Real Thailand (and Thais) from cover to cover

books:

	• Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal Karen Connelly Turnstone Press, 1992 - 206 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews
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highly recommended

this book shines

Touch The Dragon is Karen Connelly's journal during her one year exchange program in Thailand. I've devoured this book. Karen Connelly was 17 when she wrote the first draft of this book, yet the book is devoid any cynnism, written with humility and candour as she patiently learns how to get along in a different culture. I truly believe she has an ancient, wise soul. Her eyes are open and register with clarity every single detail, all the colours and fragrances of Thailand.

Also, her writing style, metaphors she creates, the descriptions, are truly masterfully crafted - not one false note throughout the book.

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EXCELLENT!

After returning from studying abroad in SE Asia for five months, I found myself almost at a loss in trying to tell others about my experience. I read this book at the end of my three month home-stay in Thailand, and it really "hit home." I could really identify with her experiences, thoughts and feelings. I have encouraged my friends and family to read this book because it is so accurate, and provides an excellent glimpe on life in Thailand -- a land like no other, but one that I will always love.

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Real Thailand (and Thais) from cover to cover

Simply one of the most beautiful and masterfully written books I have read in my life. "Touch the Dragon" is a poetic journal that gives the reader first person insight into a paradoxical and often confusing culture, but does so through sensitive and moving prose. Karen Connolly is a remarkable, gifted writer, and her words will leave you with images that you will remember all of your life. Even if you think you "know" Thailand, you'll discover it all over again in this book.

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I've never even left this continent...

Lest anyone think they must travel overseas to enjoy this book, please consider my insights. I read this book almost three years ago, and base my comments on vague memories. What impressed me most was the incredible maturity this author exhibits: the courage of a high school student who wants to go where she does not know the language, the frustrating attempts at fitting into a new culutre, coping with lost loves, and finding beauty in truly "foreign" people. I think this book helped me to trust my instincts in terms of choosing experiences I can grow from. It also taught me that unexpected, or uninvited, challenges benefit the soul in ways we don't realize immediately. One certainly does not have to live in Thailand to appreciate the sentiment, vision, and excellent literary style this author presents.

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reviews: page 1, 2

At 17, Karen Connelly left Canada to live for a year in Denchai, a small farming and merchant community in northern Thailand. This is a diary of her year there. This book was the winner of the Canadian Governor General's Award for Non-Fiction.

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