Phaic Tǎn. Land of convulsive smiles

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The book Phaic Tǎn. Land of the convulsive smile (original title: Phaic Tăn - Sunstroke on a Shoestring ) is a parody written as a fictional travel guide from the series of jetlag travel guides by the authors Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Rob Stich. It describes Phaic Tǎn as a Southeast Asian country that is supposed to unite all the negative clichés of this area. Phaic Tǎn is a joke and stands for fake tan ( English : "false tan"). The book is the successor to Molwanîen. Land of the damaged smile parodied by travel guides to Eastern Europe . After Phaic Tǎn , San Sombrèro appeared. Caribbean, carnival and cockroaches , which parodies travel guide for Central America .

content

Fictional flag of Phaic Tons

The book formally includes all the typical characteristics of a travel guide - a short description of the history , culture , country and people, insider tips , hotel and restaurant recommendations and a small phrase book about this fictional country. The representations are, however, greatly exaggerated and are based on all the negative clichés of Southeast Asian countries. The information is enriched by comments from also fictitious four "authors of special articles", who each represent different types of tourists , which are also exaggerated .

Representation of the fictional country

The book divides the country into three provinces and the imaginary capital Bumpattabumpah . These are the coastal province of Tan Gah , the jungle -dominated province of Pha Phlung and the rather poor and unprepossessing province of Lut Sham Ding . Overall, the country is referred to in the book as “the armpit of Asia”.

  • Bumpattabumpah (bumper to bumper) is a juggernaut and chaotic caricature of a big Asian city in the book .
  • The coastal province of Tan Gah (in the original: Thong On ) with the imaginary administrative capital Pattaponga is described as a caricature of a Southeast Asian holiday paradise with locations such as the "mold coast ", ailing health care facility and concrete castles, dubious divers' paradises and pirates as tourist attractions.
  • The northern province of Pha Phlung with the provincial capital Nham Pong is presented as an area suffering from drug cultivation and the consequences of acts of civil war . Accordingly, there is no lack of evidence of landmines . In addition, bizarre mountain tribes are said to live here.
  • The representation of the province of Lut Sham Dingh (in the original: Sukkondat ) with the capital Lang Sahm (in the original: Sloh Phan ) is characterized by the description of a desolate area, poor in natural and cultural treasures.

The political and legal systems are described as not being democratic or committed to human rights - tenants who are late in paying are said to be tortured . The CIA are subject to significant activities.

Fictitious authors of special articles

Four imaginary people (“Philippe Miseree”, “Tina Payne”, “Sven Teitarssen” and “Jonathan Quibble”) are named as authors of special articles, each representing different forms of travel philosophy in exaggerated form.

  • “Philippe Miseree” is portrayed as the kind of traveler who values ​​authenticity. According to the description, he is proud to have “visited pretty much every place in the world at least twice: once to experience it and then again for a few years later to be disappointed with the changes ”.
  • "Tina Payne" represents the over-cautious traveler.
  • “Sven Teitarssen” is said to be a backpacker and convinced budget traveler who “recently made a profit on a trip through Southeast Asia”.
  • "Jonathan Quibble" is a character who portrays the spoiled and over-demanding luxury traveler.

Spread in the book market

Shortly after the book was published in February 2006, from the beginning of March to the beginning of April 2006 it was ranked 16th in the bestseller list of the Spiegel for fiction .

criticism

Phaic Tǎn. Land of the convulsive smile was indeed taken as entertaining and entertaining, but repetitions towards the end should mean that there is a risk of boredom . With its form of humor, the book is aimed at people with a penchant for sarcasm , irony and black humor .

Literature / audio

  • Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Rob Sitch: Phaic Tǎn. Land of the convulsive smile , Heyne, 2006, ISBN 3-453-12060-4
  • Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Rob Sitch, Matthias Ponnier: Phaic Tǎn. Land of the Spasmodic Smile 2 CDs, Random House Audio, 2006, ISBN 3-86604-210-8

Web links