Curtain of Rain

by Tew Bunnag

Two lives, fatefully interlinked; two sets of memories, in danger of being lost.

Clare Stone's past has suddenly caught up with her. When a long-suppressed memory comes vividly alive, she finds herself being pulled back to the place of its Bangkok. There she meets Tarrin Wandee, the writer whose book unsettled her. But have they met before, all those years ago, when she was young, idealistic and dangerously naïve?

And so their stories unfold in a steady rhythm between the past and the present, fiction and reality, in relief against the pulsating backdrop of Bangkok itself.

All our lives are linked; it's just a question of how. Moody and atmospheric, Curtain of Rain is a story of politics, power and greed, and the search for meaning, and redemption.

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2014

Reviews

[Freca - Narrazioni da Divano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sono tornata in Tailandia, non cullata dalla pioggia che picchietta sui muri di casa ma rischiando di rimanere annegata nell'ennesimo evento metereologico estremo, come ci piace chiamarli ora per tenerli lontani, relegati nell'aspetto scientifico e chiudendo gli occhi a quello umano, troppo impattante come può essere tsunami e nubifragio. Perché questo libro è così, raccoglie i cocci di chi c'era e di chi è lontano, spezzati e lavati da una pioggia che non è solo fonte di vita. Una Tailandia fangosa, vera e viva, lontana dai grandi resort e dal bel vestito che mette per il turista, ma non per questo brutta

[Claudio Agostini · Rating 5 out of 5]

La vita di una serie di personaggi si interseca attraverso varie generazioni per raccontare il passato e il presente della Thailandia e di Bangkok in particolare.

[Allan Beesey]

It was a complex read for me, as only well into the book did the disjointed stories come together. In the end it was a good read with different aspects of class, love, estrangement and loss. Rain nicely brings the stories together, a theme in absence of other themes, that crosses cultures but creates the atmosphere of the tropics, as well as the greyness of life. Cross cultural themes are there, of course, unexpected relationships and two worlds apart colliding in intriguing and meaningful ways.

[Lucy Srisuphapreeda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Curtain of Rain is just the book to brighten up a rainy day. Anyone who was in Thailand during the 2011 floods will find the author's rich descriptions of the deluge that engulfed Bangkok and the surrounding provinces bringing their memories vividly back to life, and reminding them of the Thai people's kindness and generosity. Through the stories of Clare Stone, an editor for a British publishing house, and Tarrin Wandee, a Thai writer whose work triggers a repressed memory from her past, this evocative and thought-provoking novel demonstrates how all our lives are intertwined.

[Margo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poignant story weaving through disparate lives of characters in contemporary Thailand. Beautiful written and realistically portraying their realities in this short but compelling novel.

[Narisa Chakrabongse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book and so decided to publish it! It is very moving and a great portrayal of contemporary Thailand. Although it may feel a bit gloomy initially, the ending is uplifting. It repays reading a second time.

[FE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful journey in recent and old Bangkok through a maze of interlaced and moving characters. One can only appreciate the construction and language, not to mention the author's subtle portrayals on different layers of the Thai society. The kind of book you get drawn to read again...