Thursday, January 22, 2015

First Tastes: Sonchai Jitpleecheep in BANGKOK EI8HT

by Margot Kinberg

Thank you, Craig, for inviting me to contribute to your 'First Tastes' feature. One of the more unusual sleuths of recent decades is John Burdett's Sonchai Jitpleecheep, a member of the Royal Thai Police. And it's the very fact that he's not a 'garden variety' sleuth that makes strong impression in his first outing, BANGKOK EI8HT.

Perhaps the most important thing about Sonchai – the aspect of his character that stands out the most – is that he is an observant Buddhist. From the very first line of BANGKOK EI8HT, we learn this about him:

"The African American Marine in the grey Mercedes will soon die of bites from Naja siamensis, but we don’t know that yet, Pichai and I (the future is impenetrable, says the Buddha)."

Sonchai will likely be the first to say that he is not as far along in his Buddhist journey as others. But the Buddhist world view and perspective are tightly woven into his approach to life.

In BANGKOK EI8HT, Sonchai and his partner Pichai Apiradee are tailing a car when its driver is murdered. When the two detectives get out of their car to investigate, Pichai ends up being killed as well. Sonchai regards Pichai as his 'soul brother,' so he determines to avenge his friend's death. As he goes about investigating the murders, we see how his character shows both the very natural human wish for revenge and an awareness that that's not a very enlightened point of view if you're a Buddhist.

Still, as he tells the reader, 'You have to remember we're Buddhist.'

That set of beliefs informs much of what he does. In fact, Buddhism is the reason for which Sonchai joined the police. He and Pichai were responsible for the shooting of a drug dealer.  As a way of mending his karma and trying to do some good, Sonchai became a police officer with the goal of preventing and solving killings.

Another essential aspect of Sonchai's character that makes a strong first impression is that he is biracial. His mother is Thai, a former bar girl; his father is White. He is thoroughly Thai in his outlook and lifestyle, but in some ways, he has a very farang – foreign – appearance. Also, unlike many Thais, he's lived in other countries, particularly France and Germany. He's learned enough about farang ways to be very useful when the FBI takes an interest in  the murder he's investigating, and sends an agent to Bangkok to work on the case. It turns out that the victim is US Marine William Bradley, who just may have been involved in the illegal jade trade. So the FBI wants a hand in the investigation. But in spite of Sonchai's appearance and familiarity with other people's ways, 'I feel very Thai, despite my straw-colored hair and sharp nose.'

He doesn't really identify with any other culture. He even occasionally shows a little contempt for some farangs.

That said though, he is also conscious of the fact that his father is White. He's asked his mother about him, but thus far, she hasn't told him his father's identity. She has said that she'll tell him when she's ready to, but it's apparently a difficult issue for her. And although he doesn't press her too much, Sonchai feels incomplete without that knowledge.

Still, Sonchai has a very deep connection to Thailand and an extensive knowledge of Bangkok, which he often calls by its Thai name Krung Thep. He knows every part of the city, not just the precinct where he works. Because of his mother's former profession, he's as comfortable in Bangkok's sex clubs and bars as he is anywhere else, and he's made connections all over the city. His love of the city doesn't blind him to its weaknesses, but he gives the impression that he wouldn't really be completely comfortable living anywhere else.

Sonchai also gives the first impression of introspection. And his quest is logical for a number of reasons. For one thing, as I've already mentioned, he is committed to Buddhism, and that tradition teaches the value of that kind of soul-searching. For another, he doesn't have what you could call a blameless past.

'After we murdered the yaa baa dealer our mothers secured us an interview with the Abbot of a monastery in the far north, who told us we were the lowest form of life in the ten thousand universes.'

Now that he's working on living a better life (from the Buddhist perspective), he wants to make sense of it all:

'...I am stranded here in the pollution called life on earth. I must try harder with my meditation.'

And yet, Sonchai doesn't wallow in self-hatred. He knows that he does his job well, and he has faith that he can get answers in this case. To put it another way, his self-reflection doesn't get mired in rumination.

So in sum, what sort of impression does Sonchai Jitpleecheep make in his first outing? He is a devout, but very pragmatic Buddhist. That's how he thinks, and that's how he goes about investigating cases. He is intimately familiar with Bangkok and its ways. He understands a lot of farangs better than they do him. And he does his best to accept things as they are and make the best of them. In other words, he is quintessentially Thai. At the same time, he doesn't deny that he has another side – a side that makes him sometimes question what he believes: 'I, on the other hand, find myself to be one of life's ditherers.'

That doesn't stop him being a skilled cop and very natural fit with the Bangkok setting of this series.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Margot Kinberg is a mystery novelist and an Associate Professor at the Carlsbad campus of National University in Southern California.

She is the author of PUBLISH OR PERISH and B-VERY FLAT, two mystery tales set in a university environment, starring police detective turned professor Joel Williams, and was a driving force behind the charity short story anthology, IN A WORD, MURDER. Margot blogs about crime fiction at Confessions of a Mystery Novelist.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What do you think of John Burdett's Buddhist Bangkok cop? Do you enjoy a bit of philosophy or spirituality in your crime fiction? Margot and I would love to hear what you think of Sonchai Jitpleecheep?

16 comments:

  1. Sounds like an interesting character - I like the idea of the Buddhist element. Thanks for introducing us to Sonchai, Margot. I've seen the book being mentioned around the book world but hadn't really picked up much impression of what it would be like. Intriguing...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FictionFan - One of the things that appeal to me about Sonchai is that he's not your ordinary everyday sort of cop. His Buddhism is important, and readers learn about Buddhist beliefs and Thai traditions in the series. But in my opinion anyway, the books also feature a solid focus on the mystery at hand.

      Delete
  2. This sounds like a very interesting protagonist Margot. Extremely different to ones I've read before. I might have to look him up. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rebecca - Thanks. That was actually my first impression of Sonchai: that he is different to other protagonists out there. I'll be really interested in what you think of him and Burdett's work if you try it.

      Delete
  3. Thank you for a great introduction to Sonchai Jitpleecheep Margot. This Buddhist perspective certainly makes this book stand out from the crowd although the last quote was what won me over, I prefer to call it 'considering the options' though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cleo - I like your way of putting it very much! And this novel and series really are innovative in that sense of offering a different sort of perspective on life, work and just about everything. And in my opinion anyway, it's all explained in a way that doesn't insult the reader.

      Delete
  4. Wait. Wait. Wait. How do you pronounce his last name?

    I like that the character is mixed race and has strong religious beliefs. There are a lot of foreign words in the novel. Does that make the book hard to read?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Clarissa - Some of the words are a little difficult, but there aren't that many (at least I didn't find it so) that you can't easily follow the story and read it. And most of the time, Sonchai's surname isn't used. Oh, and in one rather funny scene, his FBI counterpart is trying to pronounce his surname and doesn't quite succeed...

      Delete
  5. That was a wonderful write up. Now I want to immediately go and read about him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Malvika :-) - I think he is a really interesting character.

      Delete
  6. I am always amazed at the intriguing authors and books you share with us, Margot. This one definitely sounds like it would be quite interesting. This would also be one that I'd like to listen to in order to get the full benefit of the foreign language experience.

    Craig, thanks for hosting Margot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mason - Thank you. This series really is interesting both on a sociocultural level and on the level of the plot itself. I recommend it.

      Delete
  7. I'm a big fan of Sonchai Jitpleecheep - I've only read the first book in the series, but look forward to many more. He is such an interesting mix of West and East, he is a real intercultural link, who is part of Thai society but also ever so slightly an outsider.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't he fascinating, Marina Sofia? I like the way you phrase it, too: a mix of East and West. He is, as you say, firmly and proudly Thai. But he does have a sense of Western identity too to an extent.

      Delete
  8. What a lovely job you did of making this series seem like an essential read.

    ReplyDelete