However, is it perhaps a judge of excellence that I would pull down one book from the shelves, read it again, and thoroughly enjoy it once more? If so, then The Cultural Detective by Christopher G. Moore (ISBN 978-616-90393-8-9, Heaven Lake Press, 2011) is an excellent book. Not only a good book, but for me, the best book reviewed in 2011.
Forget Moore’s Calvino series, this is a completely new genre and is a collection of essays in four broad parts commencing with Perspectives on Crime Fiction Writing, followed by Clues to Solving Cultural Mysteries, then Observations from the Front Lines and finally Outside the Southeast Asia Comfort Zone.
The subtitle to The Cultural Detective, is “Reflections on the Writing Life in Thailand”. Author Moore manages to look at the reflections without becoming introspective, but has the ability to dissect concepts and customs with a very equal handedness. This is not a farang blindly reporting the ways of the Thais, but has genuine explanations given by someone who does not let his own culture and customs impinge on the details.
An example of this is, “In Thailand the deference culture is largely built around age, rank, family and wealth. The Thai expression is kreng jai, and that term underpins the social, political and economic system and has done so for centuries.”
The essays do cover Moore’s methods in writing fiction. “Writing blends death and sex into myth, folktale, legend and serving up a strong brew turns us into addicts.” He explains the pitfalls. “Writing a book takes long hours of focused attention. You can’t multi-task and write a novel. Because you have to keep the whole story, plots and sub-plots, characters, their connections and motivations inside your head as a unified whole. This is fragile territory. One that is easily distracted.”
Moore looks dispassionately at some of the reasons the youth of the world is resorting to anarchy. “…who have no job and turn to crime as the only available option. This new army of angry young recruits may not be fuelled by the hatred of a jihad. The fuel of despair and hopelessness are the precursors to hatred, and you don’t need a religion to motivate such young men. Wanting status and the material stuff that a material society proclaims is essential for your manhood is the new scripture.”
Christopher G. Moore is an excellent writer, and his style in this collection of essays reminds me of Bill Bryson (A Short History of Nearly Everything) and Dave Barry (I’ll Mature When I’m Dead), though Moore’s subject matter remains more deeply thought provoking than the other two, in my opinion.
I have enjoyed the Calvino escapades, plus his other books, but for me this collection of essays stands out as offering a glimpse of the ‘real’ Christopher G. Moore. The RRP in Bookazine is B. 385 - a literary bargain.
