Coroner's Lunch, The
Cotterill, ColinConfronted by the poisoning of an important official's wife and the sudden appearance of three bodies that may create an international incident between Laos and Vietnam, the crafty and charming 72-year-old state coroner, Dr Siri Paiboun, stays dead calm. Set in Laos a year after the 1975 Communist takeover, Dr Paiboun gleans clues from minute examinations of the bodies, while circumnavigating bureaucratic red tape. At his age, he reasons, what can they do to him? He unravels three complicated murder plots his superiors want to sweep under the carpet.
Comments from Groups
We all thoroughly enjoyed this book-its whimiscal style, told through the eyes of a seasoned character totally comfortable with himself! Provoked discussion about Laos, and its relationship with Vietnam and the ability to see and feel things outside our worldly realm. Lower Hutt 014Well written. Great satire. Characters were well portrayed and lifelike. Story was confusing but came together finally. The author cleverly handled the political aspect with wonderful satire. Enjoyed by most of the group. Christchurch 240Overall we enjoyed the book but two people definitely did not like it. Several were going to read another in the series. The Eastern names made it a little more difficult to follow. Tauranga 035The group really enjoyed `The Coroner's Lunch`, we all had a chuckle while reading it. Well written. Whiritoa 001Widely liked. Easy read, likeable characters and interesting story. Great discussion. Omarama 001All `LOVED` book! Location and history very interesting but characters wonderfully drawn, the humour, irony and satire superb! We chuckled our way through the book and have created a waiting list at the library for more of Dr Siri. Whakatane 009 We loved the character of Dr Siri, and would love to meet him. He was so onto it! We found it cleverly written and multi faceted. We're looking forward to a movie if there ever is to be one? The ending was up for debate, and some of us were disappointed. The book was very educational regarding Laos and its recent history. Auckland 389 Everyone loved the book, yet ten out of the twelve in our group would not have chosen it for themselves! Stewart Island 001 This was found very enjoyable by the majority of the group. The main detractor was the 'spirits', yet those more familiar with the East pointed out their prevalence in everyday life. We were all surprised by the number of topics and themes the book encompassed once we actually discussed it together. Tararua 001 Most members liked the book although some thought it was a bit 'grisly'. Some members didn't like the exorcism of the malevolent spirit Phibob, and didn't feel it belonged in the book. On finishing the book they could see its connection with the unsettling ending which left room for further stories. Whangarei 003 A light, amusing book set in an unfamiliar country. Auckland 085 An engaging story - even though most found the first chapter or two difficult to get into. Those of the group who had visited Vietnam/Laos, related to the surroundings described in the story, but found the spiritualism portrayed a little way out. All in all, a good poke at Communism and recommended as a good story. Christchurch 317
Pages
287
287
Year
2004
2004
Reviews
19-10-2023
Lively discussion - everybody thoroughly enjoyed the book.
03-08-2023
We all enjoyed the humour and quirky characters and the fast moving plot, but the majority of our members didn't enjoy the supernatural parts of the book. We had a lively discussion.
11-04-2022
Overall an enjoyable read. A glimpse into the history of Laos and its subsequent struggles. Slow to start, but it was a book that engaged the reader and we had to know what happened.
07-08-2021
A great discussion. This was a very different sort of story because of its setting in 1970s Laos and the characters that fit into a country and people struggling to find thermselves. It's a mystery. All those murders. But woven through it is a series of intriguing characters, both goodies and baddies. For a start, Dr Siri is 73, far older than most protagonists. He seems quite a sad case, living along, working in a job where everything seems difficult, overseen by people promoted beyond their competence. His wife is dead. She was at first a staunch communist who died disillusioned.
07-09-2020
Of those who read this book, we found the plot rather interesting. Some did not enjoy the "spiritual" part near the middle but understood that it was part of the culture and, therefore, the story. We did not really understand the question in the insert about the last two paragraphs of the book, so that brought on quite a discussion, albeit inconclusive.
19-02-2019
Quirky, fun and interesting - first half better than the second. Some loved the mystical stuff, others didn't like it.
19-02-2019
Beautifully evocation of life in Laos in 1975. The group enjoyed the combination of lovely characters, mystery, satire and humour. Most are keen to read more about the wonderful Dr Siri!
19-02-2019
Most of us loved it, and several have obtained others by Cotterill, and lots of us plan to.
19-02-2019
Most really enjoyed this book, and learned about Laos as well. Criticisms included a seemingly rushed ending which didn't clarify all the details of what happened. We all loved Siri and his two assistants.
19-02-2019
Overall the book was loved. Well-written, humorous and a good mystery, but we weren't quite sure about the ending.
19-02-2019
This book was enjoyed by the whole group, even those who wouldn't normally read books of this genre. Lively discussion had of the author's writing style and portrayal of characters. Several people said they would go to the public library to find more books by this author.
19-02-2019
All of us enjoyed this book which gave us an insight into the corruption and political interference. Siri was a really likeable character; and the supernatural references created great discussion re our own 'dreams' that had been influential in our own lives!
23-08-2018
Great fun read.