The Paradise Eater

by John Ralston Saul

Book Overview

Drunk, businessman, journalist, John Field finds his life becomes much more purposeful when he investigates the death of an ex-lover in steamy Bangkok, Thailand This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345361547
• ISBN13: 9780345361547
• Release Date: July 1989
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 245 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Got it in one

Having spent years living in Bangkok, with acquaintances who have been tortured in Laotian jails (yes really!), for me this book captures something of the dark underbelly of the region - displaying a depth of understanding which escapes many who visit briefly - those who stay long enough usually can't write so it remains undocumented. By the way, I would love to know if his protagonist is based on the previous, aging, famously sexist writer for the Bangkok Post who goes under the pseudonym of the Nite Owl. I guess I'll never know. Hats off to JRS though - you have done what I suspected was not possible.

A must for dedicated Asiafiles!

The main character is a Canadian expat living in Bangkok who has almost, but not quite, "gone native". While the story line is excellent, what I find fascinating is the ancillary cast of characters and sub-plots, which move through Bangkok as the economy is beginning to spiral upwards (the book was written in 1988). Hookers, corruption & a business trip to Laos are all included in plot and dealt with extraordinary expertise on the topical subject matter.Read this novel first and then follow up with Christopher Moore's "Gods of Darkness."