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Loading... Anarchy and Old Dogsby Colin Cotterill
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Canalmania | Sep 28, 2008 |  1   #4 Dr. Siri Paiboun mystery set in 1970’s Laos in which Siri gets involved with his good friend Civali in attempting to thwart a coup against the new Lao government, which also eventually involves Nurse Dtui and Phosy the policeman as well. Siri also ventures to the southern part of the country to Pakse, to investigate the death of a young boy fished out of the river and brings Civali with him to look into some political things on the sly, and while they are there, Siri encounters Daeng, a woman that he and his wife knew in their young revolutionary days. There are a couple of surprises at the end of the book, too. All in all, another very satisfying visit with Dr. Siri and crew, though I have to admit that at times all the political nuances and plots were a bit over my head. The ghosts that Siri has visitations from were somewhat more quiescent in this book, perhaps because Siri was often under the influence, consuming mass quantities of Lao cocktails, which consists of one-half rice whiskey and the other half rice whiskey. LOL I love this author’s writing style and his magical way with words. Can’t wait til the next one! A. (  )Spuddie | Sep 25, 2008 | want to read asap srmcmurray | Apr 5, 2007 |  0.048 seconds to build listing  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 156947463X, Hardcover)Praise for the Dr. Siri Paiboun series: “A hero unlike any other.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer “Magically sublime.”—Entertainment Weekly A blind retired dentist has been run down by a logging truck on the street in Vientiane just opposite the post office. His body is duly delivered to the morgue of Dr. Siri Paiboun, the official and only coroner of Laos. At the age of seventy-four, Dr. Siri is too old to be in awe of the new communist bureaucrats for whom he now works. He identifies the corpse, helped by the letter in the man’s pocket. But first he must decipher it; it is written in code and invisible ink. The dentist’s widow explains that the enigmatic letters and numbers describe chess moves, but they are unlike any chess symbols Siri has previously encountered. With the help of his old friend, Civilai, now a senior member of the Laos politburo; Nurse Dtui (“Fatty”); Phosy, a police officer; and Aunt Bpoo, a transvestite fortune-teller, Dr. Siri solves the mystery of the note and foils a plot to overthrow the government of Laos. Colin Cotterill is the author of The Coroner’s Lunch, Thirty-Three Teeth, and Disco for the Departed, all featuring Dr. Siri Paiboun. He lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He received the Dilys Award for Thirty-Three Teeth from the Independent Mystery Book-sellers Association. For more information, visit www.colincotterill.com (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:12 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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Set in Laos in the seventies after the 'revolution' with the brave new world a disappointment tolots of the original rebels now in their sixties & seventies.
These books are often compared to Alexander McCall Smith's African detective series, I can see why, but for me they are a much better read. They evoke the strange mix of culture left by having been part of the French influenced area of the east - the Loatian taste for baguettes for example and the spirit life of the old Laotian culture.
The stories often have several strands, but progress to a resolution, which can, as in this case directly affect our main protaginists, Siri, Nurse D'tui and Siri's frien Civilai.
These novels were a discovery made in an airport book store - so it goes to show that there are often gems amongst the pile 'em high style which the chains employ for the latest 'hot' author