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Curse of the Pogo Stick A Dr Siri Paiboun Mystery Colin Cotterill 9781569475904 Books

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Curse of the Pogo Stick A Dr Siri Paiboun Mystery Colin Cotterill 9781569475904 Books

The fifth Dr. Siri novel is constructed differently than the previous installments in that the subplots are not intertwined. In fact, the happenings back in Ventiane are set aside until the end of the novel when Siri’s friends fill him in on their activities since he departed for a government meeting in the north and was reported to have been kidnapped. Author Cotterill centers this novel on the plight of the Hmong some of whom supported the Pathet Lao and some of whom supported the royalist/American side of the conflict that eventuated in the communist takeover. Unvalued and persecuted by the fledgling communist government in the mid-1970s, their existence in Laos was threatened and many fled to Thailand. As the host of the spirit of ancient shaman Yeh Ming, Siri’s help is enlisted. I found this novel less satisfying than the earlier installments for several reasons. First, some aspects (the curse of the pogo stick itself and Judge Haeng’s foibles, for example) seem too silly for the seriousness of the Hmong people’s plight. I also am getting tired of “humorous” aspects of the frequent drinking to excess in each of these books. In this particular novel, detective work and mystery are underplayed. Although Nurse Dtui makes some crucial deductions early in the book, that story is the one put aside until the end of the book and the action occurs mostly off-stage. Siri’s deductions about the Hmong village’s need for an exorcism also are pretty much hidden from the reader until he pronounces his conclusions. And one mystery appears to remain at the end of the novel. Still, the story is engaging, the characters are colorful, and the writing is witty and clear.


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Curse of the Pogo Stick A Dr Siri Paiboun Mystery Colin Cotterill 9781569475904 Books Reviews

It's 1977 Laos, and I love being transported there to tag along with Dr. Siri Pauboun, the intelligent and authority-phobic 73 year-old National Coroner. This is the 5th book in the Dr. Siri mystery series, and I was happy to read that he and Daeng get engaged. And his faithful and resourceful nurse, Dtui is married and three months pregnant. (I hadn't seen that coming.)

Siri is off on a National Party Convention in the provincial capital of Xiang Khouang. So Dtui is in charge at the morgue, in the capital city of Vientiane. The body of a soldier is brought in for autopsy, and the Hospital Director and his newly minted (male) surgeon are most dismissive of Dtui. That is, until she notices that the body is booby-trapped, and they'd all be dead the minute the first incision is made.

So who, Siri's friends want to know, wants to kill Siri?

At the time, Siri is not giving a lot of thought to the morgue, because he's just been kidnapped by seven female Hmong and taken to their mountain village. A daughter of the village has been possessed by a demon, and the elderly headman wants Yeh Ming, the 1,000 year-old Hmong shaman who shares Siri's body, to perform an exorcism.

I very much enjoyed "Curse of the Pogo Stick". As in the whole series, there is a lot of humor, both subtle and broad. And people and situations are often quirky, to say the least. But at the same time, there are fascinating insights into another culture and another time. This book concentrates on the story of the Hmong. By 1977, the Laos Communist government was sufficiently organized that it could start the systematic elimination of the Hmong, who had helped the Americans in the war. It was seven woman who kidnapped Siri, because they are the only villagers left.

The title, "Curse of the Pogo Stick", has a great explanation (which I won't give away). It reminds me of the reason that Xi, the Kalahari Bushman, must travel to the end of the earth to rid his tribe of the terrible soft drink bottle that fell from the sky, in the wonderful movie, "The Gods Must Be Crazy".

Colin Cotterill's writing is lively and intelligent, such as in this example "In the words of Comrade Civilai, the rainy season of '77 had been as brief and unconvincing as a politician's credibility... and he should know."

Recommended reading! If you haven't read any Siri mysteries before, you might enjoy starting with the first,
The Coroner's Lunch

Happy Reader
I love this whole series of mysteries! The hero is a coroner in 1970's Laos. The communists have won, and the country is trying to stumble along without much real government-just a lot of silly rules. Dr. Siri was a faithful revolutionary and has been "rewarded" with the position of the country's only coroner, although he's really just a regular doctor, with no training for this job. He and his loyal assistants are virtually forced to solve various odd crimes that come attached to the bodies they autopsy, as the police force is nothing to write home about. With Dr. Siri, Nurse Dtui, buxom and smart, and the stolid Mr. Geung, who has Down Syndrome, are up to the task of ferreting out the truth. They have their individual stories, as well, and I love the plot lines that follow these characters.
This episode moves the personal stories of Dr. Siri and the gang forward in a charming way. There are marriages and children involved, but I won't say more.
A surprising element in the series is the association with the spirit world that Dr, Siri finds thrust upon him, in an earlier book. He has become host to a powerful Hmong spirit from the past, who sometimes helps him solve crimes. This aspect could have made the stories ridiculous or annoying, but it does not intrude. Indeed, it provides an interesting sidelight to the goings-on in the "real" world. You learn quite a bit about the customs/beliefs of the Hmong minority in Laos.
The mysteries themselves are always pretty engaging and well resolved. They frequently require the main characters to travel around Laos and Vietnam, allowing us to learn more about the culture of the time and the general area.

These books are always lighthearted and amusing in tone, but not so much as to be goofy or annoying. I consider them to be a pleasant change from heavier, more depressing and serious mysteries, which I also enjoy.
The fifth Dr. Siri novel is constructed differently than the previous installments in that the subplots are not intertwined. In fact, the happenings back in Ventiane are set aside until the end of the novel when Siri’s friends fill him in on their activities since he departed for a government meeting in the north and was reported to have been kidnapped. Author Cotterill centers this novel on the plight of the Hmong some of whom supported the Pathet Lao and some of whom supported the royalist/American side of the conflict that eventuated in the communist takeover. Unvalued and persecuted by the fledgling communist government in the mid-1970s, their existence in Laos was threatened and many fled to Thailand. As the host of the spirit of ancient shaman Yeh Ming, Siri’s help is enlisted. I found this novel less satisfying than the earlier installments for several reasons. First, some aspects (the curse of the pogo stick itself and Judge Haeng’s foibles, for example) seem too silly for the seriousness of the Hmong people’s plight. I also am getting tired of “humorous” aspects of the frequent drinking to excess in each of these books. In this particular novel, detective work and mystery are underplayed. Although Nurse Dtui makes some crucial deductions early in the book, that story is the one put aside until the end of the book and the action occurs mostly off-stage. Siri’s deductions about the Hmong village’s need for an exorcism also are pretty much hidden from the reader until he pronounces his conclusions. And one mystery appears to remain at the end of the novel. Still, the story is engaging, the characters are colorful, and the writing is witty and clear.