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The Buddhas of Borneo
“The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advise against all but essential travel to the coastal area of Sabah…”
That’s the exact area of Borneo to which I was travelling. It couldn’t be that bad. I’d have a tour guide and a driver with me. It’s just jungles and monkeys anyway, isn’t it?
Little did I know then that it wasn’t terrorists that I should have been warned about, but the entire unravelling of my senses.
The Buddhas of Borneo takes the reader on a five day journey across North Eastern Borneo, from Prisoner of War camps to Buddhist temples, batcaves and jungle retreats . But nothing is as it seems - particularly on Turtle Island…
That’s the exact area of Borneo to which I was travelling. It couldn’t be that bad. I’d have a tour guide and a driver with me. It’s just jungles and monkeys anyway, isn’t it?
Little did I know then that it wasn’t terrorists that I should have been warned about, but the entire unravelling of my senses.
The Buddhas of Borneo takes the reader on a five day journey across North Eastern Borneo, from Prisoner of War camps to Buddhist temples, batcaves and jungle retreats . But nothing is as it seems - particularly on Turtle Island…
- GenresFantasy
100 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 16, 2013
4 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Stuart Ayris
17 books133 followersI was born in the Summer of 1969 in Dagenham, just on the border of East London. School was largely unproductive so his early adult years were spent putting up stalls at Romford Market, working in a record shop, gardening and road sweeping.
After resigning from an insurance company to play in a band, I found myself unemployed for two years in the early nineties. In 1997, I qualified as a psychiatric nurse.
I am the author of the following novels:
Tollesbury Time Forever (2012)
The Bird That Nobody Sees (2012)
I Woke Up This Morning (2013)
The Buddhas of Borneo (2013)
The Magical Tragical Life of Edward Jarvis Huggins (2014)
Elysian Wonderland (2015)
Merzougaville, Baby (2015)
Albion Calling (2016)
Bolivian Rhapsody (2018)
This Awful Small Mercy of Miss Miriam Mallone (2022)
The Truth About Trees (Exp 2024/5)
Catalonia Tryptico Blues (Work in progress)
In terms of writing, my heroes are Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck, James Joyce Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits.
Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss anything about my novels or if I can be of any help at all!
After resigning from an insurance company to play in a band, I found myself unemployed for two years in the early nineties. In 1997, I qualified as a psychiatric nurse.
I am the author of the following novels:
Tollesbury Time Forever (2012)
The Bird That Nobody Sees (2012)
I Woke Up This Morning (2013)
The Buddhas of Borneo (2013)
The Magical Tragical Life of Edward Jarvis Huggins (2014)
Elysian Wonderland (2015)
Merzougaville, Baby (2015)
Albion Calling (2016)
Bolivian Rhapsody (2018)
This Awful Small Mercy of Miss Miriam Mallone (2022)
The Truth About Trees (Exp 2024/5)
Catalonia Tryptico Blues (Work in progress)
In terms of writing, my heroes are Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck, James Joyce Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits.
Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss anything about my novels or if I can be of any help at all!
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 17, 2013
Buddhas of Borneo is a lovely and captivating read that fans of the author's Tollesbury books will really enjoy. I don't know how he does it, but Stuart's books have a magical feel to them. He breaks all the rules and doesn't care. If he wants to slip in a poem, he does it, if he wants to morph two words together for poetic effect then he does and it WORKS.
Buddhas of Borneo is rich in poetic imagery, thoughts and feelings. This book is based on the author's experiences whilst travelling in the country but he allows his imagination to roam free on one or two flights of fancy. He conveys the depth of his feelings very well when he's at the war memorial. He shows his sense of wonder at some of the wildlife. His driver and tour guide are brought life with humour and heart.
This was an uplifting read that brought a smile to my lips, I expected nothing less from Stuart Ayris.
Buddhas of Borneo is rich in poetic imagery, thoughts and feelings. This book is based on the author's experiences whilst travelling in the country but he allows his imagination to roam free on one or two flights of fancy. He conveys the depth of his feelings very well when he's at the war memorial. He shows his sense of wonder at some of the wildlife. His driver and tour guide are brought life with humour and heart.
This was an uplifting read that brought a smile to my lips, I expected nothing less from Stuart Ayris.
June 3, 2015
Magical! This is unlike anything I've ever read before both in style and content and I'm hard pushed to find words to do it justice.
The author's two native guides take him on a journey into Borneo, but it becomes so much more than this, it's a journey into his very soul.He reaches a place where he feels at one with nature and the whole of creation and is able to lose himself in "star love".
His use of language is both beautiful and original, often inventing words and using them for impression rather than actual meaning, in a way that brings the senses alive."His words meld into the nocturne of whisperings and hoot maloot singsong shrills that comprise this Borneo night"
More than just a travelogue this is a feast for the senses and a spiritual experience.
The author's two native guides take him on a journey into Borneo, but it becomes so much more than this, it's a journey into his very soul.He reaches a place where he feels at one with nature and the whole of creation and is able to lose himself in "star love".
His use of language is both beautiful and original, often inventing words and using them for impression rather than actual meaning, in a way that brings the senses alive."His words meld into the nocturne of whisperings and hoot maloot singsong shrills that comprise this Borneo night"
More than just a travelogue this is a feast for the senses and a spiritual experience.
October 28, 2015
I loved the FRUGALITY trilogy and didn't think for one minute that The Buddhas of Borneo would trump that, but guess what? It does.
This novella is pure beat. Ayris is up there with Kerouac and Ginsberg in my opinion, but it is how literary fiction is meant to be, not that pretentious let's see how many clever long words we can use / how many metaphors we can cram in.
The description of everything is second to none (the bats in the sky, wow, oh wow, oh wow - I was there too). Amazing work from an amazing author who is also one of the most beautiful people on the planet.
Read it. Now! You won't regret it.
This novella is pure beat. Ayris is up there with Kerouac and Ginsberg in my opinion, but it is how literary fiction is meant to be, not that pretentious let's see how many clever long words we can use / how many metaphors we can cram in.
The description of everything is second to none (the bats in the sky, wow, oh wow, oh wow - I was there too). Amazing work from an amazing author who is also one of the most beautiful people on the planet.
Read it. Now! You won't regret it.
October 18, 2013
This charming, magical, chaotic travelogue of a novella takes us with the author on his five day visit to Borneo. With a Stuart Ayris book, you are aware that you are reading his unique description of the place and events alongside the amazing things happening on the inside of his head. There are descriptions of places many of us will never see, alongside a conversation with a monitor lizard and a card game with the pygmy elephant from a picture on the wall. He describes the cave inhabited by clouds of bats, and from which the nests for the famous bird's nest soup are collected. He takes us to an old prisoner of war camp and he shows us the island where the female turtles come ashore to lay their eggs.
His writing is lyrical and creative, artfully constructed and layered in meaning. I love it when a writer can link together commonly used words and make me see something in a different way. This book can be read in a couple of evenings but the beguiling voice of the man who has not lost the child's eye view is going to remain with you.
His writing is lyrical and creative, artfully constructed and layered in meaning. I love it when a writer can link together commonly used words and make me see something in a different way. This book can be read in a couple of evenings but the beguiling voice of the man who has not lost the child's eye view is going to remain with you.
February 10, 2014
Five Stars, if not more.
This novella is a beautiful and eloquent response to a trip to Borneo. Sounds simple enough, but it is anything but.
As I have come to expect from Stuart Ayris, the use and structure of language is unique and unconventional, yet perfectly creates rich images in the mind. While both the turtles and the prisoner of war camp elements brought a lump to the throat, it is the language that wins out, blending blunt realism with flights of fancy.
The rhythms reminded me of Dylan Thomas at times, and I often feel compelled to read the words aloud.
I loved this first time around and have a feeling it will be re-read many more times in the future. Unpretentious, high class literature.
This novella is a beautiful and eloquent response to a trip to Borneo. Sounds simple enough, but it is anything but.
As I have come to expect from Stuart Ayris, the use and structure of language is unique and unconventional, yet perfectly creates rich images in the mind. While both the turtles and the prisoner of war camp elements brought a lump to the throat, it is the language that wins out, blending blunt realism with flights of fancy.
The rhythms reminded me of Dylan Thomas at times, and I often feel compelled to read the words aloud.
I loved this first time around and have a feeling it will be re-read many more times in the future. Unpretentious, high class literature.
March 3, 2014
I was expecting a story of traveling and hard observation of Borneo, and I thought I would be disappointed or bored with this but it ended up being a wild ride through the human imagination. Poetic and unique, the writing paints a picture as vivid as one can imagine. I didn't see any illustrations in the ebook, but the cover is lovely! I have been wracking my mind for a book to compare this too, but this is an original...nothing, not even my childhood fantasy favorites, is quite like this! Highly recommended for an invigorating read!
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March 30, 2014Another trip into dreamland...
I've never met Stuart, but it seems as if I know him well. Maybe we meet in dreamland and discuss the mysteries of the universe over tea and biscuits, or perhaps the dream is actually our reality. You just never know with the likes of him. I loved everything about this novella, even if parts of it hurt to read. There is so much wonder to the world, if only we opened our eyes and breathed slower... maybe then we could begin to see more clearly. Thank you Stuart for the lesson and the reminder.
I've never met Stuart, but it seems as if I know him well. Maybe we meet in dreamland and discuss the mysteries of the universe over tea and biscuits, or perhaps the dream is actually our reality. You just never know with the likes of him. I loved everything about this novella, even if parts of it hurt to read. There is so much wonder to the world, if only we opened our eyes and breathed slower... maybe then we could begin to see more clearly. Thank you Stuart for the lesson and the reminder.
September 8, 2015
I read this while in Borneo, partly because I like Ayris's writing and partly to 'get me in the mood' for the trip. As the book confirms, Borneo doesn’t need any help. It's a lovely book from a man who still retains that childlike sense of wonder. That probably makes him as rare as some of the species to be found in this part of the world and for similar reasons. Growth isn’t always a good thing.
It's a travelogue of sorts, documenting a trip to the Malaysian side of Borneo in the hands of his guide and driver, the Buddha's of the title, but Buddha's content, as all Buddha's are, to leave the real work of enlightenment to the traveller and the experience.
There's a very moving part about the world war 2 death marches which I read after a 'hard' shift in the humid sunshine. Never have I felt such a winey wimp.
But with Stuart Ayris it's as much about the writing as anything else, the flights of lyricism, gentle humour, bewilderment and joy… and he likes a drink. What's not to like.
It's a travelogue of sorts, documenting a trip to the Malaysian side of Borneo in the hands of his guide and driver, the Buddha's of the title, but Buddha's content, as all Buddha's are, to leave the real work of enlightenment to the traveller and the experience.
There's a very moving part about the world war 2 death marches which I read after a 'hard' shift in the humid sunshine. Never have I felt such a winey wimp.
But with Stuart Ayris it's as much about the writing as anything else, the flights of lyricism, gentle humour, bewilderment and joy… and he likes a drink. What's not to like.
October 15, 2014
This book had me wondering, is this a travel story or a fantasy novella, well for me it was a bit of both and quite entertaining once I stopped trying to figure out what was going on. The Buddhas of Borneo, is about a five day journey across North Eastern Borneo, where we visit prisoner of war camps, Buddhist temples, bat caves, jungle retreats and turtle Island. Each place is described wonderfully but there is also a surreal element which had me rereading certain parts. The characters are well developed and interesting. I may have to try something else by this author.
May 14, 2016
Stuart Ayris, I still love you. I love your style, your voice, you perspective. I love how clearly I see all the characters you write about. I love how beautiful you make the world seem.
October 20, 2014
A very imaginative visit to Borneo - where senses unravel and anything is possible. From deep sadness, to amazement, to love and connection
Especially liked "Just like a Panda"
Especially liked "Just like a Panda"
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews