`A Woman of Bangkok` by Jack Reynolds

[dirtydawg 11]

Many of you will have read or at least heard of this wonderful book written over a half a century ago. Similar in subject to Stephen Leather`s novel `Private Dancer`, it concerns the destructive relationship between a naive young British guy and a wily old Bangkok bargirl.

 

Difference being it is superior to the Leather novel in every way imo.

 

I love this book and i`ve recommended it to lots of people over the years. But this is my problem...the bleedin thing is incredibly hard to get a hold of. I have one dusty old copy that i purchased second hand over ten years ago, yet despite years of trawling book shops i`ve yet to find another copy outside of expensive online auction sites. I`ve also searched online and there does not seem to be any downloadable copies on the interweb.

 

So here`s a few questions for you guys.

 

Would it be an easy enough process for me to scan my old copy of the book and convert it into some sort of readable computer file ?

 

Would it then be simple enough for me to post this file online for everyone to read ?

 

Would it be ethical of me to upload a sought after out of print book onto the internet ?

[joekicker 53]

Hello Mr dawg. A Woman of Bangkok is a treasure and can't be compared to the Leather book, right as rain.

 

The answers to your questions are yes it's pretty easy to scan a book and put it into PDF, depending only on your equipment and a bit of expertise. You have to feed the book in page by page, almost certainly, so it would take some time. Yes it would be VERY easy to put it online for download.

 

Ethical and legal, you really have to decide. I'm not sure of the copyright but I *think* it's out. I can maybe find out, give me a day or two and then a kick if I haven't said anything.

 

UPDATE: It appears the book is NOT out of copyright but there's other news. DK Books has held the copyright all these years, but the word is (and I don't stand absolutely behind this but I'm checking this credible story right now) the Singapore publisher Monsoon Books is reprinting A Woman of Bangkok and will (re-) release it before the end of the year.

 

.

Edited October 26, 2010 by joekicker

[THE_DRUID 21]

I have been after that book for a while and have been monitoring various websites looking as to when it may become available.As for most things everyone has got a limit on what they will pay for anything.I have had 'Woman Of Bangkok' in my Amazon wish list for a while and their is one copy(Used) available on the Amazon UK website but the seller wants a whopping £22.95 plus there's the £2.75 P&P.Here's the link if anyone is interested.

 

Woman Of Bangkok -Jack Reynolds

Edited October 26, 2010 by THE_DRUID

[dirtydawg 11]

Hey, thanks for the replies guys. Great news if they are considering printing the book again. I reckon i`ll wait to see what happens with the publisher first before deciding if i should stick it online.

[short 215]

dirtydawg, assuming that it is in readable condition, how much would you agree to sell it for?

[dirtydawg 11]

Short, my book aint for sale, i still read it every now and then and i value it too much.

 

Seems a shame that such a classic novel remains unread through lack of a publisher.

[MIGHTYONE 309]

A WOMAN OF BANGKOK - Jack Reynolds

$0.01 - Quantity: 1 - In Stock

Condition: Used - Good

Sold by: seashellbooks_inc

 

Just bought the above from Amazon.

[Guest cocodile]

Appreciate the effort you want to share this.

 

If you want to scan it though, it's best to take the pages out, and for convenience use a sheetfeeder ( I have one)

 

Instead of converting it into graphics, you could also recognize the text.

 

Of course, when the pages are out, it will not be original anymore, but that's needless to say.

[tallguy 1,424]

A WOMAN OF BANGKOK - Jack Reynolds

$0.01 - Quantity: 1 - In Stock

Condition: Used - Good

Sold by: seashellbooks_inc

 

Just bought the above from Amazon.

 

 

Copies are also available on abe books, cheapest copies are shipping from the US so packaging costs are higher than from the UK.

[THE_DRUID 21]

 

The Following is a review from Amazon.com(USA)

 

During extended solo travel in SE Asia during 1995 I picked a copy of this book (Editions Duang Kamol 1985) out of the English language section of a bookstore in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It is one of my favorites, in part because of its evocation of the experience of a young westerner opening to a life changing experience. On the cover it is indicated that the Asia Wall Street Journal rated it 'among the 10 finest novels written about Asia.'

The story is of one Reginald Joyce, transferred by his company to Thailand for a three year stint. Leaving behind an unsatisfying personal life, there is no hint that he expects adventure although some longing must lurk within. Within weeks of being in Thailand, he has been taken out to some of the local clubs where he gradually senses that a different type of behavior is at least close to being acceptable. Eventually he meets the 'Number One girl' (prostitute) of Bangkok, Vilai, known as the White Leopard, who dances at the Bolero Dance Hall. Of course, he is warned not to become emotionally involved but she is too skilled at her trade and he is too unsophisticated.

The story takes a perhaps predictable course; he begins to drink heavily, which is tolerated for a while as it indicates he is 'settling in.' He obsesses over Vilai endlessly and cannot figure out how much she cares. Hilariously, she continues to call poor Reginald, 'Wretch' which turns out to be appropriate. Finally his work suffers. Towards the end he finds out that she has settled down with another man that is not unlike him in many regards. He returns home defeated but not broken and certainly wiser in ways he cannot identify.

The sentiment expressed in this book is perhaps best captured by a poem that appears at the start of Part One (aptly titled: The Lamb). It is by Louis MacNeice:

 

The sunlight on the garden

Hardens and grows cold;

We cannot catch the minute

Within its nets of gold

When all is told

We cannot ask for pardon.

[THE_DRUID 21]

Copies are also available on abe books, cheapest copies are shipping from the US so packaging costs are higher than from the UK.

 

Thanks for that tallguy.I've just ordered it from Abe Books in the USA.It's the hardback version and it was 63p(US$1) plus P&P was £4.06 (US$6.44).So it's cost me £4.69(US$7.44) in total.The seller says it's in good condition and will take around 30 days delivery time from Florida to UK.

[thaidave991 17]

If anyone is selling a copy I would be interested.

Cheers Dave

[logan 1]

I see its available in Canterbury Tales Bookshop now

[thaidave991 17]

Yes it is

[9cisco999 107]

Hello Mr dawg. A Woman of Bangkok is a treasure and can't be compared to the Leather book, right as rain.

 

The answers to your questions are yes it's pretty easy to scan a book and put it into PDF, depending only on your equipment and a bit of expertise. You have to feed the book in page by page, almost certainly, so it would take some time. Yes it would be VERY easy to put it online for download.

 

Ethical and legal, you really have to decide. I'm not sure of the copyright but I *think* it's out. I can maybe find out, give me a day or two and then a kick if I haven't said anything.

 

UPDATE: It appears the book is NOT out of copyright but there's other news. DK Books has held the copyright all these years, but the word is (and I don't stand absolutely behind this but I'm checking this credible story right now) the Singapore publisher Monsoon Books is reprinting A Woman of Bangkok and will (re-) release it before the end of the year.

 

.

 

 

 

I may be mistaken but I believe the books listed on Kindle that are free are so because they were copyrighted prior to 1923. From a faulty memory, I thought a copyright was good for 75 years.

Edited May 12, 2011 by 9cisco999

[joekicker 53]

I may be mistaken but I believe the books listed on Kindle that are free are so because they were copyrighted prior to 1923. From a faulty memory, I thought a copyright was good for 75 years.

 

Not quite.

 

Books are free when the publisher or provider doesn't charge for them - I know that sounds stupid but read on a bit.

 

Amazon (for example) gives away books for the Kindle, sometimes, because the publisher has a special, and offers them free for a while. Many of them are new or modern or reissued. There is also a growing trend to sell books for 99 cents.

 

Books out of copyright can be printed and sold for whatever the printer/publisher wants to charge for them - including for free. You can buy Moby Dick for $50 if you want. Or you can get the TEXT of Moby Dick from several places in electronic form for free, and read it. If a copyright has expired, that just means anyone can print it and sell it (or give it away). "Copyright" is the legal right to copy - that's all. If you write something, you have copyright. You can sell the thing you wrote, or you can sell (or not sell) the rights to copy to, say, a book company.

 

There's no one-length copyright. A typical one is "life of the author plus 50 years". Governments are always playing with the length of copyright. But there are all kinds of legal implications. A good example: The song "Happy Birthday" is still copyright, after 118 years.

 

The above is not even good enough to be a primer on copyright, but I hope it's a guide.

 

.

[Andrew Hicks 0]

Hey, thanks for the replies guys. Great news if they are considering printing the book again. I reckon i`ll wait to see what happens with the publisher first before deciding if i should stick it online.

 

Yes, Monsoon Books is trying to obtain the rights to reissue "A Woman of Bangkok" but as always it's complex. Jack's widow, an elderly Thai lady, is still living and as she is a part copyright holder, anyone who pirates the book is depriving her of something that is rightfully hers.

 

For its portrait of Vilai, the nineteen fifties dance hostess, this novel is a great piece of writing, both with a contemporary impact and as a period piece describing Bangkok of sixty years ago.

 

I am researching the life of its author, Jack Reynolds, and hope to produce a biography and a collection of his other more ephemeral writings, in particular his accounts of the rel;ief work he did in China in the late forties with the Friends Ambulance Unit.

 

You can see pictures of Jack in old age and read more about him and my plans if you scan down my THAI GIRL blog at www.thaigirl2004.blogspot.com to several posts at the end of 2009 and early 2010.

 

Why am I doing this? Could it be because like him I have written a single romantic novel about Thailand and then totally disappeared?!

 

Andrew Hicks

[dirtydawg 11]

Any sign that this book will be re issued anytime soon? Seems a shame that such a classic novel remains forgotten and unread.

[monsoonbooks 1]

I hope this post is accepted as a genuine continuation of the thread and not a sales pitch, but on behalf of Monsoon Books in Singapore, I'm very pleased to announce that "A Woman of Bangkok" by Jack Reynolds is now finally back in print and will be available from Asia Books and Bookazine stores in Thailand in mid-November 2011 (and from Amazon UK and USA in early 2012).

 

This is a special book and we are very proud to include it in our publishing list. It has taken us five years to track down the correct rights holder and persuade them to bring the book out again. Our thanks go to the estate of the author and to the legal team at Random House UK for their assistance in unravelling this particularly convoluted rights issue.

 

The book is already off-press. I have a copy on my desk in front of me and it looks great. The cover was designed up in Bangkok and we have cover quotes from The Asian Wall Street Journal, New York Times (USA), The Age (Australia), The Guardian (UK) and from authors Gore Vidal, Stephen Leather and Joe Cummings.

 

I re-read the book during the production process a few months ago and what a gem it still is. I hope Pattaya Talk forum members enjoy the book.

[joekicker 53]

Excellent news, and good for Monsoon to fight this thing out to a positive outcome.

 

.

[Montydog 135]

Good News. Will it be available for Kindle ?

[monsoonbooks 1]

It will be available for the Kindle, yes. We'll try to get it up by the end of the month.

Thanks

Monsoon

[Montydog 135]

It will be available for the Kindle, yes. We'll try to get it up by the end of the month.

Thanks

Monsoon

 

Thanks for the info, I’ll keep an eye on Amazon

[Andrew Hicks 0]

I remember that on this thread some time ago members were almost fighting to get hold of second hand copies of Jack Reynolds out of print novel of 1956, "A Woman of Bangkok".

 

Well, the good news is that this is now actually available from Monsoon Books as a book and an ebook. It really is one you shouldn't miss and his description of Vilai, the money sucking lady of the night is a classic, proving that nothing ever changes.

 

Ebooks are a great breakthrough for expats and readers of obscure books that are hard to get hold of and I've also just issued my own books as ebooks. My romantic novel (an affair with a masseur on Koh Samet) subtly entitled, "Thai Girl" is now available as an ebook, as is, "My Thai Girl and I", the story of my own disreputable life in the land of cynical smiles.

 

Enjoy!

 

Andrew.

[js007 795]

Amazon wants $7.99 for the E-Book. I guess I'll have to re-charge my Kindle.