Siam, or The Woman Who Shot a Man

by Lily Tuck

The Boston-born wife of a government contractor based in Bangkok, Thailand, Claire finds her life turned upside down by the disappearance of Jim Thompson, the famous American entrepreneur she meets a local dinner party, in a story of intrigue, lost innocence, and tragedy set during the early years of the Vietnam War. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Asia, Literary Fiction, Literature, Novels

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Lily Tuck is an American novelist and short story writer whose novel The News from Paraguay won the 2004 National Book Award for Fiction. Her novel Siam was nominated for the 2000 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. She has published four other novels, a collection of short stories, and a biography of Italian novelist Elsa Morante (see "Works" below).
An American citizen born in Paris, Tuck now divides her time between New York City and Maine; she has also lived in Thailand and (during her childhood) Uruguay and Peru. Tuck has stated that "living in other countries has given me a different perspective as a writer. It has heightened my sense of dislocation and rootlessness. ... I think this feeling is reflected in my characters, most of them women whose lives are changed by either a physical displacement or a loss of some kind".

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I no longer enjoy this type of highly praised (NY Times, New Yorker) literary fiction; the kind that instead of a plot with a resolution, explores many “significant” physical and cultural details, but ends with a random surprise. I picked this up because it promised to be a mystery about the disappearance of Jim Thompson, an American silk entrepreneur, but (spoiler alert) his disappearance remains unsolved (just as the real man himself was never found), and in fact, may be a “symbol” of Claire’s growing suspicions of the Thai people. Or her suspicions of her husband’s increasing absences. Or both. As a 3rd person narrator with no interior thoughts, 25 y.o. blonde Claire starts as one of a group of “Ugly American” military wives, just married to slick, insensitive James, a military contractor supervising construction of runways at an airbase for American bombers of Vietnam. Plenty of material there for intrigue. Inspired by the book’s title, and Claire’s seeming evolution into a politically aware woman through her Thai language and history lessons, I was sure she was going to learn something incriminating about her husband and feel betrayed on a political or sexual level, or both, and point the gun at him. No such luck. Instead, Claire turns her well-founded suspicions inward in a sudden attack of paranoia. Her target is as much a surprise to herself as to the reader. I can’t help feeling that the author missed an opportunity for a stronger story by relying too heavily on symbols and subtleties.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

a quick read, like a Graham Greene tale from the woman's point of view

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book fits into a category of books I think of as "Americans behaving badly in exotic locales." Young Claire accompanies her mansplaining husband James to Thailand at the beginning of the Vietnam War in March of 1967. She becomes obsessed with the famous American silk magnate, Jim Thompson, who she meets at one of his dinner parties. Shortly after the dinner party, Thompson disappears in Malaysia's Cameron Highlands without a trace. This incident is true. Despite this brief interaction with him, Claire seems to make their encounter more than it was; she becomes fixated on him and is consumed by the mystery of his disappearance. She even dreams of herself in a love affair with him.

Meanwhile, her marriage seems like a typical marriage from the 1960s, one in which the husband demeans and ignores her; she doesn't seem to be outwardly bothered by the arrangement but it is obvious that the loneliness and disconnection she feels is chipping away at her emotional well-being. Claire suspects James may be involved in an affair with his friend Siri's wife, Priya. Claire seems oddly removed from her whole marriage, and I can't say I blame her.

She spends her idle time trying to learn the Thai language and reading about the history of Thailand while James goes off for days at a time to oversee building projects in Nakhon Phanom. Despite her curiosity about Thai culture, she is suspicious of her household help and looks down on them from her elevated American perch.

What unfolds is not surprising. I have lived abroad for extended periods in different countries (South Korea, China, Japan and Oman) and have seen the disdain that expats often feel toward people in their host countries. This reminds me of books such as The Forgiven by Lawrence Osborne and Tangerine by Christine Mangan, both set in Morocco and both involving Americans behaving horribly in foreign countries and nearly or absolutely getting away with whatever havoc they wreak.

The book also reminds me, in some degree, of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (even though it doesn't take place in a foreign locale), in depicting the rich and their careless ways as they breeze through the world, leaving destruction in their wake.

I would rate this a 4.0 but I thought a couple of things distracted from the book: first, the long quotes from newspaper articles and history books. I think a shortened summary of these excerpts wouldn't have been so disruptive. Second, as Claire is learning the Thai language, she uses a lot of words from the language - too many in my opinion. These were usually in italics. In addition, the Thai people's mispronounced English were in italics. So it took some effort to figure out if the italics were actual Thai words or mispronounced English! This was very confusing and distracting. Because of this, I think the book is a 3.5, reflected in my 3 star rating.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brought back so many memories of Bangkok for me. Jim Thompson's house, his silk shop. It is a very honest book and is not always very PC. It is interesting that the main character sees herself as not one of the bridge-playing ladies who are also spouses of US military guys in the 1960s, but she is everything she hates. Her interest in two topics, Jim Thompson and the King of Siam, lead her into a thought pattern that everyone in the country is lying to her and cannot be trusted. She never gets the place where she lives, and no one else gets her.

[David]

In my opinion, this was a terrible book. I only kept reading it because it reminded me of my time in Thailand and I thought something intriguing was going to happen in the end... but it never did. I felt like maybe there was something I was missing in the writing because other people seemed to like it, but I did not.

[Allyson Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This small book says a lot about relationships between men and women in the early 60’s, about the hidden activities of the Viet Nam War, and about the cultural gap between Vietnamese and the former colonialists who allied with them. It is told from the point of view of a new bride taken with her “military consultant” husband to Bangkok.
Lily Tuck was a finalist in 2000 for the Pen/Faulkner award – the blazon on the cover was one reason I picked it off the book cart. Next time I see something by Lily Tuck on the cart, I’ll grab it.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A newlywed follows her husband to Thailand at the beginning of the Vietnam war. An unusual book, with no inner thoughts provided, so you got a sense of the people through brief conversations but mostly through their actions. Needless to say, the experience was a difficult one for the wife as she struggled to understand the two new cultures-Thailand and marriage.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fascinated by this Vietnam era novel set in Thailand. The setting, the dialogue, the character interplay was fascinating from a cultural historic view. I would have liked the story to continue much longer than it did.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great scenes of historical Thailand. The ending left questions, though.

[N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My latest stationary bike read, the story of a newlywed couple in Thailand in the 60s. James is in the military. His new wife entertains herself by learning Thai history, taking lessons in the language, and obsessing over the disappearance of a wealthy silk merchant.

I found Claire annoying, James wrapped up in himself, and the servants inscrutable. At times, I really enjoyed the book for its descriptions of the heat, the vibrant colors of the plant life, and the atmosphere in general. But, I grew tired of the characters and decided to finish the book. I was very disappointed with the ending.

TW: There is a very disturbing rape scene.

[Perky Texan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was well-written, and I can see why it won awards - truly literary fiction. I just didn't enjoy it. Although I'm not sure that the author meant it for enjoyment. It would be interesting to discuss the symbolism and style with a book club, but I didn't like it for pleasure reading. It's good work and a quick read, just not my style or taste, although I did come away with a better understanding of that time period in US and Thai history.

[Jennifer]

Written after I read this novel in 2006. As I posted this, I had to go back to my old blog to figure out what accident I was referring to. It was a car accident...I remember it well.

In my day of post accident recovery, I decided to read a book. Some good old fiction. And one short enough to get through in a day. Siam was a great choice! It is an interesting snapshot of 1967 Thailand. I also felt the wanderlust itch creep back...

[Ann Ahrens Beck · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must confess that this book confused me. It created way more loose ends than it tied up. I liked the descriptions of Bangkok and Thailand in general, but that was about all I liked. For a book that revolves around the disappearance of Jim Thompson, that question is never answered. I also expected something totally different from reading the book's description. There weren't many people in book club who enjoyed this book. I didn't love nor hate it. Just so so.

[Suzanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Confusing…felt more like boring diary entries than a novel. Characters were abhorrent and snobby. Story had no real conclusion? Also probably heavily impacted by the fact that this may not have been originally written in English - I felt like a lot of it didn’t really make sense. Maybe I’m just not intellectual enough to understand it seeing as all the reviews were raving about how this was a masterpiece…

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to learn a bit about Thailand in the 60s and get a kind of creepy, claustrophobic feeling of being an expat in Bangkok, this book is for you. I didn’t really like the narrator but I found her believable. The author packs in tons of historical and cultural information about Thailand from the viewpoint of a young American who doesn’t seem to want to be there.

[Dominick Bartkewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was impressed by her"the woman who walks on water" but this novel is a bit of a mess.The narrative doesn't flow smoothly due to her consistent descriptions of thai life and the thai language.It's a frustrating read and i believe that tuck rushed through this and didn't bother to rewrite and make it readable.

[Thirikwa Nyingi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that failed to rise to the occasion. I expected an earth shattering revelation but none came and I was a little disappointed. There was a time I thought the heroine was losing it due to all the chaos and the heat in this South East Asian country or how else did she become so obsessed with the disappearance of a man she only briefly met? It is a two and a half stars for me.

[Anna Engel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I got 50 pages into it and just didn't care.

[Susan Kavanagh · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a 3.5.

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's an odd story, but interesting to read as someone who lived in Bangkok.

[Secret List of Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!

[JD Morales · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is like an immersion to the Thai culture. But it lacks in mystery and it is short boring read. I do not know why it is tagged as one of NY Times Notable book.

Stick to John Grisham books.

[Alasdair Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can appreciate the slow and thoughtful writing.

[Kim Fay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. But as I read it, I wondered how I would have felt about it if I hadn't lived in Asia for a long period of time. "Siam" takes place in Thailand; I lived in Vietnam. I am not lumping these 2 countries together, but rather am consolidating the experience of living as an expatriate in a certain part of the world. Tuck captures this experience with Joan Didion's concise precision - a precision so sharp that it caused me to cringe at time. It's nearly impossible to summarize this story. Claire comes to Bangkok with her husband in 1967; her husband is a government contractor whose employment is fed by the Vietnam War. Right after Claire arrives, Jim Thompson disappears. Thompson is legendary in SE Asia, an silk tycoon who vanished one day without a trace. Tuck does not imply a connection between Clair and Thompson's disappearance; instead, she uses this disappearance to explore Claire's fragile state of mind. As with Didion's "Democracy" and "A Book of Common Prayer," I know that I will re-read "Siam" numerous times in the coming years.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The protagonist, Claire, is the American in a foreign country that we would want most to be like and most to be different from. She is a paradox. While she works to learn more about Thailand - learning its language and history - she falls into the trap of the memshahib - disdaining the awkward English accents of the Thais - the cautious ways of her servants. The backdrop that Claire is is so woefully ignorant about is the bombing of North Vietnam. As she comes close to understanding the horror around her, she falls into a paranoia that supports her ideas of superiority and her inklings of all that is wrong about the US in Southeast Asia. In her first days she meets Jim Thompson, an American who has made a fortune in the silk trade. Her obsession about his disappearance is a search for truth but not the truth of a typical mystery. I liked this slim book. It holds a mirror up to all of us who were not in the streets protesting the war in Vietnam.

[Alaine Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This small novel is set in Bankok/1967. A very young bride comes to meet and live with her husband, and though very naive and young, she makes an attempt to learn the language and understand and live in the very different place that Bangkok is. She begins to unravel mentally(?due to the culture shock), becomes obsessed with Jim Thompson's dissapearence, the truth about the Thai king and his brother, and without saying more, this expat assignment does not go well. Having had a Thai housekeeper, I enjoyed this book very much. The communication attempts can be quite humorous.

[Roseann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, after three days, this short little book kept me reading but felt a little clipped in the end...About Siam in 1967, the day US began bombing N. Vietnam & the disappearance of and obsession with Jim Thompson, the Thai Silk Co. founder and millionaire. The main female character annoyed me, and I wished that there was more about her and her husband so i could make up mind about them. Probably never read this one again!

[Barbara Hall Forrest · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was read during my recent travels in Thailand -- greatly adding to the experience. The story of a young and just married couple who arrive in Bangkok in 1967. James, the husband, works for the U.S. in "behind the scenes" work for the ongoing Vietnam War and cares little for the country or culture surrounding him. Claire, the wife, quietly begins to embrace her surroundings and its people. Very evocative in describing the lushness of Thailand and with a suspenseful subplot as well.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were many things I enjoyed about this book--the author's writing style, the exotic setting and the history of Thailand you pick up along the way. As the main character attempts to deepen her understanding of the history, language and people of Thailand, she begins to feel less trusting and the mood is suspenseful. I felt the ending was too abrupt.

[N Laffey · Rating 3 out of 5]

All I can say is thank God this is not my life. If you want to read about a smart, curious woman spiral downwards due to a tight, smothering life, this is your book. Does not make you want to go to Thailand (granted it's set about 40 years ago). The setting description really sticks.