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PLUSIEURS VIES
Analyse : Roman de société. Roman philosophique.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1954
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October 29, 2020
The Introduction to this work notes that its genesis came from the following incident:
The work is therefore a collection of short stories linked by this common theme: each story recounts the life of a person on the ferry who drowned and seeks to give meaning to what would otherwise be a senseless tragedy. There are 11 individuals whose life stories are recounted here and their names and roles provide the title to each short story:
Loi - the Bandit
Sem - the Monk
Phanni - the Prostitute
Lek - the Prince
Phon - the Actor
Lamom - the Daughter
Nori - the Writer
Linchong - the Mother
Chan - the Soldier
Thongproi - the Rich Girl
Saeng - the Doctor
I am not Buddhist nor learned in Buddhist theology so I cannot judge the extent to which the work is theologically correct. I will just say that I find the whole concept of karma as set out here to be troubling and leave it at that. What makes the work less simplistically dogmatic, thankfully, is that death is not, in every case, a punishment for a wicked life. In some cases, death comes as a release or a blessing.
I can, however, consider the work apart from its religious angle: how well it works as a collection of short stories. In that, each tale was akin to "The Monk's Tale", "The Actor's Tale" and so on.* And from that relatively shallow angle, I found the stories interesting. As stories go, they are, plot -wise, well told and Mr Pramoj depicts his characters with enough incident to give their lives a measure of interest to me.
Their lives do not, however, have a great deal of depth. Each character has a single character trait that defines them and their lives. It will not be giving too much away to say that the Bandit is evil and the Monk is saintly. What rescues the stories from pure caricature is that, aside from the Bandit and the Monk, the other characters are not wholly stereotypes derived from the professions: the Soldier is not about bellicosity and the Prince is not about nobility.
The stories are, however, thin in that there is a single character trait linked to an almost inexorable narrative that expounds on that trait to give a somewhat simple answer as to the meaning of their death. There is no texture or ambiguity here, no nuanced interiority that reflects the complexity of what people actually are like in real life: multiple, conflicted and contradictory.
The Bandit is no Macbeth, a loving, weak but greedy man pushed by his wife to do cruel deeds who finds his life empty as a result of his path; the Prostitute is no Lady Macbeth, an ambitious woman nevertheless tormented by her actions. The Prostitute is simply a woman abandoned when a child who had a hard life being used by others and, hardened by life, in turn learns to use men for her own ends. Full stop.
And that brings me back to why I find the concept of karma set out here to be so troubling. In real life, no one is ever just one thing, no one's life is ever just one single thread. It reeks of moral justification to reduce people in this way. If there is a reason to read stories for reasons other than just pure entertainment, I would like to think that it is to understand the complexities of being human better. In that, Many Lives was not a huge success for me.
(*) According to the Translator's Note, it seems in the original Thai, the chapter titles were just the names of the titular characters and did not include their roles/professions. However, the names in Thai are also sufficiently descriptive of these roles that one could divine the character's role from their name and so to capture that the translator appended their roles to their names for readers not familiar with the Thai language.
Some time after the Second World War, during a trip to the seaside resort of Bangsaen, Kukrit and a group of journalistic friends had witnessed the aftermath of a ghastly accident. A bus had fallen over the side of a bridge. Bodies were strewn by the roadside, along with the wreckage of the bus... One of [the party] was moved to reflect on what these people might have done in their lives to have brought them to this common end.This work is an attempt to imagine an answer to that question, with the accident transposed from that of a bus to a ferry.
The work is therefore a collection of short stories linked by this common theme: each story recounts the life of a person on the ferry who drowned and seeks to give meaning to what would otherwise be a senseless tragedy. There are 11 individuals whose life stories are recounted here and their names and roles provide the title to each short story:
Loi - the Bandit
Sem - the Monk
Phanni - the Prostitute
Lek - the Prince
Phon - the Actor
Lamom - the Daughter
Nori - the Writer
Linchong - the Mother
Chan - the Soldier
Thongproi - the Rich Girl
Saeng - the Doctor
I am not Buddhist nor learned in Buddhist theology so I cannot judge the extent to which the work is theologically correct. I will just say that I find the whole concept of karma as set out here to be troubling and leave it at that. What makes the work less simplistically dogmatic, thankfully, is that death is not, in every case, a punishment for a wicked life. In some cases, death comes as a release or a blessing.
I can, however, consider the work apart from its religious angle: how well it works as a collection of short stories. In that, each tale was akin to "The Monk's Tale", "The Actor's Tale" and so on.* And from that relatively shallow angle, I found the stories interesting. As stories go, they are, plot -wise, well told and Mr Pramoj depicts his characters with enough incident to give their lives a measure of interest to me.
Their lives do not, however, have a great deal of depth. Each character has a single character trait that defines them and their lives. It will not be giving too much away to say that the Bandit is evil and the Monk is saintly. What rescues the stories from pure caricature is that, aside from the Bandit and the Monk, the other characters are not wholly stereotypes derived from the professions: the Soldier is not about bellicosity and the Prince is not about nobility.
The stories are, however, thin in that there is a single character trait linked to an almost inexorable narrative that expounds on that trait to give a somewhat simple answer as to the meaning of their death. There is no texture or ambiguity here, no nuanced interiority that reflects the complexity of what people actually are like in real life: multiple, conflicted and contradictory.
The Bandit is no Macbeth, a loving, weak but greedy man pushed by his wife to do cruel deeds who finds his life empty as a result of his path; the Prostitute is no Lady Macbeth, an ambitious woman nevertheless tormented by her actions. The Prostitute is simply a woman abandoned when a child who had a hard life being used by others and, hardened by life, in turn learns to use men for her own ends. Full stop.
And that brings me back to why I find the concept of karma set out here to be so troubling. In real life, no one is ever just one thing, no one's life is ever just one single thread. It reeks of moral justification to reduce people in this way. If there is a reason to read stories for reasons other than just pure entertainment, I would like to think that it is to understand the complexities of being human better. In that, Many Lives was not a huge success for me.
(*) According to the Translator's Note, it seems in the original Thai, the chapter titles were just the names of the titular characters and did not include their roles/professions. However, the names in Thai are also sufficiently descriptive of these roles that one could divine the character's role from their name and so to capture that the translator appended their roles to their names for readers not familiar with the Thai language.
December 11, 2015
Many lives by Momrajawong (M.R.) Kukrit Pramoj (1911-1995)
Kukrit Pramoj was a leading political and literary figure in Thailand during the four decades after World War II, authoring the Thai constitution of 1974 and serving as prime minister, among other activities.
M.R. Kukrit, a direct descendant of King Rama II (1809-1824) that is what the name/ title Momrajawong (M.R.) stands for, meaning as much as ‘grandson of the king’. He was as close to achieving status as a "renaissance man" as any figure in contemporary Asia. Socially prominent because of his royal connections, he was also the founder and publisher of Thailand's most influential Thai language newspaper (Siam Rath) and weekly magazine (Siam Rath Sapadaan), the author of more than 30 books, a university professor, radio commentator, economist, capitalist (owner of the Indra Hotel), actor (the prime minister in the film The Ugly American), and narrator on an American educational television film series on Asian civilizations. He was also a professional Thai classical dancer, a photographer, and a horticulturalist.
Among his most well kown novels are ‘Four Reigns’ (Si Phaendin) – 1954 – giving a panoramic view of Thai court life under the reign of Rama V until Rama VIII as seen through the eyes of Mae Ploy.
And this novel ‘Many lives’ (Lai Chiwit) – 1954 – a beautifully told and very interesting read on many different levels.
First of all beautifully – or should I say skillfully? – written, I never thought of finding another Chekhov in Thailand. A literarily achievement but always written with a warm humanitarian heart, judging mildly and showing us the universality of human folly.
Next to that it is an illuminating commentary on Thai society and its values.
And above all it gave me a new philosophical view on life, or perhaps better on death.
‘That night, the rain poured and wind howled, raindrops crashing like solid objects onto the ground and water. A passenger boat from Ban Phaen to Bangkok, packed with people, pressed on through the current amidst the rising clamor of the rain and storm … The boat capsizes in the torrent, and washed up on the shore the next morning are the sodden bodies of the many passengers who lost their lives.
In this novel Kukrit Pramoj retraces the life of each passenger who perished, from birth, revealing a complex web of experiences and emotions. Could their past actions have brought them to this karmic end? The writer asks. Was death a retribution, a fulfillment, a reward, an escape, or merely the end to a long life?
In the different lives the writer shows us that as each life is different, each death is also very different. For me that was a new way of seeing, because so far I always thought that all death is more or less the same, coming gentle and mild or hard and violent, but the same. This novel was my first time of seeing that as each life is different each death is also different. At this moment I cannot by far see the consequence of this discovery. Will probably take the discovery of yet another Chekhov.
Kukrit Pramoj was a leading political and literary figure in Thailand during the four decades after World War II, authoring the Thai constitution of 1974 and serving as prime minister, among other activities.
M.R. Kukrit, a direct descendant of King Rama II (1809-1824) that is what the name/ title Momrajawong (M.R.) stands for, meaning as much as ‘grandson of the king’. He was as close to achieving status as a "renaissance man" as any figure in contemporary Asia. Socially prominent because of his royal connections, he was also the founder and publisher of Thailand's most influential Thai language newspaper (Siam Rath) and weekly magazine (Siam Rath Sapadaan), the author of more than 30 books, a university professor, radio commentator, economist, capitalist (owner of the Indra Hotel), actor (the prime minister in the film The Ugly American), and narrator on an American educational television film series on Asian civilizations. He was also a professional Thai classical dancer, a photographer, and a horticulturalist.
Among his most well kown novels are ‘Four Reigns’ (Si Phaendin) – 1954 – giving a panoramic view of Thai court life under the reign of Rama V until Rama VIII as seen through the eyes of Mae Ploy.
And this novel ‘Many lives’ (Lai Chiwit) – 1954 – a beautifully told and very interesting read on many different levels.
First of all beautifully – or should I say skillfully? – written, I never thought of finding another Chekhov in Thailand. A literarily achievement but always written with a warm humanitarian heart, judging mildly and showing us the universality of human folly.
Next to that it is an illuminating commentary on Thai society and its values.
And above all it gave me a new philosophical view on life, or perhaps better on death.
‘That night, the rain poured and wind howled, raindrops crashing like solid objects onto the ground and water. A passenger boat from Ban Phaen to Bangkok, packed with people, pressed on through the current amidst the rising clamor of the rain and storm … The boat capsizes in the torrent, and washed up on the shore the next morning are the sodden bodies of the many passengers who lost their lives.
In this novel Kukrit Pramoj retraces the life of each passenger who perished, from birth, revealing a complex web of experiences and emotions. Could their past actions have brought them to this karmic end? The writer asks. Was death a retribution, a fulfillment, a reward, an escape, or merely the end to a long life?
In the different lives the writer shows us that as each life is different, each death is also very different. For me that was a new way of seeing, because so far I always thought that all death is more or less the same, coming gentle and mild or hard and violent, but the same. This novel was my first time of seeing that as each life is different each death is also different. At this moment I cannot by far see the consequence of this discovery. Will probably take the discovery of yet another Chekhov.
November 10, 2017
This is the best novel I've read in a long time. In it Kukrit tells of the lives of eleven people, who all died together when their river boat perished in foul weather. The eleven lives are very different in length and character, but almost all are drenched in tragedy. Together they form a deeply moving portrait of the human condition. Kukrit shows a thorough understanding of human character and suffering, and all eleven lives, no exception, make a totally believable and engaging read. There's a strong sense of Karma-inflicted inexcapable fate, but the tales easily transcend their Thai background to become universal examples of troubled human existence. 'Many Lives' is without doubt a book of world class, and should be much wider known than it is now. Highly recommended.
November 26, 2020
ผู้คนหลายชีวิตบังเอิญนั่งเรือลำเดียวกันและเสียชีวิตจากอุบัติเหตุเรือล่ม
ก่อนจะเกิดเหตุเรือล่มนี้ ต่างคนต่างทำอะไรกันมานะ...นี่คือคอนเซ็ปต์ของหนังสือเล่มนี้
เดิมทีเหมือนจะมีผู้เขียนหลายคน แบ่งเขีบนกันคนละชีวิต แต่พอมรว.คึกฤทธิ์เขียนเรื่องแรกเสร็จ คนอื่นก็ไม่ยอมเขียนต่อ กลายเป็นมรว.คึกฤทธิ์ต้องเขียนคนเดียวจนจบ
แนะนำครับเล่มนี้ (ถ้าหาอ่านได้นะ🙂)
ก่อนจะเกิดเหตุเรือล่มนี้ ต่างคนต่างทำอะไรกันมานะ...นี่คือคอนเซ็ปต์ของหนังสือเล่มนี้
เดิมทีเหมือนจะมีผู้เขียนหลายคน แบ่งเขีบนกันคนละชีวิต แต่พอมรว.คึกฤทธิ์เขียนเรื่องแรกเสร็จ คนอื่นก็ไม่ยอมเขียนต่อ กลายเป็นมรว.คึกฤทธิ์ต้องเขียนคนเดียวจนจบ
แนะนำครับเล่มนี้ (ถ้าหาอ่านได้นะ🙂)
December 27, 2022
ไม่ว่าจะเป็นเรื่องของใคร ก็รู้สึกว่าโดนทุกตอนเลย #หลายชีวิต #วรรณกรรมเก่า Concept เท่ๆ ของเล่มนี้ เกิดจากเรือล่มแล้วมีคนตายหลายๆ คนร่วมกัน แล้ว อจ คึกฤิทธิ์ ค่อยๆ ทยอยเล่าแต่ละตอนๆ ว่าชีวิตของคนตายแต่ละคนเป็นมายังไง..
December 20, 2022
One of my favorite books of all time.
“death, so much feared by us all, can in some cases be a dreadful punishment for wrongdoing, in some cases a reward for virtue; in others, the solution to a problem, or in still others, a healing balm for a wound unable to be healed by any other means.”
“death, so much feared by us all, can in some cases be a dreadful punishment for wrongdoing, in some cases a reward for virtue; in others, the solution to a problem, or in still others, a healing balm for a wound unable to be healed by any other means.”
December 9, 2023
I was very intrigued by the plot because I knew that everybody was going to die at the same place and at the same time eventually. However, the events that lead up to their deaths made it even more interesting. For each character, their death has different meanings: after their death, one might be remembered the same way they were, while others might have a smile on their face indicating that death was the best way to escape the horrors of society.
Laii Cheewit perfectly encapsulates how Thai society looked like in the 70-80s. Pramoj incorporates moral lessons prevalent in Thai society and how Thais typically respond to traumatic events, which are still true today.
My favorite character was Jaan (จั่น). Jaan's story captures the essence of how most military personnels in Thailand refuse to let go of their power. Jaan was a drafted military personnel that is power hungry. After training in the military and indulging in a luxurious lifestyle in Bangkok, Jaan returned home to be suprised by the fact that nobody knows how to respect him. At home, Jaan is still remembered as "Aii Jaan" or "Loong (Uncle) Jaan," and inevitably, he is still remembered as "Aii Jaan" after his death.
Laii Cheewit perfectly encapsulates how Thai society looked like in the 70-80s. Pramoj incorporates moral lessons prevalent in Thai society and how Thais typically respond to traumatic events, which are still true today.
My favorite character was Jaan (จั่น). Jaan's story captures the essence of how most military personnels in Thailand refuse to let go of their power. Jaan was a drafted military personnel that is power hungry. After training in the military and indulging in a luxurious lifestyle in Bangkok, Jaan returned home to be suprised by the fact that nobody knows how to respect him. At home, Jaan is still remembered as "Aii Jaan" or "Loong (Uncle) Jaan," and inevitably, he is still remembered as "Aii Jaan" after his death.
June 22, 2023
11 chapters of misery porn of (mostly) flat characters who do horrible things. i deeply regret actually reading it instead of the dekd summary. amazing premise but i did not like it at all
btw อยู่กับก๋ง was better 😇
btw อยู่กับก๋ง was better 😇
Read
December 29, 2021แต่ละบทบาทชีวิต ไม่มีคำว่า ง่ายหรือยาก สุขหรือทุกข์ ดิ้นรนหาความสุข แต่ท้ายสุดคือความตาย
November 22, 2020
Review is taken from my book review in Instagram @descanto
Around 1950, Kukrit Pramoj witnessed a bus accident that kills most of the passengers. He later contemplated, thinking: who are they? Dragging into the same karma? what karma that they bring that lead them to their sudden death?
That reflection was the reason why Lai Chiwit was published in 1954. The title was later translated by Borthwick into English as Many Lives.
Many Lives begins with Kukrij telling set of stories about 11 people: Loi - the bandit; Sem - the monk; Phanni - the prostitute; Lek - the Prince; Phon - the actor; Lamom - the daughter; Nori - the drunkard writer; Linchong - the mother; Chan - the soldier; Thongprai - the rich girl; Saeng - the doctor.
These people are connected with a single line: a sudden death in the ferry they're in. Through their stories, those characters will take us to see different sides of a human being: the greed, devotion to the parents, the power of doing dhamma, the accumulation of good karma, the treatment of people in Thai culture based on their ranks are beautifully narrated.
Each chapter in which those characters are narrated will leave the readers with strong emotional connections. I can relate myself to the pain that some of those characters have gone through. Those characters not only teach us how to "humanise" ourselves but also leave us huge questions: are we content with the life we are leading? what is our ultimate goal in life? what good deeds have we done for others? By the end of our life, the money in the bank, the big mansion, the beautiful face and body, the rank you pull will be meaningless. We are nothing but a body that later will grow old, die, decompose and decay.
I was left breathless amazed with these set of stories. So captivating I cannot find any words to describe them any longer.
Around 1950, Kukrit Pramoj witnessed a bus accident that kills most of the passengers. He later contemplated, thinking: who are they? Dragging into the same karma? what karma that they bring that lead them to their sudden death?
That reflection was the reason why Lai Chiwit was published in 1954. The title was later translated by Borthwick into English as Many Lives.
Many Lives begins with Kukrij telling set of stories about 11 people: Loi - the bandit; Sem - the monk; Phanni - the prostitute; Lek - the Prince; Phon - the actor; Lamom - the daughter; Nori - the drunkard writer; Linchong - the mother; Chan - the soldier; Thongprai - the rich girl; Saeng - the doctor.
These people are connected with a single line: a sudden death in the ferry they're in. Through their stories, those characters will take us to see different sides of a human being: the greed, devotion to the parents, the power of doing dhamma, the accumulation of good karma, the treatment of people in Thai culture based on their ranks are beautifully narrated.
Each chapter in which those characters are narrated will leave the readers with strong emotional connections. I can relate myself to the pain that some of those characters have gone through. Those characters not only teach us how to "humanise" ourselves but also leave us huge questions: are we content with the life we are leading? what is our ultimate goal in life? what good deeds have we done for others? By the end of our life, the money in the bank, the big mansion, the beautiful face and body, the rank you pull will be meaningless. We are nothing but a body that later will grow old, die, decompose and decay.
I was left breathless amazed with these set of stories. So captivating I cannot find any words to describe them any longer.
May 11, 2020
An interesting sojourn into a bygone era.
As I understand, this book was written as a serial in the 1950s by the author who wrote Four Reigns, one of the few Thai books I've found translated into English. I greatly enjoyed Four Reigns as it had a very similar vibe as Little House in the Praire, in the way we examine a changing culture through the perspective of one woman and her family. Many Lives is similar in that regard, but in a more broad and shallow way. We focus on 1950's Thailand, a modernizing Southeast Asian country before it's leap onto the international stage and we explore the lives of 11 people who meet their end in the same boating accident. Each story is a quick journey from birth to death, exploring their merits and the karma they reap. This story isn't deep or plot-driven, instead, it's just an exploration of Thai people and the lives they lived. For me that was incredibly enjoyable, being able to impose this old version of Thailand on the streets and waterways that I myself have walked down. It's a very quick read, I finished in one day in about 2 sittings. It was an interesting glimpse into the past and it does raise some interesting if fleeting considerations on karma and nature (and our personal views) of life and death.
As I understand, this book was written as a serial in the 1950s by the author who wrote Four Reigns, one of the few Thai books I've found translated into English. I greatly enjoyed Four Reigns as it had a very similar vibe as Little House in the Praire, in the way we examine a changing culture through the perspective of one woman and her family. Many Lives is similar in that regard, but in a more broad and shallow way. We focus on 1950's Thailand, a modernizing Southeast Asian country before it's leap onto the international stage and we explore the lives of 11 people who meet their end in the same boating accident. Each story is a quick journey from birth to death, exploring their merits and the karma they reap. This story isn't deep or plot-driven, instead, it's just an exploration of Thai people and the lives they lived. For me that was incredibly enjoyable, being able to impose this old version of Thailand on the streets and waterways that I myself have walked down. It's a very quick read, I finished in one day in about 2 sittings. It was an interesting glimpse into the past and it does raise some interesting if fleeting considerations on karma and nature (and our personal views) of life and death.
September 7, 2021
In the preface to his novel *Red Bamboo* Kukrit Pramoj cheerfully admits that the novel is an adaptation of stories by Giovanni Guareschi: "in many parts of the stories, the author fully plagiarizes." A somewhat too self-effacing estimation, by the way. And *Many Lives* would seem at first glance to be an adaptation of *The Bridge of San Luis Rey,* except that while Wilder bathes everything in the warm glow of theodicy, M. R. Kukrit applies karma -- and that is one of the great strengths of *Many Lives,* allowing for a much more differentiated view of life and fate. After all, one doesn't even have to believe in karma to see how death can serve as either fulfillment, or justice, or release. The stories themselves combine deep insight and deep sympathy (or at least understanding) of the characters so that even those not particularly interested in learning about not-quite-bygone Thai rural culture will find *Many Lives* eminently worth reading. I would give the novel five stars, but occasionally the narrative is a bit more didactic/judgmental than it needed to be -- although this was no doubt M. R. Kukrit's intention. As a bonus the English translation includes a preface by the remarkable and in Thailand genuinely beloved Princess Royal Sirindhorn.
November 16, 2020
"ชีวิตมนุษย์นั้นเป็นเพียงธรณีประตู ที่คนจะก้าวสู่ความแก่ ความตาย"
วรรณกรรมเรื่องนี้เป็นเรื่องสั้นรายตอน กล่าวถึงชีวิตของคน 11 คนที่ไม่ได้เกี่ยวข้องอะไรกัน หากแต่ต้องมาเรือล่มเสียชีวิตในวันเวลาเดียวกัน ซึ่งเรื่องราวชีวิตของแต่ละคนนั้นก็แตกต่างกันไป ทั้งต่างเพศ ต่างอายุ ต่างฐานะ ต่างอาชีพ บ้างก็เป็นโจร เป็นพระ เป็นโสเภณี เป็นท่านชาย เป็นนักแสดง เป็นแม่คน เป็นลูกสาว เป็นนักเขียน เป็นทหาร เป็นลูกคนรวย หรือเป็นหมอ แต่สุดท้ายแล้วหลายชีวิตเหล่านี้ไม่ว่าจะทำกรรมดีกรรมชั่วใดแตกต่างกันมา ตราบใดที่ยังไม่สามารถหลุดพ้นไปจากสายธารแห่งชีวิตนี้ได้ ตราบนั้นก็ยังต้องเกิดแก่เจ็บตายวนเวียนไปไม่ได้แตกต่างกัน ผู้ที่รอดจากสายธารนี้ได้คือผู้ที่พยายามแหวกว่ายจนสามารถขึ้นไปยืนถึงบนฝั่ง ทว่าในความเป็นจริงแล้วจะทำได้สักกี่คนกัน เพราะน้ำในสายธารแห่งนี้ไหลเชี่ยวนัก
นอกจากแง่คิดหลักของเรื่องแล้ว ยังมีแง่คิดย่อยๆแทรกอยู่อีกมากในทุกตอน จึงทำให้วรรณกรรมเรื่องนี้ควรค่าแก่การอ่านอย่างที่สุด
วรรณกรรมเรื่องนี้เป็นเรื่องสั้นรายตอน กล่าวถึงชีวิตของคน 11 คนที่ไม่ได้เกี่ยวข้องอะไรกัน หากแต่ต้องมาเรือล่มเสียชีวิตในวันเวลาเดียวกัน ซึ่งเรื่องราวชีวิตของแต่ละคนนั้นก็แตกต่างกันไป ทั้งต่างเพศ ต่างอายุ ต่างฐานะ ต่างอาชีพ บ้างก็เป็นโจร เป็นพระ เป็นโสเภณี เป็นท่านชาย เป็นนักแสดง เป็นแม่คน เป็นลูกสาว เป็นนักเขียน เป็นทหาร เป็นลูกคนรวย หรือเป็นหมอ แต่สุดท้ายแล้วหลายชีวิตเหล่านี้ไม่ว่าจะทำกรรมดีกรรมชั่วใดแตกต่างกันมา ตราบใดที่ยังไม่สามารถหลุดพ้นไปจากสายธารแห่งชีวิตนี้ได้ ตราบนั้นก็ยังต้องเกิดแก่เจ็บตายวนเวียนไปไม่ได้แตกต่างกัน ผู้ที่รอดจากสายธารนี้ได้คือผู้ที่พยายามแหวกว่ายจนสามารถขึ้นไปยืนถึงบนฝั่ง ทว่าในความเป็นจริงแล้วจะทำได้สักกี่คนกัน เพราะน้ำในสายธารแห่งนี้ไหลเชี่ยวนัก
นอกจากแง่คิดหลักของเรื่องแล้ว ยังมีแง่คิดย่อยๆแทรกอยู่อีกมากในทุกตอน จึงทำให้วรรณกรรมเรื่องนี้ควรค่าแก่การอ่านอย่างที่สุด
February 18, 2020
I really enjoyed this, the ultimate in people watching and wondering about their lives taken to a slightly macabre degree as Pramoj imagines a boat accident which kills a group of people and then imagines their lives leading to this point. I'd read it was a good insight into Thai culture, and certainly there was a great sense of atmosphere about these stories, as well as a Buddhist world view. The last few stories felt a little rushed and not quite as fleshed out as earlier ones.
May 5, 2018
There is no wonder that this book is helmed among the great literary works of Thailand. The intricate individual stories are weaved together seamlessly, and you can't help but feel attached to them. Windows into the Thai society started opening up through each of the characters too, as their lives illustrate the many facets of Thailand.
October 15, 2019
It’s so difficult to find good books about Thailand. Preferably written by Thai people. And available in the English language. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Since each chapter is its own story it’s easy to read in small chunks. Far less daunting than the authors other 600 page Four Reigns but equally insightful into a bygone area of Thailand.
July 23, 2021
เนื่องจากเป็น เรื่องย่อในแต่ละเรื่อง มันทำให้ เราไม่ได้เข้าใจตัวละครมากชนาดนั้น อาจจะด้วยเพราะเวลากับเรื่องที่ต้องกระชับ แต่ผู้เขียนถือว่าทำได้ค่อยข้างดี + เป็นเรื่องที่ได้ข้อคิดเยอะอยู่เรื่องหนึ่งเลย
March 10, 2022
Un très beau livre. On y suit plusieurs personnages, dans des chapitres très courts, de tout âges et de tout horizon. L'auteur a une plume rapide et simple, et nous propose une réflexion sur la vie et sur le karma à travers son récit.
August 30, 2023
Lesenswert, trotz deutlicher Schwächen. Ausführliche Rezi hier:
https://hansblog.de/roman-kritik-many...
https://hansblog.de/roman-kritik-many...
April 14, 2019
Bangkok pickup from Books Kinokuniya. Trip with zoey (20190404-20190407)
September 5, 2023
An interested, but a bit too dettached view to Thai society.
January 8, 2026
หนังสือดี เนื้อเรื่องดี ผู้แต่งเป็นนักเขียนชั้นครู แนะนำค่ะ
อ่านแล้วรู้สึกว่าไม่มีใครเลือกเกิดได้ แต่เลือกที่จะทำได้
ความแน่นอนคือความไ่แน่นอน
แต่สิ่งที่ไม่แน่นอนที่สุดคือชีวิตของเรานี่แหละ
อ่านแล้วรู้สึกว่าไม่มีใครเลือกเกิดได้ แต่เลือกที่จะทำได้
ความแน่นอนคือความไ่แน่นอน
แต่สิ่งที่ไม่แน่นอนที่สุดคือชีวิตของเรานี่แหละ
February 12, 2008
Very interesting examination of several lives from a karmic point of view. The Thainess of the presentation is really significant.
July 6, 2011
Man, this book was so great! An interesting introduction into the psyche of Thai writers/ people.
March 10, 2015
THese stories are a great insight into Thai culture.
March 23, 2021
boringggggggg
June 14, 2020
ดีใจที่โรงเรียนให้อ่านเป็นนอกเวลา ถึงได้มาเจอหนังสือเล่มนี้ และชอบมากกกกกกกกกกกก อ่านซ้ำได้ไปจนแก่เลยค่ะ
February 8, 2025
อย่าไปกรุงเทพ
August 20, 2025
#readtheworld Thailand
Read
November 26, 2010Good book about how Thailand functions.
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