Jasmine Nights by S. P. Somtow. A Quirky Bangkok Novel by the J. D. Salinger of Siam
At twelve years old, Little Frog has a richly fantastic and sustaining inner life. It is 1963, his parents have disappeared, and he lives with his maiden aunts, known affectionately as the Three Fates, on a family estate in Bangkok. But, fed by a steam of books and accompanied by his pet chameleon, Little Frog refuses to accept that he is Thai; eats English food; speaks only English; and answers to the name Justin.
Into Justin's eclectically fashioned, whirling fantasy world steps Virgil, a black American boy, and together they embark on a glorious spree of magic and growing up, in which sex, adult confusions, comedy, farce, politics, and the voices of the East and West are fused into a voyage of exhilarating discovery.
"Intelligent, energetic, humane, engaging, humorous, delicate, and beautiful." Louis de Bernieres.
"[A] vibrant coming-of-age novel." The Sunday Times
"Charming, elegant, and funny ... a novel like no other and a joy to read." Cosmopolitan
"Entertaining, irresistible, gleefully absurd. How encouraging that a literary novel can be so much fun." The Washington Post
"The J. D. Salinger of Siam." George Axelrod
"Fragrant and very funny ... like childhood, one finds that Jasmine Nights is hard to leave behind." The Guardian
