welcoming smiles that seduced and beguiled visitors. The raw emotion each story invokes, and the author’s unique way of crafting the plot, reignited memories of my own experience as someone born and raised in Thailand. It was as if I relived similar experiences again, but viewed through a different lens. The stories painted an authentic reality that many local Thai people, as well as foreigners who immersed themselves in the local culture, can easily (and sometimes painfully) relate to. The author challenges me to re-examine my past experiences, and at times it’s not an easy read emotionally for me. However, I couldn’t disengage because Nardone’s unique story telling style maintains a delicate balance that ironically ‘Welcomed me back to the Kingdom’, and enabled me to adopt a fresh examination of Thai life from a different vantage point.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the writing was truly gorgeous, but I wanted stories about Thais and Thailand, and I was disappointed and disturbed by the bounty of stereotypes here. Nearly all the female characters are sex workers, then there’s the middle-aged male farang marrying a barely adult Thai woman (sex worker), the orphan kids from the wrong side of town, drugs and alcohol abound, criminal activity, etc.; everyone is broken; everything is corrupt. I get it, these things do exist of course, but this reinforces every negative connotation of Thai culture. I found it hard to keep the characters straight and didn’t care about any of them. Well, maybe Benz. But otherwise, they were all so scarred as to be indistinguishable. As a half-American-half-Thai-Chinese person who traveled frequently to Bangkok to visit family during the decades these stories take place, I am happy for a Thai writer to break through literarily, but the actual reading left much to be desired.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally read this one as I developed my love-hate relationship with Bangkok during a trip to Thailand. I would not have appreciated the nuances of this book without my own experiences of the contradictions and complexities of Bangkok. Rich and poor, expats and locals, tourism industry and survival. All of these tensions are captured beautifully in these intertwined short stories.

My only complaint is that I did find it hard to follow who was who at times, but that’s an issue I have with all books that use this structure. I get so immersed in some stories and then lose the thread of others.

Otherwise, I highly recommend this to anyone who has been to Bangkok or wants a taste of the reality of Thai life. An insightful gem.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of intertwined short stories about Thailand is a brutal and unflinching examination of the country's poverty, power structures, sex work, white sex tourism, education system, and the utter disaster that is its social safety net. Here, you'll meet child athletes, workers, and sex workers; unwanted children and orphans; women forced to give up their own lives in order to support their parents; and an unrelenting environmental background of death and harm: mining, dilapidated shantytowns, barren fields and farms. Written with clarity and verve, this is ideal for book clubs and discussion groups.

[Steph Elias · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought Welcome Me to the Kingdom was fantastic. I found the stories totally engrossing and enjoyed the jump to the different time periods. The characters really grabbed me and were very well written. Nam and Lara and Benz and his crew were all such strong individual characters. The stories were heartbreaking at times, especially TinTin, The Bangkok setting was eye-opening and occasionally brutal. I really got sucked into this author's writing style, it really flows nicely. This is a great book and I look forward to reading more by this author.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of loosely related stories. The setting is Thailand and covers an extended period of time, the late 20th century until modernish. There are three core groups of people, but there is some overlap. I thought each story and each group of characters were very interesting. We basically start with their back stories and run up to the present. The characters all have different challenges, like poverty, missing parents, etc. I would read more by this author.

I received an ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and sad as all get out

Evocative and very depressing. The stories touch on many elements, and all the characters have a back story that's interesting.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning book. This goes into the list of my all time favorites.