This
beautiful book about Jim Thompson’s house in Bangkok – The House on the Klong
– was first published by Archipelago Press in 1999. Since then it has been
reprinted several times by EDM Books (Editions Didier Millet), most recently in
2014.
It is a hardcover
book with a dust jacket. The format is large, ca. 26 x 29 cm. It is lavishly
illustrated. All illustrations are in colour except for a few old pictures which
were taken during the 1960s. The new colour photos are fabulous, whether the
size of the photo is small, medium, or large. This volume can be described as a
coffee table book, in the best sense of this term.
Jim Thompson was
born in the US in 1906. In the years before the Second World War he worked as an architect. During the war he joined the OSS (precursor of the CIA). He arrived in Thailand in 1945 and decided to stay. He founded a new company in order to revive
the Thai silk industry, which was almost dying out, and after a while he
decided to build a new home for himself. This task was completed in 1959, and
he lived there for eight years, from 1959 to 1967. During a holiday in Malaysia
in 1967 he went for a walk, from which he never returned. He has not been seen
or heard from again.
His house in
Bangkok is actually a compound with several old Thai houses made of wood which
form a courtyard and which are surrounded by a garden, known as the jungle. The arrangement is elegant. Remember he had worked as an architect in the US in the 1930s. One
side of the plot faces a small alley, known in Thai as a soi; another side
faces a canal, known in Thai as a klong, hence the traditional name: the House
on the Klong.
Today his former home
is a museum which is open to the public. Added facilities include a museum shop
and a cafeteria. In the garden you are allowed to walk around by yourself and to use a camera.
To enter the
house, you must join a guided tour. Tours are offered in several languages, and
they are conducted several times each day. Inside the house you are not allowed to use a camera.
This book is not
about his life as a secret agent working for the OSS; and not about his mysterious disappearance in 1967. This topic is covered
in other works (see the PS below).
This book is about
the man and his house, his garden, and his art collection. The chapters about
the house and the garden are written by William Warren; the chapter about the
art collection is written by Jean-Michel Beurdeley; the new colour photos are
taken by Luca Invernizzi Tettoni.
The text is
divided into four chapters. Here is the table of contents:
** Chapter 1. A Man
and his House
** Chapter 2. The
Garden
** Chapter 3. A Visit
to the House
** Chapter 4. The Art
Collection
At the end of the
book we find a glossary of technical terms and an index. There is no bibliography.
The following biographical
information about the three contributors is borrowed from the dust jacket of
the book (slightly modified):
** WILLIAM WARREN was
born in Albany, Georgia, in 1930, and has been living in Thailand for the past
thirty years. He was a good friend of Jim Thompson and wrote the text for the
first edition of The House on the Klong in 1968. Warren also wrote several
articles and books on art, Asia and other subjects. His books include Jim
Thompson: The Unsolved Mystery (1999, 2014), Living in Thailand (1989, 1996, 2006),
Legendary Thailand (1987), and The Tropical Garden (2000).
** JEAN-MICHEL
BEURDELEY was born into a family of collectors and specialists in Far Eastern
art. For more than thirty years, until 1997, he ran the Galerie Beurdeley, and
in this time published more than thirty catalogues on Asian art. He also
contributed to two reference books: Heritage of Thai Sculpture (1975) and Thai
Forms (1980). Since 1998 he has been working in Bangkok as an artistic advisor
to museums, foundations and collections.
** LUCA INVERNIZZI
TETTONI was born in Turin, Northern Italy. He lived and worked in Thailand from
1973 until his death in 2013. He was a professional photographer who provided
pictures for many books, including The Arts of Thailand (2012), The Tropical
Garden (2000), and Filipino Style (1997); his work also appeared frequently
in Asian, European and American magazines. In 1985 he received the PATA
Professionalism Award for his “specific contribution to the promotion of
Southeast Asia of Thailand and of Thai heritage and culture.”
On page 55, at the
end of chapter 3, William Warren sums up the importance and the legacy of Jim
Thompson:
“On March 23,
1967, Jim Thompson left his Thai house for the last time. He was headed for a
short holiday in the Cameron Highlands in northern Malaysia, from which he
never returned. An extensive search found no trace of him. In Thailand,
however, he left behind two lasting achievements: a silk industry that now
employs thousands and a house of great beauty where perhaps his spirit still
moves among the treasures he loved so well.”
In chapter 4 we
learn that Thompson collected several types of art: sculptures made of stone, sculptures
made of bronze, sculptures made of wood, ceramics, and paintings. We also learn
that the collection suffered on two occasions. The first time was in the beginning
of the 1960s (page 75):
“In time, the
collection became substantial. But when, in the beginning of the 1960s, Jim
Thompson was asked by the Department of Fine Art to give up three large
sandstone heads, their loss lead to the end of his large-scale purchases.
Irritated, he disposed of many important pieces of sculpture.”
The second time
was during the 1980s (page 77):
“Twenty years
later, the collection suffered further depredation due to the theft of some
bronzes. Sculpture had once been the most important part of the collection, but
[now] the emphasis shifted in favor of painting and porcelain.”
One of the stolen
bronze figures is shown in an old picture on page 77. Another stolen bronze figure
is shown in an old picture on page 84.
“Charming” is not
the first word that springs to mind when Bangkok is mentioned. Anyone who has
spent a few days in the Thai capital knows there are too many cars and too many
people; too much noise and too much cement. I live in Bangkok, so I am keenly
aware of this fact.
But there are
exceptions to the rule, and one of them is the House on the Klong. Jim
Thompson’s House is a peaceful oasis in the midst of the urban jungle. I have
been there several times. It is always a pleasure. When a member of my family
or a friend from Europe comes to visit me in Thailand, I always take them to
this place. It is always a pleasure. They enjoy seeing it, and I enjoy seeing
it again. It is, quite simply, a charming place.
Perhaps you have
never been to Thailand. Perhaps you have never been to Jim Thompson’s House in
Bangkok. But if you see this book, I am sure you will understand why many people
seek out this destination. Perhaps you have already been there. In that case,
this book will be a wonderful souvenir.
As mentioned
earlier, you are allowed to use a camera in the garden, but not in the house.
In this book there are pictures of the garden as well as the house. In this
book there are pictures of the rooms where you are not allowed to use a camera,
and the quality of the pictures is extremely high.
Luca Invernizzi
Tettoni was an excellent photographer. With his camera he managed to
capture the charming atmosphere and to convey the magical qualities of this
place. I like, in particular, the view of the terrace shown on pp. 6-7 and the
view of the living room shown on pp. 8-9.
At this point my conclusion
is hardly a surprise: the text is well written and the illustrations are, as
already stated, fabulous. Text and illustrations support and complement each
other very well. It is a pleasure to read and study this book about the House
on the Klong.
PS # 1. Several books and articles have been written about Jim Thompson’s
life as a secret agent working for the OSS, his life as a civilian in Thailand, and his mysterious disappearance in 1967 (perhaps these three elements are closely connected). One
example has already been mentioned above: William Warren’s book from 1999 (reprinted in 2014). To end this review of “The House on the Klong” I will offer
two recent titles:
** The Ideal Man:
The Tragedy of Jim Thompson and the American Way of War by Joshua Kurlantzick
was published in 2011 (271 pages)
** Solved! The
Mysterious Disappearance of Jim Thompson, the Legendary Thai Silk King by
Edward Roy de Souza was published in 2010 (135 pages)
PS # 2. Jim
Thompson farm, located in Pak Thong Chai district ca. 80 km southwest of Nakhon
Ratchasima (usually known as Khorat), is open to the public for only one month a year. The current season
runs from 13 December 2014 to 11 January 2015. This place is worth a visit, if
you are in Thailand at the right time. However, it is difficult to get there by public transport. You will need to have your own car to get to this destination.
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