Fieldwork: A Novel
A fictional version of the author serves as the narrator of  Berlinski's uneven first novel, a thriller set in Thailand. Mischa Berlinski, a  reporter who's moved to northern Thailand to be with his schoolteacher  girlfriend, Rachel, hears from his friend Josh about the suicide of Martiya van  der Leun, an American anthropologist, in a Thai jail, where she was serving 50  years for murder. As Mischa begins to investigate Martiya's life and supposed  crimes, he becomes increasingly obsessed with the woman. The complications that  arise have the potential to be riveting, but the chatty narrative voice takes  too many irrelevant detours to build much suspense. Still, Berlinski, who has  been a journalist in Thailand, vividly portrays the exotic setting and brings  depth and nuance to his depictions of the Thais. Buried within the excess  verbiage is a lean, interesting tale about, among many other things, the  differences between modern and tribal cultures.(Mar.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.