Phraphai meets a boy at his neighbourhood playground that no one else can see or hear. Twenty years later, he returns to his childhood home, and finds an adult Klongyao waiting for him at the swingset. Overjoyed to reconnect, Phraphai doesn’t hesitate to swear never to leave Klongyao again.
Patrick Rangsimant needs a better Thai translator
I love this story, but I struggled reading it. Grammatical errors, awkward tense shifts, repetition, incorrect references to subjects, improper dialogue attributions, etc. Unfortunately, the time spent deciphering did distract my ADHD brain from the story. My Imaginary Boyfriend would benefit from additional editing, but it isn’t impossible to understand, and it’s still a worthwhile read.
Similar to I Love / Kill You, Rangsimant’s writing is an introspective / stream of consciousness style that I adore. It reminds me of fanfiction, but also teen or YA mystery novels. I felt very close to the characters, and their fears were my fears from the beginning.
The first scene gave me chills.
The book opens with Klong pounding on the door to Phai’s house. Phai has locked himself inside, and is frightened because he does not know what Klong is, or how he’s able to interact with the physical world; implying that this has not always been the case.
What is Klong? Is he just my imagination or something beyond my comprehension?
After this tense beginning, Phai reflects on how when he was a child, he met Klong on a neighbourhood playground near his home, and his hand passed through the other boy. Klong complained that no one else could see him, and insisted on staying near Phai so he wouldn’t be scared and lonely.
I’m a spiritualist. I have a complex cultural background, and have blended beliefs about the world around me (both physical and non-physical). As a horror fan, I’ve been aware of shadow people, ghosts, entities, demons, etc., for most of my life. I know the etiquette for interacting with fairies, and I know that you should never ever make promises to these creatures, especially if you haven’t fully identified what they are in order to take the necessary steps to protect yourself.
I have told my friends not to worry about dabbling with psychic or metaphysical phenomenon, because curiosity is still a form of awareness. As long as you approach the supernatural with open-minded and level-headed respect, everything will be fine. After all, evil is bold and will walk right through your front door the second your defences are down.
Which is what happens in My Imaginary Boyfriend.
How could he be harmful to me when he couldn’t even touch me? One is never harmed by bringing one’s imagination to one’s house, right?
Sound the alarm!
At five years old, guided by empathy and naive trust, Phai invites Klong into his home. A non-corporeal entity of unknown origin, proceeds to live with Phai—unbeknownst to Phai’s mother (widowed, single parent)—for weeks!
More than anything else in the novel, this series of innocent interactions unsettled me so much. I had goosebumps. I feared for the safety of this unsuspecting child, and outright yelled at his mother (while curled up reading in my pyjamas in my living room) when she labelled Phai’s invisible playmate as a harmless imaginary friend (“friend in imagination”).
Klong vanishes unexpectedly one day, and a few days later Phai moves to another city.
Interlude to red flags
Twenty years later, as Phai and Klong re-familiarize themselves with one another, the story changes tone to cute and romantic. They banter, Klong flirts, Phai blushes, and I sigh like the sap I deny being.
I do not consume conventional heterosexual romance, simply because I don’t like the structured formula approach to characters and their relationships.Their behaviours are not realistic, so I find it difficult to become emotionally invested. I want to believe that I would make similar decisions, and (an alarming amount of) media would have the audience believe people are fine with being stalked and/or the portrayals romanticize abuse.
With horror / thriller stories, belief is already suspended.
The intense opening made it clear that My Imaginary Boyfriend is a horror / thriller. I wanted to know what Klong is, why only Phai can see him, and if Klong was deserving of the love and trust that Phai gave him. Narrative clues helped keep me invested in the story as the mystery unfolded.
“Remember. I’ll make it clear that I have the flesh and I can be physical. I’ll give you hugs, kisses or anything more than that. I can do it all. Remember, Phai. I’ll prove to you that I, too, can do it all.” He finished it right when the sun was about to be completely below the horizon. It seemed like he wanted to say something else but his body became transparent and slightly faded away as if it was gone with the very last light of the sun. What remained was just his words echoing in my head. “I’ll prove to you — I – can – do – it – all.”
Then, he completely vanished.
Questions, questions, questions
Klong is absent for a few days while Phai continues his residency, and in these interactions with side characters, even more questions about Klong arise.
Phai meets a mentally ill patient who claims to know that Phai has a “boogeyman” in his life, and states:
“If you leave it without saying goodbye … it will come back to deprive the life out of you”
When Klong returns, he’s able to touch and be touched by Phai. They become physically intimate, and their relationship deepens.
Even when another member of the hospital staff is assaulted after flirting with Phai, the assailant leaves a note for Phai at the security desk, yet Phai still doesn’t believe that Klong is anything more than his imaginary friend.
Passages like this made me fear that Phai’s mental clarity was being affected when in Klong’s presence:
I couldn’t deny that when I was with him, there would always be the happiness which fulfilled me so much that I forgot about the fear I bore.
Spoiler no spoiling!
Rangsimant surprised me once again by turning the story on its head and subverting all of my expectations. My Imaginary Boyfriend is worth the read, even with the poor translation.
I cannot say more without giving away the end, and I don’t want to do that. I want you to read it.
If you like horror, thrillers, or mysteries centred around an uncertain romance, definitely check this out. And if you know any books similar to this one, please recommend them to me!
I will definitely check out more by this writer. Rangsimant is a talented author who creates both believable and relatable characters. I believe this story transcended the bounds of translation, and deserves a wider audience.
I strongly agree with Rangsimant’s sentiment from the Writer’s Preface at the beginning of the book.
Gay fiction isn’t just about love stories and it could be a lot more than that.
Looking forward to more great reads from this author!
Note: All quotes included are written as they appear in the novel.
