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This column is for self
study or classroom use and gives guided help with reading the wide variety of writing styles and topics that appear as feature articles in the Bangkok Post. The lessons include background information, skill
building practice and vocabulary explanations.
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However, if you don't know who this interesting young man is there is no cause for alarm. You will get all you need to know in the following book review by Bernard Trink.
I have to say that this piece is more of a biography of the writer than a proper review. It does not make the article less interesting, rather after reading it I have become more curious about the content of Gor's first book. I plan not only to read it, but to discuss it with my students. Teenagers at home reading this should perhaps do the same with friends. After all, there is a whole world out there that most parents know nothing about.
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biography an account of somebody's life written or produced by another person, e.g., as a book, movie, or television program |
proper appropriate or correct |
curious eager to know about something or to get information |
THIS BOY'S LIFE
Thailand Life As a rule, stories about youngsters are penned by adults (e.g. Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist; Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn; JK Rowling's Harry Potter). Autobiographies are by men and women, recalling their childhood in the early chapters. When juveniles write for publication, it's the stuff of teenage magazines. Unlike music and mathematics, there are no literary prodigies. Panrit ''Gor'' Daoruang isn't one, yet has been widely read - on the Internet. He set up his first website in 1997 at age 12 and his ''Secret Diary'' in English caught on in Thailand as well as worldwide. The honesty of turning himself into an open book is appreciated by his fans, especially by peers who identify with his stress while growing up. Gor's pre-teen years in Bangkok were similar to those in Boston and Barcelona. His parents were hardworking, dad on the docks and mum in a factory, he and his young brother were raised by their grandmother. She didn't take her responsibility lightly in trying to set them on the right path. After a while, the family reunited in a single home. In school, the lad liked physical education and English but found the other subjects boring. Hours were spent every day playing football and basketball with his mates. Though befriended by teacher Richard Barrow, his reading was confined to comic books. Still, his English conversation improved. His early websites made him one of Thailand's first bloggers. What was on them? Anything that came to mind. There were Thai customs, a guide (he traveled around the country on his holidays), home life, friends, experiences, hopes, disappointments, and habits. He took up smoking, drinking, playing pool. After losing his baby fat, he became a butterfly. Not shy, he picked up so many girls that when they phoned he couldn't always place them. At 16, Gor was approached by the Bangkok Post to write a weekly column in the Learning Post. His observations about the local constabulary (''Have you noticed that they pocket the fines?''), double-tier pricing (''Farangs aren't very upset by it''), skin color (''If it were up to the Thais, they'd all be white''), Songkran (''Fun for some, a nightmare for others'') touched most of the bases. Unable to keep a secret, Gor reveals that for years he was a yaa baa (methamphetamine) addict, selling as well as taking it. During the course of his marriage his wife became addicted to methamphetamines too. Arrested and confessing, he's currently serving a three-year prison term. She's walked out on him and his mother is taking care of the baby, Grace. What junior high school educated Gor will do after completing his sentence is anybody's guess. Return to his websites and column? No longer being a teenager puts him in the grown-up bracket. What can his also adult fans identify with now? Nevertheless, he's proven himself resourceful, so don't be surprised at what he comes up with.
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