Gary Rutland has reviewed a book written over 25 years ago and made me want to read it once again. For those who never got around to reading A Killing Smile, the first in the Land of Smiles trilogy written by Christopher G. Moore perhaps it will prompt you to do so. The Land of Smiles series sits high on my bookshelf. It may be time to dust off all three.

Gary assures me that he is not yelling throughout the review, only that his caps key was stuck that day. Gary lives in Cha Am with his lovely wife, books, and music collection. He is either a polite Canadian or an acerbic Brit depending on the day of the week. He also blogs about music and 1-1 soccer matches on Facebook here

CHRISTOPHER G. MOORE     A KILLING SMILE     AN APPRECIATION

BY GARY RUTLAND

MY MOJO WAS MISSING.

GONE.

AWOL IF YOU WILL.

AND AS THE DAYS GOT HOTTER MY MOOD GOT DARKER WHILE MY MISSING MOJO STAYED STUBBORNLY AWAY.

BY DAY 10 I WAS DESPERATE, STARING DOWN THE BARREL OF A 2^ND DIVORCE IN AS MANY YEARS.

I NEEDED A PICK ME UP.

PRONTO.

I WAS JONESING FOR A JAZZ JOINT BUT CHEST PAINS AND S.E. ASIAN LOCATION NIXED THAT NOTION.

ALCOHOL’S NEVER BEEN AN OPTION, AND AS I AGE SEX IS FAST BECOMING AN OCCASIONAL EXTRA.

FOOD FOR ME HAS ALWAYS BEEN FUEL RATHER THAN PLEASURE AND SINCE QUITTING THE NICOTINE THE FAT AROUND MY MID-RIFF HAS MADE A MOSTLY SUCCESSFUL TAKEOVER BID FOR MY MIDDLE GROUND LEAVING ME IN A STATE OF DISCOMFORT AND CONSEQUENTLY ALMOST CONSTANTLY GRUMPY.

I NEEDED A PICK ME UP.

PRONTO.

AND THE DAYS KEPT GETTING HOTTER AND MY MOOD KEPT GETTING DARKER.

FINALLY, ON DAY 14 I LOOKED UP FROM MY DESK AND STARING BACK AT ME FROM MY BOOK-SHELF I SAW CHRISTOPHER G. MOORE’S “A KILLING SMILE”. I SMILED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME. A SMILE THAT KILLS MY WIFE EVERY TIME SHE ASSURES ME, SWEET-MOUTHED THAI FLATTERER THAT SHE IS.

WAS THIS MY PICK ME UP, I MUSED?

A GOOD BOOK OFTEN DOES THE TRICK FOR ME. AND IF RECENT HISTORY WAS ANYTHING TO GO BY, CHRISTOPHER’S BOOKS ARE GOOD.

THE DAY WAS GETTING HOTTER BUT MY MOOD WAS GETTING LIGHTER AS I STROLLED ACROSS MY STUDY AND EXTRACTED ‘A KILLING SMILE’ FROM MY SMALL, BUT LIKE ME BEAUTIFULLY FORMED, COLLECTION OF BOOKS.

THREE HOURS LATER, THE DAY WAS DEFINITELY HOTTER BUT MY MOOD WAS DEFINITELY BRIGHTER AS I WENT DOWN FOR LUNCH MY OWN KILLING SMILE SPREAD ACROSS MY FACE.

CHRISTOPHER  IS A “WRITER”. GRITTY, LITERATE AND PENETRATIVE HIS WRITING IS LIKE AN ONION, MULTI-LAYERED REQUIRING THE PEELING BACK OF EACH LAYER UNTIL THE HIDDEN MEANINGS AND TRUTHS ONLY HINTED AT ON THE SURFACE ARE ULTIMATELY REVEALED.

I WAS IMMEDIATELY DRAWN TO THE CAST OF CHARACTERS. THE SECRETIVE JUNKIE AMERICAN WIFE, HER NEUROTIC LAWYER HUSBAND AND THEIR ENIGMATIC FORMER FRIEND WHO IN HER CASE WAS A FORMER LOVER WHO NOW LIVES IN BANGKOK AND WHOM THE HUSBAND SOON TRAVELS TO CONFRONT AFTER HIS WIFE’S UNEXPECTED AND INITIALLY UNEXPLAINED DEATH IN A CAR ACCIDENT.

THE THAI CHARACTERS ARE NICELY REALIZED TOO, NO CARICATURES HERE JUST COMPLEX TROUBLED SOULS SEEKING TO FIND THEIR WAY BETWEEN THE WAYS OF THE CONTRASTING WORLDS THAT ARE EAST AND WEST. TWAINS THAT DESPITE MR KIPLING’S PROCLAMATION ARE INCREASINGLY MEETING WITH INCREASINGLY INTERESTING RESULTS.

WOVEN INTO THIS TAPESTRY CHRISTOPHER ALSO MANAGES TO EXPLORE COLONIAL HISTORY, CHARITY, SACRIFICE, REDEMPTION, THE DECAY OF THE WEST AS WELL AS EXAMINING THE CYNICAL WORLD-WEARY TRUTH THAT ULTIMATELY WE ALL PAY FOR SEX. IT’S JUST A QUESTION OF WHAT FORM THE CURRENCY WE USE TAKES; CASH OR MORTGAGES, MEALS AND MARRIAGES. CORRUPTION REARS ITS UGLY HEAD TOO THIS IS THAILAND AFTER ALL, AND YET IN ALL THE DARKNESS AND QUESTING FOR MEANING CHRISTOPHER STILL MANAGES TO FIND TIME FOR HUMOUR. ADMITTEDLY IT’S WORLD WEARY AND CYNICAL.

ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING THINGS I TOOK FROM THE BOOK IS THAT ALTHOUGH IT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1999 THE TRUISMS AND THE WINDOW ONTO THE THAI WORLD IT PROVIDES ARE PERHAPS EVEN MORE RELEVANT TODAY THAN WHEN IT WAS FIRST WRITTEN. I WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE BOOK IS NO LONGER JUST ABOUT THAILAND. IN THE ENSUING YEARS SINCE ITS PUBLICATION THE REST OF THE WORLD HAS CAUGHT UP WITH THE THAI WAY OF DOING BUSINESS. HOW ELSE DO YOU EXPLAIN THE PANAMA PAPERS THE RISE OF THE BILLIONAIRES AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST THE PSYCHOTIC DYSFUNCTIONAL FIASCO THAT AMERICA HAS BECOME.

SADLY, THE REST OF THE WORLD HASN’T CAUGHT UP WITH CERTAIN OTHER THAI CULTURAL TRAITS THAT ARE SO RARELY PUBLICISED AS NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR NICE THINGS ABOUT ANYTHING REALLY. SO THE THAI PROPENSITY FOR THOUGHTFULNESS, THE IMPULSE TO SMILE FIRST, TO PLEASE OTHERS BEFORE ONES-SELF HAVE BEEN PAPERED OVER AND LEFT MOSTLY UNREMARKED SO THAT WE CAN PASS JUDGEMENT FROM OUR LOFTY WESTERN MORAL HIGH-CHAIR.

“A KILLING SMILE” IS NOT A THRILLER PER SE BUT IT IS A THRILLING READ. ACCORDING TO THE INTRODUCTION IN THE ANNIVERSARY COPY I READ IT STARTED LIFE AS A WINDOW TO THE THAI AND EXPAT WORLD . 20 PLUS YEARS LATER IT STILL PERFORMS THAT TASK ADMIRABLY BUT NOW IT HOLDS UP A MIRROR TO THE REST OF THE WORLD TOO.

READ IT FOR FUN. READ IT FOR A PEAK INTO THAILAND AND ITS HISTORY. JUST READ IT,

THE VANCOUVER SUN CALLED CHRISTOPHER ‘THE MOST IMPORTANT RECREATOR OF THAILAND FOR A WESTERN AUDIENCE.” HE’S ALSO BEEN COMPARED FAVOURABLY TO ELMORE LEONARD AND W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM. I’D SAY HE’S CHRISTOPHER G. MOORE, READ HIM AND HE WILL ENRICH YOUR READING WORLD.

Christopher’s latest novel was released this month. Click the picture to go to the Amazon USA site for more information.