You’ll Never Walk Alone
Debbie Singh grew up in a close knit family in Liverpool, England. Her family didn't go without, but sacrifices were made and they didn't always enjoy the trimmings that wealthier families may have. This upbringing kept the family close together, and they were brought up with old-fashioned values.
The family adopts a troubled youngster and he is welcomed into the family as one of their own despite the fact that he is not a blood relation. The family shows him all the love that a child could ever ask for, but he remains a little distant.
The family emigrates to Australia and the adopted lad drifts, eventually ending up in Thailand, hardly the place for someone so unsettled and with a propensity for falling into trouble. Just like watching a car accident about to happen in slow motion, the said fellow gets himself into all sorts of bother, knocking up his girlfriend, a lady of questionable repute, before ending up with no money, and taking the easy way out, trying to make money by passing off dud cheques. He is caught, and his nightmare in the Bangkok Hilton begins.
His family slowly finds out that he is stuck in a prison in Thailand and Debbie volunteers to go and visit him. She is horrified at the conditions he exists in and sets about on her quest to get him transferred back to a prison in Australia.
Much of the book follows Debbie's frequent visits to Thailand, the people she deals with, and the places she sees.
What I liked: This is a new perspective on the Bangkok prison book, which has been done many times before. The author of this book is truly a saint, a lady with an absolute heart of gold, and you just cannot help but warm to her. She selflessly put her troubled brother's well-being above everything else.
What I didn’t like: Parts of the book are awfully repetitive, especially in the second half, where there are numerous trips between Australia and Thailand that are very much same same, to use a Thai phrase. Much of what is written about Thailand is downright wrong and there are a few glaring, grating generalisations about the women of the night. That such comments are made is rather hypocritical given what her brother got up to.
Overall: I don't know how much this title will appeal to the audience of this site as it is far more a book about a woman's struggle to assist her brother in a foreign prison, than a Bangkok prison book. Female readers may enjoy it, but male readers? I'm not so sure.
* It is worth noting that I don't always enjoy books written by females, and this should be factored in to my comments.
