Book review: Tone Deaf in Bangkok

In Tone Deaf in Bangkok, Janet Brown does a remarkable job of capturing daily life in Bangkok and chronicling her transformation from her early days exploring the city as a farang to settling into the rhythms of the city to her eventual journey back to the United States.

Nana Chen’s photography accompanies Janet Brown’s text. Chen’s captivating image of schoolboys in the rain adorns the cover while many other candid glimpses of daily life in Thailand grace the pages. From vendors hawking food in street stalls to the hazy Bangkok sunrise to people riding motorbikes and boats, the combination of Brown’s text and Chen’s images make a reader feel the hot, sticky heat of a day in Bangkok and smell the tantalizing aromas emanating from the noodle stalls.

For another glimpse into Janet Brown’s journeys in Southeast Asia, check out her blog which she frequently updates with accounts of daily life, from the Phnom Penh hotel that became a cockroach superhighway in the evening to the birds in her Bangkok yard.