Unpacking the literary luggage at The White Lotus, Thailand
All the holiday status reads in Season 3
Season 3 of The White Lotus has returned, and I’m obsessed (again) with how good the props department is. From who’s wearing which watch, to the micro-details inspired by the Four Seasons (did you spot The White Lotus bookmarks?), everything in this show is deliberate.
If you’re new to The White Lotus, it’s a darkly funny social satire that follows the lives of wealthy guests and staff at a luxury resort. Each season is set in a different location (Hawaii, Sicily, and now Thailand, always using a Four Seasons) and slowly unpacks power, privilege and murder in paradise.
Amongst it’s most revealing props are the books. If you found yourself scanning the background for book covers, you’re not alone. Over the last two seasons, fans have been decoding who’s reading what, and what it says about them. These are not just poolside accessories, they’re subtle signals: of status, of self-image, of the kind of person these characters want to be seen as. Or at least, seen reading as.
The selections, particularly those that are more on-the-nose, have become a running joke in many a whatsapp group and internet forum. Props master Michael Cory spoke to Lit Hub about how the books are chosen:
I’m thinking of that old fiction adage about “what’s in your character’s purse…” It’s also what people will tell you is in their purse vs. what’s actually in their purse. It goes with that thing of, which books you’ve actually read and which books are sitting in your house unread.
— How Are the Books in The White Lotus Chosen? Meet the Man Who Picks Them
Whether you’re a first-time watcher or deep into it, here’s a closer look at the novels and non-fiction quietly tucked into the frame.
So far in the series the books have been harder to identify, with almost every sighting a fleeting glimpse. However in this week’s episode the books are back and totally in your face. Because nothing says a rough night like the whole cast by the pool pretending to read off their hangovers…
Chelsea
Start Where You Are by Pema Chödrön and The Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks
Chelsea is a free-spirited yoga teacher, who finds herself in Thailand on the whims of her much older boyfriend. Dismissed a bit by her partner, but Chelsea is out here reading some intellectually hitting stuff. A sign of someone searching for something deeper and spiritual in what seems like quite a transient lifestyle. She’s seen the world, and now she’s starting to see herself. I also love a Chödrön by the pool.
Jaclyn
My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand
Jaclyn, a famous actress who is recently married, is on a girls’ trip with her life long friends Laurie and Kate (and the scenes of these three are worth the watch alone). At nearly 1,000 pages long this book ‘spares no detail’ and is lauded as an ‘exhaustive account of ambition and insecurity’. The sheer size of this tome begs the question: did she really lug this from LA? Was it an impulsive airport grab during a layover in Bangkok, or did she find it in the hotel? Either way this is a women sending a signal that she takes her career seriously and wants to be seen as one of the greats.
Laurie
Laurie is a corporate lawyer and recently divorced, on holiday with her friends Jacyln and Kate. She’s reading a novel about three best friends from college navigating the complexity of adulthood as their children come of age. I love that this is the book she has in hand whilst she really goes for it with Jaclyn. This ticks a lot of Laurie’s boxes: New York, navigating old friendships, the intricacies of being in a trio, ageing, sexual independence.
Belinda
Surrounded by Narcissists by Thomas Erikson
Belinda is the spa manager of The White Lotus Hawaii (S01), now in Thailand for a three month wellness training programme. For her, this book tracks. Imagine dealing with these guests and everything she’s been through (and potentially about to go through). A humorous underscore to her experience and her professionalism and resilience throughout it all.
Lochlan Ratliff
The youngest of three siblings in the uber-privileged Ratliff family, Lochlan is a high school senior struggling with where he wants to go to college and who he wants to be. This book is new to me, and the author is pretty controversial. But this semi-autobiographical work looks at the psychodynamics of alienation, obsession and self-destruction. A suggestion of Lochlan’s own internal conflicts and feelings, which are playing out live in the show.
Victoria Ratliff
The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The matriarch of the Ratliff family, preoccupied with maintaining the family’s status and influences whilst topping herself up with lorazepam. This book is a brilliant satirical placement, but I cannot see her actually reading this. If this is a deliberate Easter egg of her family’s story arc, then it’s a good one. The Beautiful and Damned is about a couple who morally and physically ruin themselves in pursuit of wealth.
Piper Ratliff
Various invented works
The middle Ratliff child, Piper is the reason her family travelled to Thailand: ostensibly for her to interview a monk for her thesis, but actually for her to check out the monastery ahead of applying to spend a year there. The books Piper reads feature her monk, and are the only books specifically created for a character.
Who fancies a White Lotus book club? 💌
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