Customer Reviews

Letters from Thailand: A Novel

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This novel depicts the life of a Chinese migrant who escaped the utter poverty of rural China for greener pastures in Thailand. Tan Suang U's story is told as a compilation of letters he wrote to his mom in China in a period of 20 years from his arrival in Bangkok in 1945.

A typical tale of rags to riches.
Typical of many "ugly Chinamen", Tan's observations and criticisms of Thai culture are candid and unrefined but also refreshingly honest. Proud of his culture which emphasis honest hard work and frugality, he is destined to be disappointed as within just one generation, his family's cultural identity is lost.

Botans writing style is fluent, brilliant, vivid and full of color. This book won the Siatu literature prize in 1970 and it is one of very few novels that were translated from Thai.

I know it is out of print for a long time but it is worth waiting and looking for.

This is the equivalent of A Bintel Brief which depicts Jewish immigrants to the U.S. The letters are said to be based on an actual Thai-Chinese immigrant's letters to his mother in China, which went undelivered but were read by her postman.

An enjoyable and thoughtful story with the structure being letters written from Thailand to China. In the course of these letters the reader learns much about culture, both of China and Thailand, as well as the immigrant experience of Asians within Asia. The story is written in a clear, sincere style that will hold any reader's interest

This a wonderful story of a Chinese family assimilating in Thai culture. Story is based on the letters written by the main character Suang U, living in Thailand to his mother, in China. It is a great book. Every one should read it.

This novel is about a Chinese immigration to Thailand after World War II, and is a good book for anyone interested in Thailand to read. This is why I read it in the first place. But Letters from Thailand is readable and accessible to anyone who has every known and immigrant, or been an immigrant. Yuo do not need to know anything about Thailand to enjoy this book.

Letters from Thailand is easy to read and tells a great story about immigration, family, gender, childhood, motherhood, and fatherhoood which is universal. It deserves a far wider readership than it already has.


I required this book for American undergraduate classes several years ago. It was among the better received books I have asked students to read. Because of the strong emphasis on filial piety by the protagonist Tan Suang U, mothers in the class found it particularly touching--despite some rather disagreeable characteristics, the mother he never saw again remained at the center of his thoughts. (I guess that this means it would make a great mother's day gift).

Letters from Thailand is a translation from the original Thai. But, the quality of the translation is excellent, and it reads very smoothly. Do not hesitate to pick it up!

It is a very good book. Once I started reading I could not put it down until I finished reading it.

Letters From Thailand is an extraordinary literary work! It is very easy to read and you will not want to put it down. This is a novel that addresses universal themes. This should be required reading for all parents entering the retirement years. It doesn't matter what your cultural background is.

So much of what it is to strive to have something/more, for yourself as an individual, for your family, to be a spouse, and to be a parent in this strange and ever changing world was so well expressed. Not to mention the struggles between cultures and the ethnic differences. I love Sang U's struggle as he moves from a natural human "ethnocentrism" to the things that are common or different among men and then realizes what is most important.

And, as it is with most parenting, his deeper more meaningful realizations about what is important in life come after he has already influenced his children during their childhood. Although, in some instances, he is disappointed at the outcome he clearly and rightly takes responsibility for his part in molding their lives.

And, he accepts what has happened and grieves not only the loss of his wife but the loss of the fantasies that he had created in his mind about what his adult children's lives would be like. He also marvels at how well some have done by ignoring his counsel and doing what they felt was right. Very much as he had done by leaving China. And then he moves on to the next stage of his life. On the one hand I wanted a sequel on the other hand I know I need to write the next chapter of my own life and that is the sequel.

I will definitely recommend this book to everyone I know. But most of all the lessons held in its pages will reverberate over and over in my mind, and my heart, and I will apply them to my own personal growth.

I read this book in college and sought it out here on Amazon because I felt like I was being haunted by my memory of it. I remembered that it had moved me originally but I was so happy to read it again. This is the kind of book that will mean different things to you as you go through life. Now as a mother I want to read it again. It's a beautiful story. I recommend it for anyone, however anyone who's had to juggle two cultures will really enjoy this book.

I learned much about Chinese culture in this novel. It is well written and a good page turner--hard to put down and held my anticipation to pick it up again. The Chinese culture is represented most in this novel, although some Thai culture is as well. An excellent read I've added to my bookshelf to rediscover again one day!

It's rumored that the writer is a successful millionaire living in Bangkok. This book is a must read about Thai culture and how open it is to immigrants willing to work hard and persevere. It also attests to the Chinese work ethic.