Flying with the Cormorants

Flying with the Cormorants

or

Seeking Sanook

A debut novel by W M Christie Mel Christie

Frustrated with his job and contrary to all the naysayers telling him to stay, Aren Manoukian (Առէն Մանուկեան) Ren Manoukian, a second generation Armenian rootless in London, decides on a year in Southeast Asia, China, and Japan to search for life, love, and meaning. He ditches his two-hour commute from his soot stained sublet and sets off instead for Bangkok, where, in the spirit of THE WHITE LOTUS, the budget version (think less Four Seasons, more Four Cockroaches in a Dorm) or EAT PRAY LOVE (with more countries) he meets con artists, mercenaries, an ex-drug lord, and several mosquito ravaged travellers.

The search takes nine years.

Cormorant (鵜)

Pronunciation: ˈkȯr-mə-ˌrant

Noun:

1. A large aquatic bird once prized in Asia for its use in catching fish.
2. A gluttonous, greedy, or rapacious person.

Usage:

In Japan, Cormorant Fishing is called Ukai (鵜飼): To control the bird, the fisherman ties a noose near the base of the bird’s throat. It doesn’t stop the bird from swallowing small fish, but it prevents it from swallowing the larger ones. When a cormorant has caught a large fish in its throat, the fisherman brings the bird back to the boat to retrieve it.

The Cormorant Crowd can be any group, typically tourists or travellers, in search of new experiences but who can be like cormorants, catching fish but unable to swallow because of the noose.

Sanook (สนุก)

Pronunciation: sà-nùk

Noun: Fun

Usage: The Thai word for ‘fun.’ Fun can mean different things to different people and different cultures; however, in Thailand, Sanook is more like a mindset or a way of life.

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