THAI BOOKS
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Title: Four Reigns
Author: M.R. Kukrit Pramoj
Publisher: Silkworm books
Isbn: 974-7100-66-5
Year: 2007 5th edition
Language: English
Rate: 7/7
Type: Novel
Summary: The Four Reigns (สี่แผ่นดิน), M.R. Kukrit's longest and best-known novel, is the rich and entertaining story of the life of Phloi and her family, both inside and outside palace walls. The story unfolds during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V) in the closing years of the 1800s, ending in the mid 1940s with the death of his grandson, King Ananda Mahidol (King Rama VIII). Over a span of four reigns, we see the lives of minor courtiers under the absolute monarchy and watch the huge social and political changes that Thailand experienced as it opened itself up to international contact. We follow the characters against the historical backdrops of the 1932 revolution, the new constitutional monarchy, the growing Japanese presence in Thailand, the outbreak of World War II, and the allied bombing raids on Bangkok. Through the lives and relationships of Phloi and her husband and children, we experience modern Thai history in an inmate and personal way, garnering new insights into the sensibilities of an era. Four Reigns was originally written in 1953 as a newspaper serial in the Thai daily, Siam Rath. M.R. Kukrit Pramoj (1911-1995), born in Thailand and educated at Queen's college, Oxford, was a true renaissance man. He was a prime minister, politician, and elder statesman, a classical dancer, outspoken critic, journalist, and writer. He wrote more than twenty books, many of which have come modern classics. I really enjoyed reading Kukrit Pramoj's great novel 'Four Reigns' with the 1932 Siamese revolution and 1935 Rama VII abdication. It is a really enjoyable well written book. Very interesting to follow up Mae Phloi's life through various Thai kings reign and see the Thai society evolution such as short hair replaced by long hair, betel stopped to keep white teeth, foreign politics influence, unique wife instead of several wives, pha nung replaced by pha sin, children sent abroad for education, foreign medicine growing influence, cars... Two Thai TV lakorn were done in 2546 and 2534 (Chatchai Plengpanich and Jintara Sookkapa).
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