Redhead at the Wheel (in My Latest Kindle Deal)

I grabbed Musings of an American Redhead in Thailand by Duke and Wiphawan Tate for two dollars on Kindle because a.) I would get to read an up-close account of the author's experiences in my birth country, and b.) a disappointed reviewer gave it a low rating because it contained so much first-person perspective. Well, of course it does. I thought. Look at the title, sir!

I'd show him.

Well, I have to agree with the reviewer. There is something about how the author lurches from topic to topic that makes the book a jarring adventure, like careening through Bangkok with a reckless tuk-tuk driver. Tate starts us at a shop in Hawaii, where he's choosing gifts for his dear stepsons, and I trusted him then, with his cred as an award-winning author. But he soon takes off in all different directions, colliding into his narratives, spilling random contents, and then speeding away for breakneck visits to new destinations. His handling of the English language is like a rookie at standard controls for the first time. His Thai wife's name is listed as co-author; however, with its effusive devotion to his new family and its firsthand perspective, surely the journey is all his own. Here's a sample:

Leon, a Swede by birth, was a friendly, intellectual older fellow with a lean physique. He had on a button up blue shirt.

Food, beverages, conversation, clothing, and characters are all described in this and surrounding passages, but I can't figure out why. How do the blue shirt, rectangular table, and special drink orders fit into this account? What was this writer playing at? There are teeth-rattling bumps, too, in places where the language begs for the steadying hand of a copy editor. Interestingly, Tate describes the challenging life of a writer and chronicles the daily routine where he dedicates time to the craft.

If you hang in there for the rickety ride, you find out that Tate is an unusual guy. He met his beautiful wife online and then flew to Thailand and married her. She lucked out in her spouse. An extraordinarily sweet personality, he dedicates passages to expressing his love for his wife and two stepsons. He happily builds a house and buys a family car in Thailand after having worked in the family business back in the States, while he and his wife seem to split their time between the two countries. His views lean libertarian, yet after adopting a new country, he expresses distaste for how ordinary things are done in America. He is into mysticism, veering off into stories of how his mentors gave him taxing assignments to build up his discipline.

I did enjoy the Thai scenery that loomed into view: the descriptions of cuisine, local practices such as buying gold in good times, superstitions about ghosts and numbers, special tourist sites. Tate was conscientious about providing and labeling photographs so we could see all the people and places he loves. Food, family, and friends are frequent subjects in his exuberance at this bend in life's road. And occasionally, toward the end of this collection of musings, a sentence flowed--a vivid line worthy of an award-winning author.