E-book - Private Dancer - Stephen Leather

[Englishman2010]

After Jamesey's recent book review, I thought I'd mention a book I found a couple of years ago.

Some of you may already be aware of this book. A good friend of mine with a lot of Asian experience e-mailed me a pdf copy about 2 years ago after I got involved with my then Filipina girlfriend. As a novice Puti in a relationship with a Filipina it certainly opened my eyes, and was one of the things that prompted me to join this forum in my quest to find out more about what I could have been letting myself in for. Fortunately, I soon realised that I had made a big mistake, and this forum restored my faith in Filipina's.

I couldn't put this book down and read it in 2 days on a cold and wet January weekend.

Although it's set in Thailand, it could very easily have been set in the Philippines, and should be a must read item for anyone entering into their first online encounter with a foreign girl. I'm not suggesting that most foreign girls are bad, far from it, just warning us gullable puti's what to be careful of;)

Here's a link to the authors website. If you do a google search, you'll probably find a free copy somewhere, but if you have to pay for it, it is worth every penny:xxgrinning--00xx3:

http://www.stephenleather.com/privatedancer.html

[Englishman2010]

From the authors website

‘I don't know if it was love at first sight, but it was pretty close. She had the longest hair I'd ever seen, jet black and almost down to her waist. She had soft brown eyes that made my heart melt, long legs that just wouldn't quit and a figure to die for. She was naked except for a pair of black leather ankle boots with small chrome chains on the side. I think it was the boots that did it for me.’

Thailand 1996. The Year Of The Rat. Pete, a young travel writer, wanders into a Bangkok go-go bar and meets the love of his life. Joy is the girl of his dreams: young, stunningly pretty, and one of the Zombie Bar’s top-earning pole dancers. What follows is a roller-coaster ride of sex, drugs and deception, as Pete discovers that his very own private dancer is not all that she claims to be. And that far from being the girl of his dreams, Joy is his own personal nightmare.

For many years Private Dancer was only available as a free download through my website. It became something of a cult classic and over the last five years was downloaded sixty thousand times from more than forty countries. I gleaned much of the information for the book sitting in a bar called Jool’s in Sukhumvit Soi 4, just down the road from Bangkok’s infamous Nana Plaza red light area. The owner, Big Dave, knows pretty much everything there is to know about Thailand, and he’s the basis for the Big Ron character in the book.

Hodder and Stoughton didn’t want to publish Private Dancer as it is so different from my regular thrillers, so I decided to publish the book myself in Thailand, through my own publishing company, Three Elephants. (Three Elephants is an anagram of Stephen Leather!) I’ve also published Private Dancer on Kindle.

The striking cover photograph, of a naked girl holding a cut-throat razor behind her back, was taken in Anglewitch Bar in Nana Plaza and features one of the bar’s top showgirls. It took us ages to find the right girl. When I originally wrote the book, the fashion was for the girls to grow their hair long. But these days they trend to cut it short, make it curly, or dye it red or blonde. I sat with my friend Andrew Yates for hours outside Nana Plaza in search of the right girl, but it seemed as if the only ones with long straight hair were the ladyboys! My pal Paul Owen took the photograph. I borrowed the cut-throat razor from my barber and it took us almost an hour to get the shot right. I’m really pleased with the result - think it’s one of my best covers.

The book got great reviews from Bernard Trink at the Bangkok Post and the Pattaya Mail, both taking the view that Private Dancer should be required reading for all visitors to the Land of Smiles. Forewarned is forearmed! I think it works so well because it gives the story from so many viewpoints, including several Thai characters. Most books about the Thai bar scene only give the Westerners point of view.

Private Dancer is available at all good book shops throughout Thailand, especially Bookazine and Asia Books outlets, and is also on sale at the airport.

In 2005, Phil Tatham, who runs Monsoon Books in Singapore, wanted to add the book to his growing stable of publications, and I agreed to let him have publication rights for Singapore and Malaysia. You can also buy it on line through his website, www.monsoonbooks.com.sg.

[ConfusedMe]

This is interesting... I'll try and look for the FREE e-book... I hope I'm lucky:)

[ConfusedMe]

Finally found it... http://www.pattayapages.com/girls/images/private-dancer.pdf

[Terpe]

Yes, it's really a good read and a good recommendation.
I first came by this book on this forum.

If my old memory banks serve me well I seem to recall that Tawi also suggested this as a good read along with a couple of others.
I downloaded them all, I try to find where I finally stored them. I must improve my organisation of folders,files and drives one of these days.

[RickyR]

It's a great book, and Marvie enjoyed reading it as well. She says she wants to see what these places look like in bangkok, having been to Pataya with work, I'm not so keen on coming back.
Relevent to this forum is the way it highlights cultural differences and understanding, and how naive people can be when faced with other cultures.
Also in general, it warns people that going with bar girls, prostitutes and the like almost never work out well, regardless of what nationality. It never ends like it did in Pretty Woman.

Did you post this before? I'm not sure where I heard about this book from, it might have been you.

[Englishman2010]

You're absolutely right Ricky:xxgrinning--00xx3:
I have mentioned this book a couple of times during my time here on the forum. It really opened up my eyes as a naiive Puti dating a Filipina, and certainly made me look at things in a different way, ask questions and be more suspicious. It is as relevant to Ph as it is Thailand or Vietnam or even Russia, if you play with fire you will get burned:omg:
As we know, most girls, anywhere in the world are genuine:xxgrinning--00xx3: but if you mix with a certain type of girl, you really have to be fully aware of what you're letting yourself in for.

[Dedworth]

I think I read this book 5 or 6 years ago - does the guy get his revenge at a party for the girls family ?

[Englishman2010]

I think I read this book 5 or 6 years ago - does the guy get his revenge at a party for the girls family ?

Can't give the plot away in case people want to read it. There is a twist at the end and it's not what you'd think after reading the first 200 or so pages;)

[Englishman2010]

I think I read this book 5 or 6 years ago - does the guy get his revenge at a party for the girls family ?

Can't give the plot away in case people want to read it. There is a twist at the end and it's not what you'd think after reading the first 200 or so pages;)

[sweetnote143]

this got me curious so I read it yesterday through the link Donah gave.....very interesting story indeed....partly to culture, our views in life become different, our approach and how we live....and even to love...the only way I see it, it is best to learn each others culture, be open to differences..and respect that you're different

[Englishman2010]

I hope that you enjoyed it sweetnote

[RickyR]

Shame this guy hadn't read the book. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2056923/Star-Wars-fanatic-choked-Thai-bride-death-destroyed-collection-toys.html

[Englishman2010]

Another nutter who gives us all a bad name if we have a foreign partner. When that taxi driver went on the rampage killing people last year it was reported that he was another inadequate who had to buy himself a g/f from Asia.
Some of the comments after the story stir up the usual crap:rolleyes:

[sweetnote143]

I find it interesting, an eye-opening kind of story

[mickcant]

I am on page 146 at the moment, it is hard to stop reading it:Cuckoo:

My ex was in no way a bar girl, but a lot of how some girls get us to believe what we want to hear rings very true:yikes:

I wish I had read this before meeting her; I might not have been so gullible:NoNo:

It has not put me off Filipina's I know that a few bad ones make it seem worse that it really is.

I am not blameless ether:doh
Mick.:)