The Phantom Lover and Other Thrilling Tales of Thailand

Thai expatriate Algie (Bizarre Thailand: Tails of Crime, Sex and Black Magic) reveals the seedy underbelly of his adopted country in this dark collection of erotically charged tales set in contemporary Bangkok and environs. Dispelling any doubt that Thai sex trade is flourishing, many of the stories describe how poverty and lack of education leave local women with no other way to earn a living. Even educated women struggle for independence, as is evidenced in "The Phantom Lover," which opens in an abortion clinic, and follows the uneasy friendship of two college coeds named Benz and Ying. Since abortion is illegal in Thailand, the atmosphere is fraught and Benz is haunted by the spirit of the "smoke child", whom she must appease. "The Legendary Nobody," offers one take of the true story of a Chinese rickshaw driver now known as the Jack the Ripper of Southeast Asia. Closing the collection is the novella-length "Tsunami," in which Yves, a Canadian tourist, must face his wife's infidelity in the midst of the 2004 natural disaster. With graphic scenes involving golf clubs, prostitutes, cannibals, and rapists, this book is not for the reader with a "heart as soft as tofu." (Jan.)