▪︎ Genre : historical, time-travel, rom-com, FL chases ML first, strong leads, political intrigue.
image credits to respective owners
▪︎ translation : as of the time of writing this review, unavailable.
Thawiphop (Tawee Pope) by Thommayanti follows the journey of a young woman, Manee who has had dreams of a certain man for as long as she could possibly remember. One day, she buys a mirror from an old, antique shop which changes her whole life, taking her back in time to the past during the reign of King Rama V, where she finally has the chance to meet the man of her dreams while working against time to save Siam (Thailand) against conspiring, colonial powers.
Manee is such an empowering character who's willing to go to any extent to help her country or her loved ones. She's a tigress, or a monkey, depending on whom you ask ;), who only melts in the presence of her Khun Luang. All the secondary characters of Tawee Pope are such adorable little darlings. There are other possible love interests for our leads but the possibility isn't delved into since all eventually conclude that these two have eyes only for each other.
Of course the novel is superior to the television adaptations, but if I had to choose, Channel 7's 2011 version without any doubt.
This is an incredibly beautiful book. Although it's a time-travel novel, it surpasses the drama in brilliance. That said, the 1994 (BE 2537) TV adaptation starring Annsirum introduced many intriguing plot possibilities, making it a refreshing take. Personally, I find both versions to be nearly perfect. Of course, I can’t deny that the novel's ending feels a bit less satisfying. If it were real life and I were Maneechan, I would probably choose to stay in the modern era. However, that was her choice. Overall, I truly enjoyed this work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.