It has been eight years since writer Chart Kobjitti, national artist and two-time SEA Write Award winner, published his book Lorm Wong Khui, a collection of articles written for Si San magazine. Eight years is a long time, especially for fans of various generations who literally grew up with his writing, from the cursed life of Ai-fak in 1981's Khamphiphaksa (The Judgement) that won his first SEA Write award, and the tumultuous story of life, friendship and lots of booze in 1988's Phan Ma Ba, to a miserable account of age and death in a nursing home in 1993's Wela (Time), for which he won the award once again.
Then suddenly, around September two years ago, a Facebook user by the name of Chart Kobjitti created quite a buzz on social media. Some would share his posts while others "became friends with Chart Kobjitti" as if that was the most natural thing to do, becoming friends with, since the death of Rong Wongsawan in 2009, arguably the best novelist of his generation. Surprisingly, his Facebook account was very responsive.
And so it happened, at the age of 60 then (he's now 61), Chart took up Facebook. And what appeared initially to be a place for catching up with long lost friends and general ranting turned out to be a field for experimentation and material for his latest book Lok An Son Kan Yu (Facebook: Worlds Overlapped) which was released last month.
"I was just wondering if this [Facebook] could be a new platform for my writing," said Chart when Life met up with him at his clothing shop PhanMaBa at Siam Gypsy Junction market in Bang Sue district recently. With his Ray-Ban sunglasses on, he was joking with people around him pretty much all the time, smoking Falling Rain cigarettes and looking at least 10 years younger than he actually is.
"My observation is a lot of people who are on Facebook are young people, and I was just thinking about what I wanted to tell the young generation, whether it's life experiences, ways of solving problems, or ways of managing a business. I could be their father or even grandfather, and this is me telling them about what I have been through. However, I never meant to say what I said was always right -- they have to see for themselves whether it's applicable to them."
Most people were unaware, but Chart carefully planned since the beginning that, after one year, the whole thing -- his writings, photos posted, and even comments by his Facebook friends -- would be turned into a book.
"From now on, stories on books and my personal life will be told here," reads the first page of his new book which was his first Facebook post on Sept 7, 2014. "Thank you guys for coming in here and being my friends."
Is he considering this book a novel?
"I guess so," said Chart. "It's an experimental work in terms of the platform. Issues I raised in my posts, if we are to consider this a novel, are the characters. The book has every element a novel needs, the emotions, the subplots, the atmosphere, the ups and downs, and the climax."
"The characters" or issues Chart mentions range from everyday problems with and updates on his farming projects at his home in Nakhon Ratchasima province, his ruminations on the current issues in publishing and the e-book business, or his struggles on managing his clothing business and setting up a new office at his home.
As for the editing process, Chart said it was just like doing a novel; the unnecessary posts were cut out of the book and the series of issues build up to the climax.
As his readers would know, Chart's writings are always a fun read no matter how trivial and seemingly uninteresting the subjects may be.
Yet, in Facebook: Worlds Overlapped, there could be a split regarding reactions from his fans. Considering the book as his new nonfiction writing, it is of course a joy to read his words and, like a reunion, see what their favourite author has been up to.
Regarding the work as a novel, however, some might find it a bit of a let-down; instead of taking us from start to end as a storyteller, in this book here, in order to enjoy it, you have got to know the narrator who is Chart beforehand. In short, it's only a writer of his reputation and calibre that can undertake a project like this.
The release of Facebook came as quite a surprise for his fans as there has been news for some time that Chart is currently working on a new novel that can be roughly translated as Alone In A Condo. Chart confirmed this.
"I've been working on it for eight or nine years now," said Chart. "I'm stuck because it's something I have never done before. With my previous novels, I would have everything I needed ready before sitting down to write. With this book, it's an improvisation and I don't know what's going to happen next. The novel centres on this man who lives alone in a condo in the city."
Meanwhile, aside from his clothing shop, Chart is quite busy with his farming projects, all of which he never intended to start. At first, Chart was just relocating some trees and digging made him realise that there was water down under.
"Then, the workers suggested that we do rice farming," said Chart. "Then a friend got back from Hawaii and brought coffee seeds and they grew, and then olive trees. I never imagined myself doing this, but once I started I had to take care of it."
Now that Facebook: Worlds Overlapped is finally published and done with, Chart said he finally has time to work on his next one.
"Things are starting to come through, I'm not as stuck as before," said Chart. "But I think I have got only 2% of the book done, about 30 pages, and it's going to be even longer than Phan Ma Ba."
