Culture

Dr Siri Paiboun has got to be one of the all time great fictional characters.  Irascible, kind, determined, a bit of a push-over, loving, stern, gentle, pushy, pig-headed, he's just so magnificently real.  I know I say this a lot, but if you've never read any of Colin Cotterill's fantastic series based in Laos, built around the elderly and reluctant, one and only coroner in Laos, then get thee to a bookshop / library with all haste.

In the 7th book - LOVE SONGS FROM A SHALLOW GRAVE - Dr Siri and his ever-present companions of Nurse Dtui, Mr Geung and his new wife Madame Daeng are investigating the very baffling case of three dead young women - all skewered through the heart with a sword.  Not the most usual of weapons but then nothing is ever "usual" in Siri's Laos.  Investigating with Dr Siri is often a problem for Dtui and Geung as he's frequently not around - normally right when his presence would be most appreciated in his morgue, in Vientiane, anywhere in the general vicinity of what's been happening.  Unfortunately in LOVE SONGS he's even further away, and more distracted than usual.  As his birthday dawns, he's incarcerated, in danger of starvation and torture, unlikely to survive.  He needs to reconsider his long-term, as well as his immediate future.

Dr Siri has always been a thinker and an observer - in 1970's Laos scientific support is very thin on the ground.  But it's in his nature to consider, see, analyse, talk to his colleagues, his spirit guides, draw his own conclusions.  He does this within a society and a culture which is very different from our Western way of seeing and thinking, and he fits perfectly into that world. 

As with any good series, it is possible to dive in at any point, but in this case I'd urge a little caution in picking up LOVE SONGS FROM A SHALLOW GRAVE as your first experience.  Whilst it would still be possible to follow the action, it would be best if you knew a little about what has happened to Dr Siri, how he came to become the one and only coroner and who his supporters are.  That will give the happenings in this book a background that I, personally, think enhances it.

Whilst the methods of murder in the books is sometimes a little gruesome, these books are still on the gentler side of crime fiction - which, I know, sounds rather odd.  Dr Siri brings a sensitivity to the investigation that honours the dead, finds the guilty and tries to restore balance to the world.  After LONG SONGS FROM A SHALLOW GRAVE, he's got some balance to restore to his own life, and given the awful trauma that he endures in this book, let's hope he finds that balance, and stays investigating.

If the idea of a serial killer novel titled THE MERRY MISOGYNIST has you slightly confused, then I can only guess that perhaps you've never read a Dr Siri book before.  If you're a fan of quirky, without cute or cosy, humour without slapstick and the most marvellous sense of place that you're likely to encounter, then I can only suggest that you rectify that as soon as possible.

THE MERRY MISOGYNIST is the sixth Dr Siri mystery, all set in Communist Laos.  Dr Siri is a most reluctant national Coroner, although he is supported by a most willing morgue team of colleagues and friends.  The Dr Siri books do contain a certain level of the supernatural (woo woo as we tend to call it), but it's set within a cultural context that will make it quite believable and somehow almost apt for any readers who normally break out in a bit of a rash when confronted by this.  The dry humour is fantastic, the interactions between all of the characters frequently moving and always encouraging.  It's a lovely touch to think that no matter how unexpected, bureacratic and controlled a society can become, there's levels of quiet rebellion all over the place - and Dr Siri does a particularly elegant line in quiet rebellion.

Anybody who hasn't indulged in the Dr Siri series by Colin Cotterill could be forgiven for wondering what on earth is going on with CURSE OF THE POGO STICK.  Booby-trapped corpses and reluctant coroners might be reasonably expected in crime fiction, but Hmong villagers needing exorcism by a thousand-year-old shaman who shares the aforementioned coroner's body?  Understandably a "What the" moment.

Whilst the spiritual (supernatural) component of CURSE OF THE POGO STICK is considerably stronger than the earlier books,  the series has been building the unlikely scenario of Dr Siri and his intrepid band of assistants - Nurse Dtui, Mr Geung and now Madame Daeng, for a number of books now.  Of course, the unlikely scenario probably relates mostly to western readers, as there's something intrinsically Laotian about these books.  Not only are all the characters set within an environment which is beautifully drawn, the Laotian way of life and thinking is demonstrated in a way that makes it feel very real.

Laos is almost as much a character in these books as the people mind you.  Whilst CURSE OF THE POGO STICK is set partially in Vientiane, Dr Siri spends more of his time held in a village in the mountains, deep in the countryside, in threatened Hmong territory.  Whilst this book does have Nurse Dtui and Madame Daeng involved in why somebody would send a booby-trapped corpse to the mortuary, a lot of time is spent with the Hmong and with Dr Siri. 

Perhaps it is this aspect that could make this book less attractive to fans of the series or as an introduction point for newcomers, as there is, alongside a considerably stronger spiritual component, a hefty dose of social commentary - with the Hmong being one of the most threatened groups of people within Laotian society.   Having said that, this reader has been a from the first book fan of this series, and CURSE OF THE POGO STICK appealed just as much as the other books.  Whilst not normally a fan of the supernatural, with Dr Siri, I have developed a considerably higher tolerance factor.  Possibly because the author delivers these components of all the books as less of the supernatural, and more a long-held cultural belief system that is fundamental to these people's lives.  Social commentary, on the other hand, is one of my very favourite things, and learning some of the hazards and problems that the Hmong experience made time spent with Dr Siri both educational and entertaining.

Perhaps if you are new to this series, it may be better to start a little earlier.  Get to know Dr Siri and his band of supporters from the beginning, and you will be able to follow their story as the author relaxes into what seems to this reader, at least, to be a very Laotian way of telling a story.

Previous books in the series are:

• The Coroner's Lunch
• Thirty-Three Teeth
• Disco for the Departed
• Anarchy and Old Dogs

In 1975, and in the middle of Laos' new communist regime's teething problems, septuagenarian surgeon Dr Siri Paiboun finds himself dragged back to work. This time as the chief coroner, a post he has absolutely no training for and little or no equipment, staff, forensic support or resources of any kind. When the wife of a Party leader dies suddenly and the bodies of three Vietnamese soldiers are discovered, seemingly tortured and thrown into a local reservoir, Siri uses a very strange combination of autopsy results and assistance from his friends (living and dead) to investigate. Siri is the most engaging character. A communist for love (his now deceased wife convinced him that they should support the Revolution), a charming old reprobate by nature, he uses a combination of medical knowledge, instinct, charm and good old fashioned finagling to find the truth. Even the scenes where Siri is ably assisted by the spirit world seem to just fit in with the world that he inhabits. The author has a wonderful sense of farce and he has created the character of Siri with a touch of the mystic and a healthy dollop of the human. The supporting cast are well drawn and there is a real sense of community with these characters. The dialogue is funny, the interaction between Siri and his workmates and friends open, irreverant in some places and lovingly real. Despite the woo woo element, which can turn off some readers, this is a wonderful, original, unusual book filled with people that you just want to spend more time with. Thanks must go to Text for publishing this book in Australia, and hopefully they will continue with the next: Thirty-Three Teeth. Incidentally - Colin's website is well worth a visit just to check out the fabulous cartoons: http://www.colincotterill.com/