Andrew MacGregor Marshall — the ex-Reuters journalist famous for his comprehensive analysis of leaked US government cables — has just written a 9988 word review of King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A Life’s Work. And apparently he is only warming up: the piece is marked “to be continued”.
He begins with the statement that “Thailand is a kingdom in crisis, skidding towards catastrophe”. A bunch of people get quoted at length, including Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Duncan McCargo, Junya Lek Yimprasert, Nick Nostitz, Kasian Tejapira, and me. And its only after thousands of words that he really gets down to the book in question.
Nonetheless if you want a thorough and critical overview of Thai palace politics, summarising much of the recent scholarship and analysis, then this is a good place to start. And the bulk of the review will, I expect, follow in the next instalment.
Here on New Mandala, and as part of our NM-TLC book review series, we will be publishing a shorter review of King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A Life’s Work on Monday. Not wanting to give too much away, all I will say at this stage is that it has been put together by a very well-qualified reviewer.
Bear with me on this one folks. It is either going to be the best and most important thing I ever wrote, or a vast and flabby load of dross.
Let’s hope for all our sakes it is the former.
Like all good tragedies, it has five acts. The first and some of the second are online already, and more is being added in real time. Best wishes.
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Marshall, quoting JK Rowling, come on, I was enjoying feeling serious about this!
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I hope you are not criticising the Harry Potter oeuvre. That is even more controversial and incendiary than criticising the Thai monarchy.
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Andrew,
Whatever you write I hope you stay away from gossip about the royal family as I believe it diminishes the much needed criticism of the monarchy in Thailand. I think Handley’s including such a thing took away from his book. Now that you are officially persona non grata here in Thailand you have the luxury of being honest publicly so good luck in your work.
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Anand comes out of this badly. Sounds like he’s lost touch with the importance and value of truth.
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“Bear with me on this one folks. It is either going to be the best and most important thing I ever wrote, or a vast and flabby load of dross.
Let’s hope for all our sakes it is the former.”
Mr MacGregor really needs to get out of the house a bit. He’s started to think of himself as Thailand’s Saviour.
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Polo #6
You are right. As should be obvious from this discussion, I consider myself the Harry Potter of Thailand.
Yours respectfully
Andrew
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Andrew,
I don’t even know whether I should say this, because unlike you, I am not even an English major. Nor would I stop you from writing your review in a style which you have already written because I know you would not stop anyway despite what I would say below :p
However, I find the “review” to be…well, too audience specific. To be honest, it is almost like an academic thesis which disproves the accuracy and credibility of another academic book. I know that you know a lot, and you certainly have shown from your writing that you really know a lot. But this is the problem: your review becomes an extremely lengthy work which would only appeal to people who are REALLY interested in the secrecy of Thai politics, such as most of us here. But it would not be read by an average Joe who wants to find out more about this book.
To take for an example, you have written endless paragraphs of facts and the circumstances in Thailand nowadays. For me it was a good read. The problem, however, is you did not focus on the content of this book until 10+ paragraphs where you started pointing out the inaccuracy and the misleading choice of words which Anand Panyarachun has chosen regarding the King going to Switzerland to ‘complete’ his studies. The problem is, by this time, the average Joe reader who wants to find a review which can tell them what to expect from this book would have lost interest in your review and move on to another one.
Hence, I would like to make a suggestion. Why don’t you stop calling this “review” of yours a review? Instead call it an ‘article’ or ‘detailed analysis’ of this book. On the other hand, you write a standard 1,000+ word (or just a little more, 2,000 words maximum) review of this book, with only one parapraph introduction (which contains the blueprint about its awfulness….such as “with misleading choice of words, blatant inaccuracies, tightly monitored environment where authors have no freedom to write whatever they want, and a zero attempt to rebut any negative assertions, this book is an awful work”. Then you spend 4-6 paragraphs citing MAJOR inaccuracies or misleading choice of words that paint the K in a better picture than what his real achievement really is, then a conclusion. This way it becomes a useful, readable (for people who are not really knowledgeable in Thai politics) piece of writing which would not discourage people.
In other words, my suggestion is: write a short, 2000 word review about this book as an addition. Then you may take your sweet time to complete your five part analysis of this book (which I am sure it is as unreliable and bogus as anything the Thai officials have proclaimed about the King, who is not a virtuous, down to earth figure like they claim. In fact he is an unremorseful murderer and a n extremely rich dictator who (accidentally) killed his brother to become king, and uses lese majeste to force people to love him.
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Polo, no one can save Thailand, but itself. It is unlikely however as long as it blinds itself to the truth. So every effort counts.
As long as there is 112, we need all the outside help we can get. Since anyone who bring up the subject here will be slap with LM.
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CT #8
You are welcome to say whatever you like, whether you are an English major or not, and you are of course absolutely right. The vast piece I am writing is not really a review at all, and that will become clearer as all five parts fall into place. It is more of a detailed counternarrative.
Part 2 is now almost entirely online: it is a lengthy and not entirely positive review of KBAALW.
Part 3 will be my account of what really happened during Bhumibol’s reign.
It would indeed be useful if I learned to make my narratives more concise and accessible. I spent 17 years at Reuters writing superficial 600-word stories and now that I have resigned I seem to have gone to the other extreme. Hopefully one of these days I will find the zen path along the middle way.
Bests
Andrew
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@Andrew,
lol, thank you for your response. I agree that to write concisely is somewhat an art form which requires much practice and skill. To write interestingly, cohesively, and engagingly is also difficult (and you have this ability in spades), but to be precise and concise is the most difficult skill of all.
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Andrew. How about giving me Part 4 of “Thai Story” before starting on a 5-part review of “A Life’s Work”. You’re in danger of not completing your own life’s work!
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Stuart #12
Part 4 of #thaistory is not too far away, though I have learned to be as unspecific as possible on exactly when it will be published, given my problem with meeting deadlines (just as I have gone to the other extreme of the Reuters standard of 600-word stories, I have also enjoyed my freedom from Reuters “we need it NOW” deadlines a little too much…)
However, the project has changed a bit too. When I began publishing #thaistory, all but a dozen or so Thai cables had never been published, and I was putting exclusive material in the public domain. After the Guardian newspaper moronically put the password to the whole Cablegate file in an e-book, all quarter of a million cables were put on line, and have been there for several months. Ironically, because they are in the public domain, few people bother with them now, but in my view there are significant insights to be found there about many countries.
Anyway, now that those cables are available to all, I have started focusing my research on older US, British and Japanese cables from the 1940s to the 1980s, because they are freely available in the archives. I assume a lot of people have dug through them before but never published what they found because of 112 etc. As an outlaw already I have no such qualms.
So the final #thaistory will be rather more historical than initially planned.
But don’t be too quick to dismiss my little book review. It will contain an unusual amount of exclusive information. Just as KBAALW is not really a look at “Thailand’s monarchy in perspective”, my review of KBAALW is not really a review of KBAALW, although it does contain one, among other things.
Bests
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I have now read the review by A Marshall part I-III and find it excellent. Very satisfying to read a factual account of events that shaped the country. It puts many pieces together that, at least for an outsider like myself, have been clouded by propaganda and censorship.
I wish every Thai would have access to facts and publications such as this review. I hope that A Marshall will publish his work in book form and translated into Thai language online.
Perhaps, if Anand had not been accidentally killed by his brother and the royals/military allowed to pin the blame on Pridi, Thailand of today would be a much more developed democracy instead of the current unstable mess.
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@Johan said: “Perhaps, if Anand had not been accidentally killed by his brother and the royals/military allowed to pin the blame on Pridi, Thailand of today would be a much more developed democracy instead of the current unstable mess.”
To be honest, no one really knows the future. Ananda himself is not stronger than his brother (who, in many scholar’s view, is a weak King who has no standing, and the fact that he has a dark secret to hide regarding his brother’s accidental death, weakens him even further). Thus, who knows what plans the Royalists have up their sleeves. Sarit could have staged a coup to oust Pridi, claiming that he is not loyal to the Monarchy, and King Ananda would be hailed as an inviolable god instead of his brother. Who knows.
King Ananda is certainly popular. The Thais love him, and I dare to say that when Ananda was the King, Thais love him more than they love his brother. And it is very possible that the royalists can use Pridi’s republican antics to oust him, accusing him that he wants to overthrow King Ananda. And I am very sure that King Ananda himself would not be taking a firm stance to oppose such a coup.
As long as the Thais do not believe in democracy, Thailand will never step out of the dark ages.
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Counterfactual history is fascinating but as CT #15 says, we can never know. However, I do suspect, like Johan #14, that were it not for the killing of Ananda, Pridi Banomyong would almost certainly have had a much greater influence on postwar Thai politics, to the probable benefit of the country.
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Sounds to me like Pridi is an unsung hero of Thailand. Unfortunately his role seems to have been completely whitewashed from official history, and many Thais probably have little idea. If anyone deserves a book, it’s him.
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CT #15
“As long as the Thais do not believe in democracy, Thailand will never step out of the dark ages.”
Hits the nail on the head really…..
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Or rather:
As long as the Thais in power do not believe in democracy, Thailand will never step out of the dark ages.
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After much embarrassment, Part V of Andrew MacGregor Marshall’s book review cum magnum opus is out. here’s a link: http://www.zenjournalist.com/2012/03/the-tragedy-of-king-bhumibol-v/
Andrew, now that this temporary diversion appears to be nearing its end, do you think you can oblige with Part IV of #Thaistory?
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How come the authorities block only part IV
“ขออภัยในความไม่สะดวก
กระทรวงเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและการสื่อสาร ได้มีคำสั่งให้ระงับการเผยแพร่เว็บไซด์ที่ท่านต้องการเข้าชม
เนื่องจากมีรูปภาพ ข้อความ และ เนื้อหาบางส่วนที่ไม่เหมาะสม สอบถามรายละเอียดเพิ่มเติมได้ที่
กระทรวงเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและการสื่อสาร โทร 0 2141 6950”…
while parts 1-3 and 5 are still accessible?
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I see the Bangkok Post has a story on a Thai film production of “The Scottish Play” being banned.
Since Shakespeare speaks to timeless universal truths on the workings of the state, politic intrigue and dysfunctional relationships (Hence his enduring relevance and popularity) I wonder what Shakespeare play would be permissible in these interesting times?
“The Comedy of Errors” perhaps??
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Dr Niles Crane: “I see the Bangkok Post has a story on a Thai film production of “The Scottish Play” being banned. Since Shakespeare speaks to timeless universal truths on the workings of the state, politic intrigue and dysfunctional relationships (Hence his enduring relevance and popularity) I wonder what Shakespeare play would be permissible in these interesting times? “The Comedy of Errors” perhaps??”
Might have to ban all the classics of Greek and Roman literature as well, since these works also have eery similarities and “speak to timeless universal truths on the workings of the state.”
Perhaps even more important, classical works of Southeast Asian literature (and Pali literature from Sri Lanka such as the Mahavamsa and its commentaries, the basis for the mythical part of the Burmese chronicle) also deal with the universal truths of politics in a similar fashion but are neglected, so no one needs to censor them, I guess. It would perhaps be a great honor to Pali literature if someone created censor-worthy modern adaptations of classic Pali historical works such as the Mahavamsa relevant to current events. Maybe people would actually start reading them and recognize their relevance (perhaps as relevant as Greek and Roman classics are to western civ).
Also, the Macbeth censorship seems to be aimed at protecting the sensibilities of Thaksin supporters, so it will be interesting to see if left-leaning New Mandala intellectuals will remain loyal to billionaire saviour of the poor Thaksin or whether they will flip to critical mode if his regime once again starts to trample over human rights again as it once did. (Time to write a political allegory/parody of left-leaning Southeast Asian studies intellectual reality deniers using the reality denying Stalin-era marxists of Simone de Beauvoir’s “Le Mandarins”)
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JonFernQuest:
It is apparently ambiguous whether the censors objected to the “anti-Thaksin” allegory/tone, or the further additional implications in regard to the present Thai King andespecially the present Queen and Prince, or to both areas.
But it is not ambiguous that the censor committee have nothing to do with Thaksin in terms of their appointment or position and it seems a bit of a stretch to “blame” this absurd (and totally counter-productive in terms of worldwide publicity the film is now getting) act of pointless censorship on Thaksin and the Yingluck/Pheu Thai government.
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Peter,
What amuses me is the thought of a censor watching the movie, drawing his own allusions from it and being terrified of upsetting anyone on either side of the political divide.
I’ll stop now as I feel a slew of pithily relevant Shakespearean quotations coming on!
Oh…and I see from my window that Yoshi the gardener is raking the gravel in an unharmonious anti-clockwise wrong direction this morning….
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PTT has trailer clip of the film. It looks quite intriguing. The semiotic references of the the burning “เหี้ย” and what seems to be a reenactment of a scene from the thammasat massacre were jarring.
http://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/
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Peter: “It is apparently ambiguous whether the censors objected to the “anti-Thaksin” allegory/tone, or the further additional implications in regard to the present Thai King and especially the present Queen and Prince, or to both areas.”
Two things are clear, 1. Thaksin supporters would find it offensive and 2. the film was funded under the non-Thaksin fiscal stimulus program. Maybe it is one the other or both reasons that you suggest. As for it being ambiguous, of course it is, along with everything else for the last umpteen years.
“But it is not ambiguous that the censor committee have nothing to do with Thaksin in terms of their appointment or position and it seems a bit of a stretch to “blame” this absurd (and totally counter-productive in terms of worldwide publicity the film is now getting) act of pointless censorship on Thaksin and the Yingluck/Pheu Thai government.”
1. What? That is exactly what people do on this blog do all the time!
2. What is the name of the film? “Shakespeare must die.” The title apes all the people who want to punch, kick, swear, throw people in jail and commit acts of violence every time they perceive an act of LM. (not a very good way to honor any Buddhist monarch, I might add) The authors probably knew it stood a good chance of being censored or getting slapped with a defamation suit or some other neanderthal reaction, but in the long-run its real significance is probably its intercultural intertextuality which is really quite cool.
3. Contrary to what some police officers might think, the film in fact does do honor to the Thai institution of monarchy, in that some filmmaker and artist works hard to create a film with deep literary meaning that invokes great works of world literature from the past that have also reflected on these universal themes in the institution of monarchy.
BTW Pali literature is the way to go though, a neglected part of Thai, Burmese, Lao, Cambodian, Sri Lankan, Indian heritage. May Pali literature have a bright future !
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