Siam: Or the Woman Who Shot a Man

Author(s): Lily Tuck

Location(s): Bangkok, Thailand

Genre(s): Fiction

Era(s): 1960s

Location

Content

Set in 1967, ”Siam” follows the fortunes of Claire, a 25-year-old bride from Boston. Blond-haired, blue-eyed, the daughter of a Harvard classics professor, Claire barely knows where Thailand is when she meets James, her husband-to-be. (”It’s pronounced tie not thigh land,” he tells her.) James works for the Joint United States Military Assistance Advisory Group — the ugly acronym, Jusmaag, echoes throughout the narrative — and he describes his life in Bangkok as one of ease and luxury. ”Everyone’s so friendly, everyone’s always smiling. And you should see my house — hot and cold running servants, a pool, a garden.”

After a brief courtship, Claire and James marry: that same night, they board a flight from Boston to Bangkok, flying west for nearly 24 hours, never catching up with the sun. When they finally arrive in Thailand, Claire is struck with the notion that she and James have lost their first married day. ”The lost day was Thursday, March 9, 1967. The same day on which Prime Minister Thanom Kittikachorn first announced to the Thai people that United States aircraft were bombing North Vietnam from bases in Thailand.’ New York Times

Claire meets Jim Thompson who disappears in the Cameron Highlands and her obsession with his fate guides the novel.

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