Tales from a Pattani village
A new book reveals what life is really like in Thailand's deep south
The Reading Room on Silom Road is hosting a book launch for American author Mira Lee Manickam’s “Just Enough: A Journey into Thailand's Troubled South” by on April 24 at 7.30pm.
“Just Enough” travels inside the conflict zone of Thailand’s southernmost provinces and gets under the surface of traditional Malay Muslim culture. Mira Lee Manichkam, an adventurous American researcher, takes the reader with her as she settles into a small fishing village in troubled Pattani Province. Stepping uncertainly into this deeply traditional world, she gains privileged access to a side of Malay Muslim society rarely seen by outsiders and obscured by the violence featured in Thai newspapers.
In a style that is humorous, honest, and moving, Manickam charts the southern Thai conflict through her travels in the region and tells the stories of her friends in the village: a gang of wild-haired teenage boys who observe conservative religious protocol by day and listen to heavy metal in back-street teashops by night; a group of young women too educated to find husbands in the village but too traditional to leave; an impoverished fisherman with a Zen-like stance on impermanence; and a dropout who immerses himself in Western culture as a star rock-climber in a nearby beach resort. These stories illustrate the tension between the values of a traditional Malay Muslim community and the demands of an increasingly modern Thai society.
“Just Enough” is a personal journey of growth, loss, and friendship, and reveals the colours of daily life that lie beneath the black and white of newspaper headlines.
The book launch will be accompanied by a short 20 minute documentary about Dato, the village in Pattani upon which the book is based.
Schedule:
7.30pm Quick introduction 20 minute video
7.50pm Introduction of author/director
8pm Readings from the book (simultaneous translation in Thai), accompanied by photos and some facts and personal comments
8.30pm Q & A (30 minutes)
More information visit www.ReadingRoomBkk.com
