Jasmine nights Book

4.5 stars

What a delightful way to end the years reading! This is one of the books that has followed me around in one of many boxes over the years and has been neglected even though I bought it over 20 years ago!

Set in 1963, the novel follows Justin or Little Frog, a twelve year old Thai boy, as he lives with his extended family in a compound in Bangkok while his parents have been 'away' for the last three years. The compound is presided over by various older members of the family in a strict hierarchy and who are waited upon by a bevy of servants who treat them as royalty. Justin has three Aunts who he calls the Fates because of his obsession with Homer and ancient literature in general and these three provide much of the humor of the novel in their attempts to keep up with the latest fashion, music and dance trends, as well as their romantic encounters.

Playing in a ruined house on the property Justin lives in the world of his imagination as kids often do when they are lonely, burying himself in books and other worlds in lieu of company. Having lived in England for much of his life, he finds the Thai culture alien and resists integration with it. As the novel progresses, however, he begins to make friends and it is through these friends that S.P Somtow makes a commentary about the world at this time, and indeed our own.

One of these friends is Virgil, an African-American, then there is Piet a white South Afrikaner, Wilbur a white American and Piat a Thai servant boy. As these five interact in various ways learning about love, sex, war and each other's cultures the issues of class and race loom large and cause rifts between them. How S.P Somtow resolves all this by the end of the book verges on the sentimental but I had enjoyed the novel so much by then, I just went with it.

The insight into Thai culture is fascinating and it is a culture Somtow grew up in as this novel is partly autobiographical. There is a glossary at the front with dozens of Thai terms but I didn't find this distracting and loved all the names for different members of the family, for example, the three fates are Aunt Nit-Nit, Aunt Ning-Nong and Aunt Noi-Noi. The picture that is painted of the old Bangkok with its klongs, or canals, its temples and magic men and its lush foliage, noisy fauna and steamy weather is a wonderful backdrop. The compound is like an Eden as far as the rest of the world is concerned and it is only through venturing outside that Eden that Justin matures and become aware of this world.

Child narrators can be tricky but Justin is entirely engaging as are his friends and there were so many times in this novel that I was smiling at either slapstick comedy or cultural misunderstandings. Characters such as the promiscuous English doctor, Dr. Richardson, Busaba the Thai transvestite and the exotic science teacher Miss Cicciolini are just some that enrich and provide humor to the novel. Eventually as the world intrudes and opens up, the novel becomes more serious and Justin's voice becomes that of a teenager but the comedy, and the enjoyment in the reading is maintained to the very end.

P.S. On a side note S.P Somtow sounds like a fascinating man being an author, composer and filmmaker and the rest of his novels are nothing like this one focusing on science fiction, fantasy and Vampires.