What Are the Most Interesting Themes in Fictional Writing About Thailand?

[RSD1]

I’ve read a lot of fictional novels about Thailand over the years, and based on that, I’ve put together a list of what I consider to be the 20 most common themes authors tend to write about. Originally, I was just going to make a post listing all 20 and ask which ones resonate with people the most, but to make it easier for everyone to share their opinions, I decided to set it up as a poll instead.

 

The idea is simple: if you enjoy reading fiction or novels, which topics or themes about Thailand do you find most engaging from the list of 20? The poll allows you to select as many options as you’d like, so you don’t have to narrow down your choice to just one or two.

 

Please note that this is about fictional topics for reading rather than general subjects of interest about Thailand.

 

Also, if there are any other themes or ideas you’d like to discuss regarding fictional writing about Thailand, feel free to share them below.

[it is what it is]

 

thai dance and cuisine.

[RSD1]

Just now, it is what it is said:

 

thai dance and cuisine.

Thanks! But none of the other 20 I listed?

[Harrisfan]

Stickman

[RSD1]

2 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Stickman

It's on the list of 20 already: Sex tourism, nightlife, and go-go bars

[dinsdale]

Guns, relationships, crying and being in hospital. Guaranteed in any Thai soapy. ABSOLUTE PUERILE GARBAGE.

[save the frogs]

13 hours ago, RSD1 said:

It's on the list of 20 already: Sex tourism, nightlife, and go-go bars

what could possibly be written about go-go bars that would fill a 300 page book?

 

most fiction is exaggeration and make believe fantasy to intrigue readers. 

 

sorry, i havent read any fiction about thailand. cant help you. just trolling. 

 

[Maxbkkcm]

The white lotus it exposed the farangs accurately.

[StandardIssue]

Bob's daily adventures

[connda]

Boom boom boom, let's go back to my room...
Brit expat knocked unconscious by 10 security guards at popular nightclub - police find drugs...
"What! That's not my heroin, it's hers," Brit expat denies drug use, pee tests purple for opioids..."
Brit expat spruiks new book: "Hell In The Bangkok Hilton"...
Author of "Hell In The Bangkok Hilton extradited to the UK to face charges of pedophilia...
Author of "Hell In The Bangkok Hilton" unable to collect book royalty states judge - author opens "Go Fund Me" page...
Author of "Hell In The Bangkok Hilton" found beat, hanged in prison showers - coroner rules suicide...

Oh wait!  That's not fiction!

[connda]

You missed this one OP:

Everything John Burdett writes about.

 

That would have saved you the hassle of writing 20 choices (about 15 choices too many imho).

[ignore it]

Don't know the most interesting, but there's always AN for some boring ones.

[dutch boy]

One book by my favorite author, Paul Theroux, it is titled "Siamese Nights." The book is about an American businessman that is posted to Bangkok.  It is a fascinating read about how a typical businessman can be taken in and have his life turned upside-down.

 

If you enjoy history, an interesting two part book series titled "The Falcon of Siam" by Axel Alywen is a sweeping historical read about Thailand's early kingdom. Another great book. 

[keysersoze276]

That Thailand was never occupied by France or Britain because Thailand was too strong.  That’s pure fiction. Thailand was just a buffer. An insignificant little country that both sides drew a line in the sand.  

[RSD1]

22 hours ago, save the frogs said:

what could possibly be written about go-go bars that would fill a 300 page book?

 

most fiction is exaggeration and make believe fantasy to intrigue readers. 

 

sorry, i havent read any fiction about thailand. cant help you. just trolling. 

 

Fiction is often a really good type of reading if you want to learn about the nuances of a local society and customs. The stories are of course not real, but you can often learn a lot more about a place from a fictional novel than you can from some non-fiction writing. 

[RSD1]

3 hours ago, dutch boy said:

One book by my favorite author, Paul Theroux, it is titled "Siamese Nights." The book is about an American businessman that is posted to Bangkok.  It is a fascinating read about how a typical businessman can be taken in and have his life turned upside-down.

 

If you enjoy history, an interesting two part book series titled "The Falcon of Siam" by Axel Alywen is a sweeping historical read about Thailand's early kingdom. Another great book. 

Thank you for the suggestions, I'll check them out. 

[RSD1]

6 hours ago, connda said:

You missed this one OP:

Everything John Burdett writes about.

 

That would have saved you the hassle of writing 20 choices (about 15 choices too many imho).

 

I read one or two of his early books ages ago—Bangkok 8 and possibly Bangkok Tattoo. I wasn’t really over the moon with either of them. They were okay, readable, but not particularly memorable.

 

Meanwhile, I purposely split that list into two groups. The first ten are based on deeper subjects, while the second set of ten focuses on more superficial, typical go-to topics that authors gravitate toward when trying to sell lots of books to sex tourists and wannabe denizens—more in line with the genre Burnett focuses on.

[chondan]

I liked this.  Good job RSD1.

[RSD1]

2 minutes ago, chondan said:

I liked this.  Good job RSD1.

Thank you. My pleasure. 

[RSD1]

23 hours ago, save the frogs said:

what could possibly be written about go-go bars that would fill a 300 page book?

Actually, if you turn the clock back about 30 years, you could probably fill a 300 page book with merely all the times I short timed inside a go-go bar. 🤣

[NoDisplayName]

Hub Dreams

[chondan]

3 minutes ago, chondan said:

I liked this.  Good job RSD1.

Lands Of The Free.  By Lew Ruffing.  A PCV in rural Thailand in 1972.   He worked in Amphur Chondan, Petchabun.  Hmmm I wonder why I mention him.

[chondan]

6 minutes ago, chondan said:

Lands Of The Free.  By Lew Ruffing.  A PCV in rural Thailand in 1972.   He worked in Amphur Chondan, Petchabun.  Hmmm I wonder why I mention him.

Available on Amazon.

[save the frogs]

23 hours ago, RSD1 said:

Actually, if you turn the clock back about 30 years, you could probably fill a 300 page book with merely all the times I short timed inside a go-go bar. 🤣

I suppose you could make it into an X-rated Harlequin novel of sorts. But I never did care for that type of literature.

 

maybe youtubers documenting their experiences in thailand is more useful than most of this "fantasy fiction", but to each his own. 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

This is an easy question.

 

Great writing, in Thai script.....

 

IS A FICTION.

 

 

[lamyai3]

17 hours ago, dutch boy said:

One book by my favorite author, Paul Theroux, it is titled "Siamese Nights." The book is about an American businessman that is posted to Bangkok.  It is a fascinating read about how a typical businessman can be taken in and have his life turned upside-down.

 

Thanks for the tip, reading it on kindle now - good stuff. 

[RSD1]

1 hour ago, lamyai3 said:

 

Thanks for the tip, reading it on kindle now - good stuff. 

I don't think I could stand to read another Thai bar girl story. The subject seems so overdone and pedestrian in 2025. But that's just me. Hope you enjoy it. 

[StreetCowboy]

I enjoyed Windup Girl by Paulo Somebodyorother.  It’s an interesting extrapolation of current conditions.

[Sparkling]

Skyline Deluxe by Marianne Le Solleil Levant

 

it is currently available only in german

 

A romantic novella about the adventure of an erotic experiment in the science of love

A photorealistic fairy tale for adults. A book like a poem. While on a business trip to Bangkok,
a dreamy free spirit and musician, Tom encounters a Japanese woman at the table next to him at breakfast.

He finds himself fascinated by her inexplicable attraction to him. His helpless attempts to establish contact
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Sensitive, personal conversations alternate with philosophical, 

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and the erotic exploration of their physical unions is not lacking in its intensity. 
They have a lot of fun, and more than a few comedic scenes garnish the proceedings. 
The suddenly intimate partners are each gentle and cheeky, awkward and funny in their own way. 
In the complement of the equally tolerant yet strict Asian society and the no less complementary 
advantages of prosperity with its demand for decent correctness, they stagger into friendly romance 
steeped in their otherworldly amour fou. 
Happiness has a catch. Both know it.

It was her idea. He agreed. 
Skyline Deluxe is a metaphysical love story unfolding in real time. 
Insanely sexy. Extremely clever. Super interesting. So very romantic. Totally amusing. And pretty funny.

fyi: the cover is a traditional image of the kinaree manora. one of the ancient tales, 
a love story of a celestial kinaree

[FriscoKid]

 

Most fictional novels written about Thailand focus on sex tourism, nightlife, go-go bars, backpacker culture, cheap thrills, partying in the islands, Thai mafia, gangsters, underworld crime, scams, hustlers, con artists preying on tourists, drug smuggling, alcoholism, ladyboys, addiction, dangerous expat lifestyles, romance with Thai women, cultural misunderstandings in love, corrupt police, bribery, lawlessness in the Thai system, Muay Thai fights, underground betting, and street brawls. All great for noobs who like that stuff, but too pedestrian and uninteresting for anyone who has spent anytime in country.