The Dream of a Thousand Lives: A Sojourn in Thailand

by Karen Connelly

Book Overview

Canadian poet Karen Connelly was a young woman when she left home to live for one year in Denchai, a small farming community in northern Thailand. This lyrical portrait of her true-life adventures... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 158005062X
• ISBN13: 9781580050623
• Release Date: December 2001
• Publisher: Seal Press (CA)
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A Taste of Northern 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.

Written with Spirit from the Heart

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.

Fine Writing

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 great book

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.

I visited Thailand through this book

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.