Thailand: The Passenger

(Paperback)

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Description

"These books are so rich and engrossing that it is rewarding to read them even when one is stuck at home."-The TLS

The Passenger makes its first stop in Southeast Asia. A journey to one of the world's major tourist destinations.

In this volume: Pitchaya Sudbanthad: Buddhism, the State, and Superpowers Emma Larkin: The Country of Spirits Claudio Sopranzetti: Monarchy Under Attack and, soft power and the working class, the heart of rural Thailand and the separatism of the southern peninsula, the success of Boy Love, the palm oil scandal, and much more...

Recent Thai history is a thrills-and-spills tale filled with street clashes, palace coups, intrigues, attempted revolution, restoration and democratic elections. It is an impossible democracy where the working classes, progressives, and young urban professionals push for reforms and clash with the conservative nobility and business elite. Thailand is perceived as permissive and tolerant, but it hides a prudish core. And yet, one of its main cultural exports is Boy Love stories, romantic tales featuring male protagonists. These stories are the flagship of a cultural revolution and has brought investment in the entertainment industry and Thai soft power to new levels. Behind this sparkling Thailand-exemplified by its capital Bangkok, the most visited city in the world in 2023-are vast regions like Isaan in the Northeast (a third of the area and population) that remain far from the familiar tourist routes. With their ethnic and linguistic diversity and rural character, regions such as these embody the kaleidoscopic soul of a country often overwhelmed by waves of assimilation and centralization. Despite efforts to impose a single culture, ethnicity, and religion, Thailand's true strength seems to be syncretism, religious and otherwise, as demonstrated by the millions of Chinese immigrants who over the past century have increasingly mingled with the local populations to the point of becoming indistinguishable.

Reviews

Praise for The Passenger

"These books are so rich and engrossing that it is rewarding to read them even when one is stuck at home."--The Times Literary Supplement

"The Passenger readers will find none of the typical travel guide sections on where to eat or what sights to see. Consider the books, rather, more like a literary vacation--the kind you can take without braving a long flight in the time of Covid-19."--Publishers Weekly

"A wonderful publication and a beautiful object. The Passenger is a pleasure to read, to hold, and to look at."--La Repubblica

"A must-read. Much more than a travel guide, The Passenger is indispensable for any reader who is curious about the world."--Il Venerd

"Fresh and diverting, informative and topical without being slight or ephemeral [ . . . ] This supremely well-edited combination of current affairs, journalism, commentary, and fun facts is perfect for our pause-button moment."--Australian Financial Review, Best Books of the Year

"When you hold it your hands, The Passenger takes you back to another time, one when travel literature had a scent, and texture."--El Pas

"[The Passenger] has a strong focus on storytelling, with pages given over to a mix of essays, playlists and sideways glances at subcultures and thorny urban issues."--MONOCLE

"Half-magazine, half-book... think of [The Passenger] as an erudite and literary travel equivalent to National Geographic, with stunning photography and illustration and fascinating writing about place."--Independent.ie (Best series of the year, 2021)