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Review

Dragon’s Fin Soup

S. P. Somtow

1998

Asia Books






Review by Peter Young in The Thai Literary Supplement #4 (March 2016).


Reluctant about being labelled an ‘ethnic’ writer, Somtow long resisted writing creative fiction about Thailand. It was the science fiction author Fred Pohl who convinced him otherwise. Several stories in this collection of eight are notable: the truly excellent ‘ The Bird Catcher’ won the World Fantasy Award for best short story, ‘Dragon's Fin Soup’ has been optioned for a film by Japanese cult director Takashi Miike, and there is also the notably good virtual reality caper ‘The Last Time I Died in Venice’.

For the most part Somtow’s preference for horror comes through as his strongest suit, and his cultural schizophrenia means he can effectively translate some distinctly Thai supernaturalities into some very well-written and crystal clear English. Recommended.