Customer Reviews

The Dream of a Thousand Lives: A Sojourn in Thailand

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Coincidentally enough, I (16 years old) am leaving in August to spend my junior year of high school in Northern Thailand as a Rotary Exchange student, just like Karen. This book was just what I needed- it gave me an idea of what to expect, and made my next year feel less overwhelming. Her writing style is awesome, and the stories she tells are fascinating.
Read it.

This book truly uncovered the beautiful, bucolic experience of the heart of Thailand. This book is not about the fascinating big-city life in Bangkok, so ubiquitous in other travel books about Thailand. In contrast, this book takes you to a Thailand not frequently experienced by tourists...shouldn't be experienced by tourists with little respect and no other expectation beyond "fun" ........ should only be ventured by those willing to absorb (or should I dare say love) a culture and a lifestyle so different that at first, austerity and beauty are not immediately distinct to the mind conditioned to the comforts of "modernized" cities or suburban living (whether in Asia or the West). As a Thai who was educated in the West, this book actually imparted to me a "piece of heart" about my birth country that I did not previously believe to be a possible endeavor for written pages. Thanks Karen....... for doing the impossible! "Kob Kun Mak Krub" for the sincerity so salient throughout every description.

I so enjoyed this beautiful memoir. I felt a part of the Thai culture and landscape. There are many charming scenes and deliberately precious characters. I was sad to leave the story when it ended. The perspective of the narrator is young- that infuriating mix of superiority and naivete. But the voice was fresh and interesting, and I enjoyed getting to know her.

This is a wonderfully insightful look into Thai culture. The narrative of the author's personal experience is well crafted and straightforward leaving the reader with a true sense of life in Thailand.

A young highschool girl takes a huge risk on going on a one year Rotary exchange to rural Thailand.Initially the change in culture is beyond her understanding. Rather than bailing she decides to stick it out and the reader gets the pleasure of following along on her adventure. Karen Commelly is able to let us smell,taste, hear and even feel the real "Land of Smiles" and begin to understand its enchantment. My wife and I had just returned from a month in Northern Thailand where we also had begun to understand this strange and wonderful land.

Superb book. I couldn't put it down - bought it yesterday & read until I fell asleep then finished this morning. I felt as though I was there, travelling with her. She has a great sense of humor that is splashed throughout the book. I truly had a sense of how she felt on her year long visit there. I'm so glad she shared her memories.

karen has captured the spirit, the calm, the beauty, the mystique, the sensitivity and the occasional frustration of rural thailand. her'sojourn' of her year in denchai is storytelling at its best. my 6 days and nights in a village in north-eastern thailand cannot compare, even remotely, to her experience in the north... but i know a little about how she feels about these marvellous people. she knows how lucky she was. if you have been to thailand then the reading of this book guarantees your return. never been? read this book and i guarantee that your first visit is imminent. the most enjoyable book that i have 'consumed'.

This is by far the best written book I have ever read. The Dream of a Thousand Lives chronicles the year Connelly spends as an exchange student in Asia. Tired of "the marvels of Calgary," Connelly sets off to Thailand with curiosity and a briefcase full of licorice and loose-leaf. As Connelly explains, the ants devoured the licorice in the first week, but the paper survived.

Connelly never resorts to decorative travel writing, but sticks to a witty and unfailingly honest account of her time in Thailand. The book, (originally titled "Touch the Dragon" in Canada) consists of a chronological collection of the author's journal entries, detailing her time in Denchai (living at a the Thai Liquor Store owned by her first host family) to her travels to Bangkok and Chang Mai.

Connelly possesses a rare ability to convey the strange labyrinth of lives and experiences she encounters in the small farming Village of Denchai into a lyrical fluid narrative. This is a book that you will not be able to put down.

From what I've heard people who've known me a long time say I'm "well read". That's easy, for reading is my favorite pastime.
I'm now over 50 and may have read thousands of books in my lifetime, only 2 of which I read from start to finish without stopping. "The Dream of a Thousand Lives" is one of those two books.

Karen Connelly has a style of writing that can only be described as "a gift" (if not genius). Little wonder that she's won so many prestigous awards at such a young age. This is the first book I've read from her as author. It was such a pleasureable experience that I was almost angry went her story came to its end. The first thing I did afterwards (true) was get on Amazon.com and order more of her work. I can hardly wait for it to arrive!

Althought the story has merit, it was hard to read for all the poetic descriptive language. If I were looking for poetry, I would have loved it. I was, however, looking for a good story about Thailand, and had to wade through a too much flowery description. By the end of the book, it was almost a joke.