Smile for the Coup D'etat by @Sean_Cameron
Recommended and reviewed by CG.
Raw and gritty, "Smile for the Coup D'etat" takes place in Bangkok where we meet our protagonist, Peter, a moral-loose backpacker who spends his time swindling clueless tourists out of their money. His method is to befriend them, buy them drinks til they are drunk, and ingeniously pickpocket their hotel keys. Using Bangkok as its physical world setting, "Smile for the Coup D'etat" acts as a critique of society and a case study into human behavior. Many of the characters are disparaged university students who come to Thailand as a short escape, but end up staying, completely consumed in Bangkok's moral-flexible lifestyle. A sort of purgatory where drugs, prostitution, bar fights, and civil unrest can all be found, but these are just devices used to explore the deeper themes that make up the landscape of the novel.
Written in first person, author Sean Cameron effortlessly takes the raw and gritty setting of Bangkok and blends it with the cynical and lost voice of Peter to weave together a tale of self-corruption. The language is sharp, detailed, laser focused, yet poetic and surreal in its application that the writing can't just be described as a series of grimy, explicit misadventures to keep the readers on edge. Certainly, those misadventures are present and readers will definitely get their fill, but there is much more depth to "Smile for the Coup D'etat" than just its physical content and plot.
Its strength lies in the way that the story is told. The use of first person is highly effective and you see Bangkok warping through the eyes of Peter and, furthermore, how its landscape has shaped him. His voice comes through strong and demanding of your attention, but with a charm of wittiness and self-awareness that is never too contrived or distracting. As more is revealed about Peter and the people around him, the more complex and nuanced the writing becomes as it transforms less into a critique of Bangkok solely and more into a criticism of society and systems and their effects on the human psyche. In Peter there remains a willingness to escape from the world he has sought refugee in to hide from failing to live a "normal" life, but too many obstacles lies in front of him, the most complicated one being himself. First trapped as a student who lost his chance to attend Oxford, now a perpetual backpacker that spends his time indulging in Bangkok's many vices, Peter struggles with this loss of identity throughout the novel. Glimmers of humanity are wedged between shades of inhumanity and blend so well that it's often hard to separate the two.
"Smile for the Coup D'etat" is an immersive read and an ambitious piece where every sentence and paragraph is perfectly executed to transport the reader into another world.
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