I bought this at World at the CornerWorld At The Corner. Because it takes place in Thailand, it seemed appropriate.

My in-laws took me to see the river. Which, incidentally, you have been pronouncing. If you end on a long i sound (like ‘my’), you are saying water buffalo. It should be end on a vowel sound more like that in ‘hey.’

The book itself is written in a strange style. Weirdly matter of fact, like Hemingway without any emotional adjectives. Or like a report which tries not to interrogate motives. Very different from our collective memories of Alec Guinness sabotaging William Holden’s sabotage.