Well acquainted with Thailand from his teenage years, Scottish author Andrew C. Youngson set the main plot of his inaugural sci-fi novel The Memory Project in Bangkok, a city he calls home-away-from-home.
The Land of Smiles has always been spiritual and vibrant for him, making it the perfect setting for his debut novel that reinvents Bangkok as a training base for supernaturally gifted youth.
Youngson, 38, who describes himself as a "gay man with an over-active imagination", penned the book which is best described as a tale of horror and one that is shrouded with mystery.
In the book, a good measure of Thai culture is added to grab the readers' attention as they explore the secretive world of 'Weavers'; rare humans who can experience the memories of others. Thailand was chosen as the focal point for the training of these memory readers with students coming from across the globe to master how to control their peculiar abilities.
The novelist's connections with Thailand go back to when he moved to Bangkok with his family at the age of 16 in the late 90s. Since his parents continued to live in the city for a few years after his graduation, the aspiring writer came back every chance he could get to visit the country that he came to love. In recent years, he has returned for big milestones; school reunions and the family anniversary of the time they moved to Thailand.
"I think teenagers do a lot of very important 'growing up' between the ages of 16 to 18. That was certainly the case for me and the fact this happened for me while living in Bangkok means that the city and country have had a huge and lasting impact on me. I still consider Thailand to be my home away from home. I remember all the words and phrases I learned, I have Thai tattoos, and Thai is still my favourite cuisine. I love the vibrancy of the city and the beauty and drama of the countryside. I've been very lucky to travel a lot in Thailand both at school and as an adult. Yet, I never stop falling in love with the places and the culture.
"Thailand itself has had a major influence on the book. I aimed to capture the vibrancy of the city, its excitement, and its inspirational advancements (it's such a forward-looking place, which I love). And I've also based parts of the book outside the city too, including a special scene in Wat Chaiwatthanaram in Ayutthaya. This is a temple that I first visited on a school field trip [a barge trip up the Chao Phraya in 1999] and which I've returned to many times as it is so beautiful and quiet. It's my number one 'happy place'. "
While Youngson has not transferred entire experiences directly into the book, what he has done is take little bits here and there and run with his imagination.
"For example, I spend quite a lot of time in the book describing the Bangkok skyline at night. That's because I've spent countless hours just looking out at it from balconies. Stepping out of the air con and into the humid night with the soft glow of streetlights and neon buildings and the hum of crickets -- it's such a special and very 'Bangkok' thing to me," he said.
Youngson says that there are a number of ways that he contemplated how this novel could be told through an LGBTI lens.
"On one level, a few characters are LGBTI. For example, a central character is a gay man so an element of the book is seeing the world through his eyes and experiences as a supernaturally gifted person who just so happens to also be gay. On another level, the story is about rare human beings who keep their status secret and are considering 'coming out' to the world but are scared of the consequences that revealing themselves would have on them and those like them. In my mind, that is a classic queer storyline, and I really enjoyed exploring the similarities between the 'otherness' of LGBTI communities and of the 'Weaver' community in my novel.
"Also, without getting too far into spoiler territory, a major theme of the book ends up being an exploration of identity and its fluidity. So I would say this book is both explicitly and subtextually queer. My aim is for it to be both an exploration and a celebration of LGBTI narratives."
When asked what he would like readers to take away from this book, the novelist said that because Bangkok has much to offer travellers in terms of adventure, it is deserving to be visited as a primary destination -- not just a transit to flying to other destinations within the country.
"Secondly, it provides insight about how we can build walls around ourselves as much as we want but at the end of the day, we must learn to be comfortable with our true selves. It is important to celebrate, not change, the things that make us different."
The Memory Project is available on amazon.com.
