Customer Reviews

Jasmine Nights

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

 

 

"Jasmine Nights" is riduculously funny beyond belief. Somtow's memory of chilhood seems unembellished by adult pretension, and at the same time he does not gloss anything over - confusion and idealsim are equally and honestly portrayed. Justin, a.k.a. Lttle Frog, the adolescent hero of the novel, lives a life of secluded luxury and lonileness in his mansion in Thailand. The book follows his journey while he makes friends, discovers the complexities of death and sex, and eventually reconciles himself to his Thai identity. The book is hilarious because Little Frog possesses the rare gift of honesty and a will to discover the truth at whatever cost, which leads him into several interesting situations.

I have read and read this book many times, and subsequently lent it to a friend who lost it (!!!) but this is one of the few books that has stuck in my heart.

Little Frog, alienated from his Thai surroundings and yet determined to find his own culture, observes the world and his mad aunts with detached honesty and affection. And yet, when he feels, how he feels!

This is a book that rejoices in youth, childhood and growing up, and its magical realism supports Little Frog's reality that is rather odd. He's living in a world of adults who can't seem to get it together.

This is a book to buy for yourself, friends and children who'll be facing the world as they step out to explore.

This novel addresses coming of age issues, race dynamics and class conflicts with an unparalelled wit and perception. I give it my highest recommendation.

Along with the beautiful storytelling there is an important coming-of-age message in this book. The imagery and descriptions of scents are so vivid, I still have flashes of this story visit me as though they were my own memories. I read it 8 years ago on a backpacking trip through South America; it was a wonderful book to read while traveling!

I have read and read this book many times, and subsequently lent it to a friend who lost it (!!!) but this is one of the few books that has stuck in my heart.

Little Frog, alienated from his Thai surroundings and yet determined to find his own culture, observes the world and his mad aunts with detached honesty and affection. And yet, when he feels, how he feels!

This is a book that rejoices in youth, childhood and growing up, and its magical realism supports Little Frog's reality that is rather odd. He's living in a world of adults who can't seem to get it together.

This is a book to buy for yourself, friends and children who'll be facing the world as they step out to explore.

There's some good stuff in here. A lot is very evocative of Thailand, which is nice, and some is quite funny. But so much of it really stretched belief, and there are a lot of historical anachronisms. Would an 11-year-old wealthy Thai boy have been aware of "the battles of Vietnam" in 1963? At that point it was only a secret war conducted by the CIA and a very small group of troops. His American friend (also 11) has a waterbed -- and while it's stretching already to imagine an 11-year-old boy with a waterbed, the modern waterbed wasn't invented until 1968! Plus it's hard to imagine that a black American colonel would be so high up in the military ranks in what was still a very early, secretive part of the war -- but maybe this could have happened. There's allusions to books that wouldn't have been popular then as well.

And, there's moments of repulsion at how spoiled the boy is at a time when so many Thais still had very little. This is part of the point of the book, I realize, but it can still get a bit sickening at times.