Forgetting Places

by S.P. Somtow

Stated First Printing. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket.

Genres: Fiction

216 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Called by the Bangkok Post "the Thai person known by name to most people in the world," S.P. Somtow is an author, composer, filmmaker, and international media personality whose dazzling talents and acerbic wit have entertained and enlightened fans the world over.

He was Somtow Papinian Sucharitkul in Bangkok. His grandfather's sister was a Queen of Siam, his father is a well known international lawyer and vice-president of the International Academy of Human Rights. Somtow was educated at Eton and Cambridge, and his first career was in music. In the 1970s (while he was still in college) his works were being performed on four continents and he was named representative of Thailand to the Asian Composer's League and to the International Music Commission of UNESCO. His avant-garde compositions caused controversy and scandal in his native country, and a severe case of musical burnout in the late 1970s precipitated his entry into a second career - that of author.

He began writing science fiction, but soon started to invade other fields of writing, with some 40 books out now, including the clasic horror novel Vampire Junction, which defined the "rock and roll vampire" concept for the 80s, the Riverrun Trilogy ("the finest new series of the 90's" - Locus) and the semi-autobiographical memoir Jasmine Nights. He has won or been nominated for dozens of major awards including the Bram Stoker Award, the John W. Campbell Award, the Hugo Award, and the World Fantasy Award.

Somtow has also made some incursions into filmmaking, directing the cult classic The Laughing Dead and the award winning art film Ill Met by Moonlight.

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the book, I'm still not sure if there were any "real" elements of fantasy...which is part of the point of the story, as I understood it.
The story is about teen suicide, among other things. The death of a boy throws his whole family for a loss, especially his younger brother, who watches his parents squabble about trivia instead of dealing with death and loss. So, the younger brother begins the strangest personal quest I've read in years. Most of the story is well-written and interesting. What kept me from giving it a higher rating were two odd flaws: the "romance" story line, which didn't ring true, and the one element of possible fantasy, a story about a group of psychics, which just got dropped without resolution.
So, good but not great.

[LookPla · Rating 3 out of 5]

ตอนแรกเลยที่ซื้อมาเข้าใจว่าคนเขียนเขียนถึง แมทธิว
แต่มาเข้าใจว่าไม่ใช่หลังจากเริ่มอ่าน
อ่านไปสักพักบางช่วงมึนงงนิดหน่อยกับเรื่อง forgetting places
ไม่รู้ว่าจะมีความหมายอะไรเป็นพิเศษ หรือเป็นปรัชญาอะไรหรือเปล่า
เนื้อเรื่องเดินไปเรื่องๆ มีสิ่งที่ต้องค้นหาคือเรื่อง
เบน พี่ชายที่ฆ่าตัวตายไป ว่าอะไรคือสาเหตุที่ทำให้เบนคิดสั้น
และไหงเบนถึงเหมือนเป็นผีที่มาคอยติดต่อสื่อสารกับ เจเจ ได้
เบนรู้อนาคตล่วงหน้าจริงๆ และมาสร้างสื่อไว้ล่วงหน้า
หรือเป็นผีมาคอยสื่อสารกับน้องจริงๆ
แต่เรื่องเดินไปเรื่อยๆ ยังไม่ได้ชวนตื่นเต้นอะไรนัก
มาชอบเอาตอนจบบทสรุปของเรื่อง มันให้ข้อคิดอะไรได้ดีเหมือนกัน
ชวนให้คิดถึงเหตุผลที่ควรมีชีวิตอยู่ และเหตุผลที่ไม่ึควรคิดทำร้ายตัวเอง

[Kd nanana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I read this book many years ago (perhaps ten) while I was in my summer class in the university. What I remember is that this book is addicting and a page-turner. The story is quite a coming of age which answered to my taste back then; It's full of mystery, adventure, video games and rock and roll:-)
I recommend this for those who like to read a good coming-of-age book with mystery, and of course, the music.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Struggling to deal with his brothers death, a boy takes a strange trip across the country. Forgetting Places is an excellent novel that deals with the pain of growing beyond the loss of a loved one. Somtow is a master storyteller who never talks down to the reader, which happens far to often with books for young people.