Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
Helpful Score: 1
First Line: Dr. Siri lay beneath the grimy mesh of the mosquito net, watching the lizard's third attempt.
I have to admit that, although I'm a character-driven reader, location can also play a large part in my reading enjoyment. I love books set in Arizona. The allure is not only because the book is placed on familiar ground, but also because I love this state and have a chance to see if the author "got it right". I was born under a wandering star, however. Often familiar places just don't cut the mustard, and it's times like this when I choose to read something off the beaten path. Due to Colin Cotterill's skill, Laos has become an exotic and favored locale to visit.
Cotterill's mystery series is set in Laos in the 1970s shortly after the Communists assume power. His unlikely hero is seventy-something Dr. Siri Paiboun, who's made the National Coroner of his country. Dr. Siri spent many years fighting for the Communists, but now that he's achieved his goal and has had a chance to see what the new government is doing, much of his ideology seems to have disappeared. He runs his morgue with a staff of two: a female assistant, Nurse Dtui, whose nickname means "Fatty", and a young male assistant, Geung, who has Down's Syndrome. Both are Dr. Siri's valued associates and friends, which tells us just as much about him as it does his two assistants.
In this third book in the series, Dr. Siri and Nurse Dtui are sent north at the behest of the Laotian president to investigate the discovery of a mummified body at the president's compound. While dealing with the endless red tape that now surrounds everything in Laos, they meet Dr. Santiago, a Cuban who uncovers crucial information about the victim's identity. Siri and Dtui have to work fast, since there's a big shindig scheduled in a week, and that's a good thing. Dr. Siri is sick of hearing the raucous disco music every night, although no one else complains of it.
Dtui was breathless with admiration for these people. Her own mother had been one of their kind. Dtui had been born in such a village but had no recollections of it. This was Laos. These were Lao people. Her people: kind, selfless, and honest. Ninety percent of Lao tilled the soil and cared for each other just like this. Dtui sat under an awning in the central square of this thirty-hut village, and saw what her country could so easily become if it was left to manage itself.
I love this series. It gives me a glimpse into a world totally foreign to me. There is a mystical element to each book, but it blends perfectly into the lives of the characters and their beliefs. And speaking of the characters--they are superb! The secondary story concerning Dr. Siri's assistant, Geung, was just as engrossing to me as the main plot. Dtui is a gem of no nonsense, and Dr. Siri is a delight-- especially when he's dealing with his obnoxious boss.
If you'd like your reading to take you further afield to a foreign land filled with amazing characters and intriguing plots, consider setting sail on Colin Cotterill's ship to Laos where you can meet Dr. Siri and his colleagues. You won't regret it! The only suggestion I would make is to start with the first book in the series, The Coroner's Lunch. Each book can be read on its own merit, but you won't want to miss a second of the character development.
I have to admit that, although I'm a character-driven reader, location can also play a large part in my reading enjoyment. I love books set in Arizona. The allure is not only because the book is placed on familiar ground, but also because I love this state and have a chance to see if the author "got it right". I was born under a wandering star, however. Often familiar places just don't cut the mustard, and it's times like this when I choose to read something off the beaten path. Due to Colin Cotterill's skill, Laos has become an exotic and favored locale to visit.
Cotterill's mystery series is set in Laos in the 1970s shortly after the Communists assume power. His unlikely hero is seventy-something Dr. Siri Paiboun, who's made the National Coroner of his country. Dr. Siri spent many years fighting for the Communists, but now that he's achieved his goal and has had a chance to see what the new government is doing, much of his ideology seems to have disappeared. He runs his morgue with a staff of two: a female assistant, Nurse Dtui, whose nickname means "Fatty", and a young male assistant, Geung, who has Down's Syndrome. Both are Dr. Siri's valued associates and friends, which tells us just as much about him as it does his two assistants.
In this third book in the series, Dr. Siri and Nurse Dtui are sent north at the behest of the Laotian president to investigate the discovery of a mummified body at the president's compound. While dealing with the endless red tape that now surrounds everything in Laos, they meet Dr. Santiago, a Cuban who uncovers crucial information about the victim's identity. Siri and Dtui have to work fast, since there's a big shindig scheduled in a week, and that's a good thing. Dr. Siri is sick of hearing the raucous disco music every night, although no one else complains of it.
Dtui was breathless with admiration for these people. Her own mother had been one of their kind. Dtui had been born in such a village but had no recollections of it. This was Laos. These were Lao people. Her people: kind, selfless, and honest. Ninety percent of Lao tilled the soil and cared for each other just like this. Dtui sat under an awning in the central square of this thirty-hut village, and saw what her country could so easily become if it was left to manage itself.
I love this series. It gives me a glimpse into a world totally foreign to me. There is a mystical element to each book, but it blends perfectly into the lives of the characters and their beliefs. And speaking of the characters--they are superb! The secondary story concerning Dr. Siri's assistant, Geung, was just as engrossing to me as the main plot. Dtui is a gem of no nonsense, and Dr. Siri is a delight-- especially when he's dealing with his obnoxious boss.
If you'd like your reading to take you further afield to a foreign land filled with amazing characters and intriguing plots, consider setting sail on Colin Cotterill's ship to Laos where you can meet Dr. Siri and his colleagues. You won't regret it! The only suggestion I would make is to start with the first book in the series, The Coroner's Lunch. Each book can be read on its own merit, but you won't want to miss a second of the character development.
Thomas F. (hardtack) -
While this is an interesting series, there is getting to be a bit much mysticism for this child.
Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
Disco for the Departed is author Colin Cotterills 3rd visit to Dr. Siri Paiboun. At this point in his long life, Dr. Siri thought hed be enjoying a light workload or even retirement, instead of struggling to support the post-Vietnam war Peoples Democrating Republic of Laos government by providing coroner services. Further complicating his golden years is that the ghosts of the dead can occasionally communicate with Dr. Siri and sometimes they seem insistent while other times they seem vague.
There are two plots running through this book. First, preparations for a governmental celebration in the mountains near the border are interrupted by the discovery of an arm without any body connected in concrete at the former presidential palace. Dr. Paiboun must not only solve the mystery of who this person was and why he or she died, but also walk a tightrope of political considerations. Meanwhile, many of the aforementioned spirits congregate nightly in an event which gives the book its title.
In a concurrent plot, Geung, the developmentally challenged morgue assistant, has been placed in charge of keeping the place tidy while the good doctor is away. Unfortunately, he is visited and informed that he has been drafted into the military and must leave immediately. Geung declines because he made a commitment to the absent Dr. Siri, but he is not given a choice until he is able to escape his captors and begins a long adventuresome trek back to the morgue.
Cotterills sardonic view of governments, governmental regulations and red tape, and the functionaries and leaders who inhabit this world, oozes through each paragraph of the book. This cynicism might overpower the work if it werent for the basic goodness and common sense of Siri, Geung, and previously unmentioned Nurse Dtui. The reader is blessed with the ability to rise above any situation and laugh along with the protagonists, rather than having to dwell in the procedural mire of the new Communist regime.
It is always a joy to hang out with Siri.
RATING: 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars where applicable.
There are two plots running through this book. First, preparations for a governmental celebration in the mountains near the border are interrupted by the discovery of an arm without any body connected in concrete at the former presidential palace. Dr. Paiboun must not only solve the mystery of who this person was and why he or she died, but also walk a tightrope of political considerations. Meanwhile, many of the aforementioned spirits congregate nightly in an event which gives the book its title.
In a concurrent plot, Geung, the developmentally challenged morgue assistant, has been placed in charge of keeping the place tidy while the good doctor is away. Unfortunately, he is visited and informed that he has been drafted into the military and must leave immediately. Geung declines because he made a commitment to the absent Dr. Siri, but he is not given a choice until he is able to escape his captors and begins a long adventuresome trek back to the morgue.
Cotterills sardonic view of governments, governmental regulations and red tape, and the functionaries and leaders who inhabit this world, oozes through each paragraph of the book. This cynicism might overpower the work if it werent for the basic goodness and common sense of Siri, Geung, and previously unmentioned Nurse Dtui. The reader is blessed with the ability to rise above any situation and laugh along with the protagonists, rather than having to dwell in the procedural mire of the new Communist regime.
It is always a joy to hang out with Siri.
RATING: 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars where applicable.
