Fine Books on Asia

Kingdom of Make-Believe

Dean Barrett

Village East Books
272 Paperback Original
ISBN 0-9661899-0-6
$9.80
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Brian Mason is a New York publisher who once served in Thailand during the Vietnam War and whose brother was killed in battle in Vietnam.  A plea for help from his brother's Thai widow sends him back to Thailand where he finds that the nostalgic portrait he carried of Thailand past bears little resemblance to reality.  Little by little, he begins to uncover deception—both past and present; to learn the truth about his brother's death and to better understand himself.

The action ranges from Manhattan's Washington Square Park to a typhoon-ravaged Hong Kong to Thailand's notorious nightlife and warlord betrayals inside the Golden Triangle. An exotic thriller, Kingdom of Make-Believe is, at its heart, the story of a man coming to terms with reality and with himself.

Reviews

". . . a novel of one man's mid-life crisis, an adventure story, and an exploration of Thailand's exotic delights and an inquiry into the aftermath of the Vietnam War."

    —Publishers Weekly

"Very Highly Recommended.  A tantalizing taste of a culture, worlds apart from our own. Dean Barrett paints a sharp, clear picture of the reality of life. An excellent account of one man's struggle to find the truth in his existence."
    —Holly E. Price, Under the Covers

"A poignant and perceptive novel describing the passions unleashed when West meets East. Kingdom of Make-Believe is written with sensitivity and style by a writer who has a clear understanding of both worlds.
    —John Hoskin, author, The Mekong

"Kingdom of Make-Believe could only have been written by one who has experienced the Kingdom—and felt the pangs of seeing its magic mirrors crack and shatter."
    —Denis Gray, Chief of Bureau, AP, Bangkok