Thai Lottery is a collection of short stories by Matt Carrell. Once again set in Pattaya, and penned in the same descriptive style as Thai Kiss. As an insight into life in Pattaya, this book is even better than Thai Kiss; the short stories seem to give Matt a broader topic base, allowing him to include more characters and more typical scenarios.
Forget the Lonely Planet guide; Matt’s stories are more insightful and more descriptive than that. Anyone who has not yet visited Pattaya may think these stories are the product of a vivid imagination, writing about a place that could only ever exist inside such a vivid imagination. Regular visitors to Pattaya will find the characters in this book more than a little familiar. Larger-than-life characters acting out the most unimaginable scenarios really are part and parcel of everyday life in Pattaya.
Do you want to know about bar girls? Read the book. Do you want to know about Lady-boys? Read the book. Do you want to know what really goes on in Pattaya? Read the book. You may be under the illusion I am writing a review of a tourist guide; in many respects, I really am, but that merely reflects the descriptive value of Thai Lottery. But that descriptive value is more than matched by Matt’s story-writing skills. Journeys of self-discovery, unexpected sexual enlightenment, deviation, and misadventure, are all penned concisely and in dramatic fashion. In fact, so concise are they, you have to wonder if Matt has more than merely delved into the farthest corners of that vivid imagination.
