2007 books

[peteryoung]

40) Grenville Fordham & Bill O'Leary, eds., Tsunami Stories, 2005
A collection of first-hand personal accounts from survivors of the 2004 Asian tsunami, produced as a fund-raising venture for orphaned Thai children. These recollections naturally all follow a similar pattern, though while this book was put together with the best of intentions the non-professional editors have unfortunately fallen into a rather Victorian anthropological perspective, with white men's stories of self-effacing heroics mostly being given top billing, then a few moving stories from bereft Thai hotel owners, followed by just a few short paragraphs from poor Burmese immigrant workers tagged on in the end papers. It's those latter stories I'm more interested in, but by far the most moving account is that of the Frenchman Patrice Fayet, who lost both his wife and daughter. I hope there are more collections like this, but put together with more sensitivity.