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Axel Aylwen

The story of the 1688 revolution in Siam is not terribly well known among the general public of the western world, despite the presence of several reliable eye witness accounts. This is a pity on several levels, not the least of which is the romance and mystery surrounding one of the central figures, Constantine Phaulkon, the so-called Falcon of Siam. Born on the Greek island of Cephallonia then under the rule of Venice, the young Phaulkon fled his provincial home for a life of adventure with the British navy and, in due course, with the East India Company. He quickly found a new milieu that seemed to suit his character perfectly, leading many to speculate that he may have lived there in a past life. He became fluent in Siamese as well as Malay, Portuguese, Dutch and other languages and this was the key that enabled him to ascend to unprecedented heights as a foreigner in King Narai's bureaucracy.

Axel Aylwen's splendid historical novel, based on this true story, is the subject of The Falcon of Siam. Focusing on the early part of the story, from the time of Phaulkon's initial plan to transport Dutch cannon to the rebels of Pattani, the novel takes us through the various intrigues with the other foreign contingents at Ayutthaya and introduces us to life at that period in some loving detail. The research is generally of a high level, with believable details about such items as clothing, hairstyles and gender relations. The issue of chilli peppers is, so to speak, slightly fudged - the chilli pepper only came to Siam with the Portuguese after its discovery in the Americas by Christopher Columbus and it rapidly transformed the Southeast Asian diet. I would also quibble with the insistence on the comparative size of the Europeans compared with the Siamese and other Asians. Careful study of the accounts of initial contact between representatives of the two continents shows that no mention of comparative size is made, suggesting there was no difference and hence no reason to comment on the issue. Contemporary illustrations show the people as being of the same height. It was only the imperialism imposed on the Southeast Asians and the poverty and misery that caused that led to the reduction in size.

However, these are minor points. The narrative rips along at a terrific pace and there is sufficient love interest to entertain those who wish to focus on the more tender emotions. The action stops at a vital stage - I had thought the novel would cover the whole of the history and was on the whole pleased to realise that there would be a sequel, although I have never seen it for sale here in Thailand. I'll look for it more carefully in the future.

Idioma Inglés
Publicación 1998 (2003)
Editorial Falcon Press
Categoría Narrativa


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