March 23 2004

Losing the Plot by Chuckwoww

Bert, a Harley-riding fuck-up from Orange County, contemplates his balcony death-plunge in Pattaya. Backpacker Danny finds a parcel of drugs in a Samui internet cafe. Narm leaves her daughter in her brother's care only to discover that he has raped her. Lonely ex-pat Beth realises that her male co-workers have more fun when she's not around.

To judge Losing the Plot by its awful cover would be a mistake. It contains some seriously good writing. However, it also needs some seriously good editing. Many of the individual tales are interesting and well-written but they are strung together in a rather contrived way. The book would work better as a collection of short stories.

The central character, Chuck, is a regular Mr Nice Guy who works at the US Embassy in Bangkok. Being the narrator, he gets far more attention than he deserves. The screwed-up support characters are much more engaging and I found myself wishing that Chuck would take some annual leave so I could read more about them.

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The book starts off as a thriller but the plot fizzles out halfway through. I'd naively assumed that Losing the Plot referred to the tendency of farang men to do precisely that but, in Chapter 50, the author comes clean.

James: And the plot? What happened to it?
Chuck: Lost it.

Having abandoned the thriller as a lost cause, Chuckwoww takes up the slack with some clever observations and assorted musings about Thailand. It's a bit hit and miss but some parts are a treat.

Chuckwoww's book is very readable but, to reach a mass market, he will need to find himself a decent editor first. Don't be put off, though. If you enjoy reading Mango Sauce, I'm sure you will enjoy reading Losing the Plot too.

Details

You won't find Losing the Plot in any bookshop but you can order a copy here:

http://www.dcothai.com/books/losing-the-plot.htm

Losing the Plot
Author: Chuckwoww
Publisher: AhnDai Books
Price: US $12.95
ISBN: 0-9734021-0-5

[Posted to Books by David]

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Readers' comments

zan says:

I was lucky enough to find a copy of LOSING THE PLOT by Mr Chuck Woww. Recently reviewed here.
I to found it well written and provided many interesting insights into Thailand.
There was was some humour which took the edge off the horrific bits.
Zan

March 27, 2004 2:07 PM

Chuck's Mum says:

Horrific? That seems like a strange choice of words. I read Losing the Plot and thought it was a pretty good laugh. Don't remember any horror unless you mean the bit where the guy got his dick cut off. Happens all the time. I thought the book was very entertaining. Definitely a refreshing change from the usual 'Bangkok thriller' crap.

March 29, 2004 5:54 AM

Soi 7 Ladyman says:

I have a hard time trying to read all the usual drearily dull BKK thiller crap written by nobends like Moore et al. However i found LTP to be a real good pisstake of the entire genre, the punter, you, me and the author as well.

April 20, 2004 9:57 PM

C. Sandesist says:

Ladyman,

Couldn't agree with you more about that other drivel being passed off as "Thailand fiction" or whatever it's supposed to be. Thanks to your (and David's) comments about "LTP" I'm looking forward to having a look soon, too. Khob Khun.

April 21, 2004 4:07 AM

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