the butterfly trap

I really enjoyed the book and can relate quite a bit to the author. I remember dealing with the same pitfalls with tuk-tuk drivers, savvy Indian tailors and the utter confusion of emotions with different gals I met. This was an entertaining read for me since it "took me back to LOS" vicariously through the pages. I visit Thailand at least twice a year and like the author...it's radically altered my perspective and outlook on just about everything in general.I got a kick out of reading his travels...I think I've been in just about every single bar mentioned in this book! Enjoyed that. No made up or fictitious names...but mind blowing places you can still see for yourself.Anyways, it's a fast and easy read for the curious traveler to LOS or the veteran traveler that enjoys reading about adventures/misadventures in old stomping grounds.

This book was promoted on Wikitravel as "literature" about Thailand. I was hoping for a multifaceted glimpse into Thai culture. What I got was a boring, boastful trip report from a sex hungry tourist having a midlife crisis after a divorce. You might enjoy it if you're looking for insights into what it's like to spend your time trolling for prostitutes in Thailand.Aside from an uncompelling narrative, the book suffers from numerous technical errors that should have been caught in the editing process. On the Android version of Kindle, the text is multicolored - some paragraphs are green, some are red, and some are black. There are numerous grammatical and spelling errors that are distracting. Nearly all of the dialogue transcribes the accents of the people the protagonist is talking with ("you like go bar me?"), something that every Creative Writing 101 class will caution you against.Unless you're planning a two week trip to visit prostitutes in Thailand, skip it.

The Butterfly Trap is one of the very best books I've read about Thailand. The most enjoyable thing, perhaps, is that it sets its sights very high. The narrative draws the reader along and rewards him with some insight into a portion of the human condition, a glimpse of the truth. There are also a lot of funny bits, like the recurring chicken crossing the road joke or the "I'm out with a hot lesbian train conductor" line. Those are icing on the cake.The Butterfly Trap shows exactly how it is with a certain kind of man: He seeks enlightenment, he seeks paradise, but he's never convinced he's attained either. His only consolation is the knowledge that the journey is as important as the destination. And that's the truth this book brings to the reader, and that's what makes it literature, rather than just another bar-girl book.

When I read this book I thought of Mr. Mally's High-Rollin Club...That thought caused me to plow through this book in one sitting. The Butterfly Trap covers real world topics, places and people some readers would rather not admit exist or read about. This book provides a portrait of unusual people, and it treats them with alarming honesty, avoiding the tired clichés and exposing them as real people, not perfect, not horrible, but stuck somewhere in between. They are presented without judgment, their lives filled with hope, love, pain, desire and despair. As the main character learns to respect all that he encounters, he also comes to respect himself.Sometimes you must gamble with Mr. Mally - but with this book your choosing a great WINNER!

It takes someone of Dennis Jon's relentless curiosity to elevate the pedestrian travelogue into an art form. Jon achieves this with his willingness to go places and do things that the typical travel author dare not--or at least dare not admit. His stubborn individuality and insistence on truthfulness, often at his own expense, carries this story into uncharted territory. His refusal to go the route of previous travelers, instead jumping into the abyss of Thailand's nightlife with reckless abandon.He allows the supporting cast, and what a cast they are, to rule the show, by bringing out either the best or the worst in himself, sometimes simultaneously. I've found many images from this book vivid and memorable, as Jon relentlessly risks his dignity, and occasionally, his life.His writing is tight, with an equal parts description, dialogue, and internal angst. His view of Bangkok is unfiltered, and razor sharp, but it is his exposed personal faults that make The Butterfly Trap such a fascinating read. Enjoy this book, because there is nothing else like it. If you ever wanted to know what its like to journey into the forbidden, this book will take you there.

Quite simply put, I loved this book. I don't do much novel reading, but I couldn't put this book down. I can't wait for this author to come out with his next book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

this is a really good read if your into the whole thai bar girl scene, it says TRUE story and i can believe it, during the book i thought the author seemed a bit of a dick !!! but thinking about it im sure we have all made similar mistakes as the author did through the book, at least he is brave enough to admit it, well worth buying this and can be read over again and will probably seem better , but still cringe at some of the things the author does,