Seeking Sanook is a collection of (mis)adventures from around the world, spread over nine years, navigating South East Asia, Central America, North Africa and beyond in search of life, love, and meaning.
The collection is called “Seeking Sanook” because of its essential premise around the joy of travel. Sanook is a Thai term meaning “fun” – not as a frivolous activity, but as an ethos or a way of life. The alternative title “The Flight of the Cormorant Crowd” references the cormorant bird which was once prized in Asia for its use in catching fish. The subtext of this bird, however, is its representation as a gluttonous, greedy, or rapacious person. The cormorant reference is threaded throughout the stories.
The storyline is that the main character, Alexander Manoukian, breaks away from his routine existence in London to venture out as a solo traveller living in the guest houses and hostels of Cairo, Bangkok, and Mexico City.
It is in these places where he meets a cast of characters, locals and backpackers alike, including blind rickshaw drivers, Soviet punk rockers, kilted Canadians and a variety of misfits who become part of the journey.
There are a total of 29 stories, a prologue and an epilogue set during the eighties and nineties, where the narrative focuses on the characters rather than on the sights – the sights instead form the backdrop.
The stories start in 1987 when the protagonist was 25 and go until 10 years later, lightly touching on the Burmese 8888 coup in 1988, the Tiananmen massacre in 1989, the dissolution of the USSR and Russian prohibition also 1989, the foreign interference in Central America during the 80s and 90s, and the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997.
Photos taken during the time frame involved, are included. One photo fronts each story, and other photos are interspersed where appropriate. However, the photos are not essential to the stories and can be discarded in final publications if necessary. The photos work primarily for the website https://seekingsanook.com.
Some stories are written in the first person, some are in the third person, and some only tangentially involve the protagonist. The stories are, however, all interconnected.
As well as travel-related themes, the content is R-rated in parts and includes bad language, death, sexual scenes (including prostitution) as well as comedy and hopefully romcom!
Technically the stories can be read independently of each other but there is a connective narrative arc:
With a combination of journal, folk story, and magic realism Alex descends from the purest motives, fulfilling dreams beyond his expectations, whilst encountering conflict and beauty, poverty and hope, pride and despair, before his hedonistic decline.
Like the cormorant used by the Ukai fishermen in Japan will he be destined to catch the fish but not eat it, or can he find a chance of redemption?
August 16, 2024