Gold by the Inch: A Novel

called Striking By The New York Times Book Review, Gold By The Inch Is The Story Of A Young New Yorker Of Asian Descent Who Has Returned To The Country Of His Birth Following A Disastrous Relationship And His Father's Death. In A Bangkok Drunk On The Nation's Financial Miracle - And High On An Assortment Of Other Things - The Narrator Meets Thong, A Young, Beautiful Male Hustler Who Works At A Nightclub. As His Romantic Obsession With Thong Grows, The Narrator Tries To Convince Himself That It Transcends Its Commercial Nature, But He Is Quickly Forced Into A Hard Look At The Connections Between Desire And Exploitation, Personal And National Identity. Lawrence Chua Vividly Combines Southeast Asia's Troubled History With Evocations Of Its Modern Face - Its Polyglot Culture, Its Colonial Past, The Cool Futurism Of Its Skyscrapers And Its Sex Industry. Written In Hard-bitten, Dazzling Prose, Gold By The Inch Is A Stunning Debut.therese Murdzalike Surrendering To A Beautiful Body You Know Will Be Cruel To You, Lawrence Chua Reveals The Story In The Edgy, Soft Logic Akin To Dreams And Memory. -- lambda Book Report