A WIFE IN BANGKOK

A dutiful wife and mother leaves small-town Oklahoma for Thailand in Lav’s debut novel set in the mid-1970s.

Brian Carrol accepts a job in Bangkok from an American oil and gas company. His journalist wife, Crystal, will remain in Pico City, Oklahoma with their children, Lisa and Tim, for two months while they complete the school year; then they’ll all move to Thailand to be with him. Brian never asked Crystal if she wanted to go, which she quietly laments. In Bangkok, Brian gets to know Judi, a masseuse, but turns down her sexual advances. Crystal reluctantly leaves her job, and once in Thailand with the kids, she feels isolated. Still, she develops a friendship with her maid, Nit, who hopes to attend an American university. Crystal insists on tutoring her, but Nit is unable to grasp English grammar and quits her job. Hoping to make amends, Crystal tracks down Nit’s parents, who accept the money she offers them but also berate her, noting that she knows “nothing of our lives.” Meanwhile, Brian uncovers an embezzlement scheme at his place of business, which puts the family in danger—and young Tim is briefly kidnapped. Later, Crystal discovers Brian’s secret relationship with Judi and becomes severely depressed; Brian arranges for her to return to the United States, where she’s hospitalized. Later, she returns to Bangkok, and begins writing remotely for the Oklahoma Daily. Over the course of this novel, Lav presents an ambitious tale about overstepping cultural boundaries and losing one’s autonomy within a marriage. However, some of the story’s more complex issues resolve far too easily; for instance, 8-year-old Tim is abducted for two entire days, but he recovers from the ordeal unrealistically quickly. The dialogue often falls flat, and the inner monologues are stilted and unrevealing (“I’m not sure of anything anymore. This is so hard!” Brian muses). The novel does, however, give readers an unusual glimpse of life in Thailand in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

An underdeveloped novel about finding one’s place when far away from home.