Friday, April 30, 2010

Breathing Water

I finished reading Breathing Water by Timothy Hallinan this week. Some books I can breeze through - for various reasons. It might be an author I like or a protagonist I love to follow or a genre that’s light and doesn’t take concentration to keep up with, and so on. Breathing Water is labeled as “A Bangkok Thriller,” and therein lay the problem for me. Perhaps I should say “within me.” It wasn’t a problem with the writing. Hallinan is definitely a good writer and he clearly knows the ins and outs of Bangkok, both the landscape and the politics. He has an interesting way with words and will inspire you to pay attention to your own words when you write.

This paragraph from the inside cover will give you an inkling as to why I hesitated to read and why it took me a while to finish:
Set in the Thailand of today’s headlines -- a nation of unrest, political uncertainty, corruption, and tradition, where the future looks dangerously precarious -- Breathing Water is the story of a deadly game in which the stakes are enormous and life is literally cheap.
I read that and put down the book, thinking, I don’t want to go there. I picked it back up, though, and began to read. Unless you’ve been to Thailand or lived there (I haven’t), I dare say this will plunge you into a dark world with strange traditions and scary situations. It will also introduce you to survivors and heroes. And, until the end, you will be wondering who will live, who will die, and who will be lost to the streets and corruption.

If you like thrillers that take you to dark places and into situations that make your stomach hurt, give Breathing Water a try.
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FTC Disclaimer: If I remember right, Hallinan’s publicist sent Breathing Water to me. I definitely appreciate it, especially since it was autographed, but nothing was said about doing a review. I have got to start writing down who sends me books. Sometimes I know they’re coming. Sometimes they just show up in my mailbox. I open the mailbox, find a book, do my I-got-a-book!-dance, spend fifteen minutes explaining to the neighbors that, no, I’m not having spastic convulsions, take the package in the house, rip it open, hug the book, and read the inside cover. That’s pretty much my routine - or it used to be. Now, I wait until I’m almost back to the house and out of sight before I begin my gyrating dance. The next book I need is one on getting yourself out of a straightjacket.
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22 comments:

  1. Sounds interesting! I've been looking for something to read lately, and am so tired of some of the fantasy clichés out there... this sounds promising!

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  2. Doesn't appear to be a book for me.

    But as always, I enjoyed reading your disclaimer. Would be cool to see your I-got-a-book dance; why don't you post a little video clip of it >:)))

    Cold As Heaven

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  3. Your disclaimers are the best!

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  4. If you keep at it with your captivating disclaimers, every major publisher will be sending you their latest, just to see what disclaimer it earns ;)

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  5. Love the "I got a book" dance descripton.

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  6. I have to be in the right mood to tackle a book like that.

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  7. It sounds like an interesting book, but definitely one of those you'd want to have plenty of time to spend with it.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  8. You really need to publish a book of disclaimers!

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  9. I lived in Thailand for five years. It's one of the most fascinating, beautiful and bizarre places on earth. I can't wait to read this. Thanks for the review.

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  10. I think I'm going to always do book reviews on Fridays when y'all are tired and will laugh at anything. Breathing Water is a good book. It just covered some subjects that was a bit difficult to read for me.

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  11. Your disclaimer are always worth the trip over here alone, lol. But thanks also for the review - sounds interesting.

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  12. Not my type of book, but I'll keep visiting every Friday for the unique disclaimers.

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  13. Ooh. It might take me a while to finish, too. I've not been to Thailand, but I have heard tales.

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  14. I understand the idea that some books take longer to read. Lately I have been doing more light reading, so this one doesn't seem like one for me now. Thanks for the review.

    ~Kerrie

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  15. I totally LOVE books like that! I will have to look for it. It DOES though, sound like a book for a time when I am free to delve and GO THERE, which is NOT my writing phase or probably even editing--just too much brain space is full to add deep emotion over the top. (I could do it while querying, probably...)

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  16. Do come back on Fridays, although I won't be doing a review every Friday.

    The book does keep you wondering how in the world the protagonist will survive the situation he's in.

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  17. Thanks for the review, Helen! I'm not really into thrillers because honestly I can't sleep at night after reading them, but I may have to make some sacrifices for this one.

    Have a great weekend.

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  18. Hi, Helen, and thanks --

    I appreciate the review and your honesty about your initial reaction to the book.

    I also appreciate learning that my publicist sent a copy to someone. That had become a subject of discussion between us.

    Great site, by the way.

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  19. Yes, I can understand why the narrow subject matter made it hard for you to get interested in Breathing Water. I haven't read it, but I've certainly read, or started to read, books that were difficult to absorb. Sometimes though, when forcing myself to keep reading a book, I eventually become acclimated to the subject(s) and end up really liking it. It just depends.

    I love how you said,'the next book I need is one on getting yourself out of a straightjacket'! When you find that one, Helen, please send me a link! lol

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  20. That's pretty much the way it was, Alyson. Once I got into it, I began to know the characters and worry for them and also wonder how the main character would get out of the deadly predicament - or if he would survive at all.

    Hi, Timothy. Thanks for stopping by!

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  21. Helen, I read Breathing Water almost a year ago and reviewed it for Bloggernews.net where I regularly do reviews. I loved Breathing Water. It is intense, an you are right that it needs to be read with a lot of attention paid to the details, but I thought it was masterfully done.

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  22. LOL, I have an image of you in your housecoat,(dressing gown) doing your jiggy dance!

    Great review, thanks.

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