{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"BookDragon","provider_url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon","author_name":"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center","author_url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/author\/riemert\/","title":"Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap + Author Interview - BookDragon","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"J51d1h5bky\"><a href=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/sightseeing-by-rattawut-lapcharoensap-author-interview\/\">Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap + Author Interview<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/sightseeing-by-rattawut-lapcharoensap-author-interview\/embed\/#?secret=J51d1h5bky\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap + Author Interview&#8221; &#8212; BookDragon\" data-secret=\"J51d1h5bky\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2005\/01\/Sightseeing.jpg","thumbnail_width":948,"thumbnail_height":1346,"description":"Clint Eastwood, Summer Love, and Cockfighting The good news first: Rattawut Lapcharoensap\u2019s family in Thailand is all fine; the tsunami thankfully did not harm them. The other good news: His collection of short stories, Sightseeing, which debuts this week, is absolutely superb. Born in Chicago, raised in Bangkok, and currently living in Norwich, England on a fellowship at the University of East Anglia, the 25-year-old Lapcharoensap (called \u201cA\u201d by everyone except \u201cunfriendly bureaucratic institutions,\u201d he says) vividly captures a slice of life for each of his memorable characters. From a young hapa boy (who keeps a pet pig named Clint Eastwood!) who believes he\u2019s in love with a summer tourist, to an old American codger transplanted to Thailand to live out his final years with his son and Thai daughter-in-law, to a young girl on the brink of adulthood who witnesses her father\u2019s humiliating downfall through gambling, Lapcharoensap\u2019s characters leave a lingering memory even as his words come to an end. AsianWeek: Where did the inspiration for Sightseeing come from? I understand that these stories are not at all autobiographical ... Rattawut Lapcharoensap: Many of the stories were partly born out of a certain frustration with depictions of Thais and Thailand in contemporary English-language literature. The Thailand I often encountered seemed a far cry from the Thailand I thought I knew, the Thailand I loved. Whether or not my stories are 'autobiographical' depends upon what is meant by the term. If 'autobiography' means an account of a life\u2019s events, then this is not an autobiographical book. The events of my life have not been transposed onto the page. Nevertheless, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s such a thing as a piece of writing uninformed by an author\u2019s life experiences. You can\u2019t write about people unless you\u2019ve known a few. My characters often come to me by way of their voices \u2013 a line of dialogue, snippet of conversation, the way they may or may not say something. AW: How has your family reacted to your book? RL: My family\u2019s reaction to the book has been one of pride and a certain measure of relief, I think. I was unemployed in the winter of 2004 and had decided to finish my book on the small bit of money that I had set aside over the years. There was quite a bit of skepticism about my decision at the time, not only from my family but also, of course, from myself; watching my bank account dwindle that winter made me feel pretty foolish, particularly when the writing wasn\u2019t going as planned. Needless to say, when the book was accepted for publication in April, there was joy, but there was also, I think, an enormous amount of relief. I felt \u2013 and continue to feel \u2013 inordinately lucky: [that] I should be able to make my living doing something I love. ... [click here for more] of my life have not been transposed onto the page. Nevertheless, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s such a thing as a piece of writing uninformed by an author\u2019s life experiences. You can\u2019t write about people unless you\u2019ve known a few. My characters often come to me by way of their voices \u2014 a line of dialogue, snippet of conversation, the way they may or may not say something. HOW HAS YOUR FAMILY REACTED TO YOUR BOOK? RL: My family\u2019s reaction to the book has been one of pride and a certain measure of relief, I think. I was unemployed in the winter of 2004 and had decided to finish my book on the small bit of money that I had set aside over the years. There was quite a bit of skepticism about my decision at the time, not only from my family but also, of course, from myself; watching my bank account dwindle that winter made me feel pretty foolish, particularly when the writing wasn\u2019t going as planned. Needless to say, when the book was accepted for publication in April, there was joy, but there was also, I think, an enormous amount of relief. I felt \u2014 and continue to feel \u2014 inordinately lucky: [that] I should be able to make my living doing something I love. Author interview: \"Clint Eastwood, Summer Love, and Cockfighting,\" AsianWeek, January 21, 2005  Readers: Adult Published: 2004"}