Reviews

Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad

lsaligmander's review against another edition

4.0

I rarely rate a book higher than it’s good reads average, but I actually liked this one. The author’s vivid descriptions make you feel like you are in the place he is describing. I also loved the way the novel zoomed past the present and into the future just as seamlessly as it engaged with the past. I am giving this four and not five stars because sometimes it felt that the individual stories went on tangents that were too far from the core storyline to be interesting. I also wish that the connections between the different chapters had become clearer earlier in the book, because I almost gave up on it in the beginning when I thought it was just random stories from different time periods.

niallharrison's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

paracosm's review against another edition

2.0

By now I've read enough short story collections to figure out that I don't like this particular format; which is a set of scenes from different characters' POV that are interconnected in some way, and basically no plot.

I like shorts stories with an interesting premise, that have a contained beginning, middle and end. And this book simply wasn't that, which is entirely on me.

I spent most of the book bored, waiting for it to end. I didn't care for any of the characters, which was made worse by the fact they kept coming back. The one savings grace this book has is the writing style, it was quite lovely.

madiriye's review against another edition

3.0

Finally finished this! It took me about halfway through the book to start being entertained. It was difficult to follow at some points and boring at other points, but overall I’m glad I read it. I thought the concept of showing Bangkok’s past, present, and future was kind of fascinating.

kotabee's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

3.5

curiouslykaylee's review against another edition

2.0

This book was definitely an odd choice for me, but that is the point of my library’s reading challenge

heathssm's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

amysou0204's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

Very difficult to read and get into. This book spans over many decades and looks at the lives of many different characters but the stories are not in chronological order and it is very difficult to try to remember all the characters' names to know who the chapter is about. The book was very confusing and while some of the story lines were interesting and would have made for a much better book had it focused on just those better story lines, other ones were lacking and a bit unnecessary in my opinion and could have been omitted for a smoother, more fluent read.

van_worldexplorer's review against another edition

4.0

Beautifully woven story of people in the same space over time. Loved how things concerted. The ending was a little weird but I don’t hate it. Loved the family dynamics displayed and how people changed over time. 

toddbert's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5