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Cargando... The Second Biggest Nothing (2019)por Colin Cotterill
Books Read in 2019 (1,592) Cargando...
Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. The Second Biggest Nothing is the fourteenth book in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series featuring a Laotian coroner. In this outing, Siri is the target of a revenge plot. He receives a threat, tied to his dog’s tail, in English, which he can’t read, so there is a delay before he reads it. The writer threatens to kill those Siri holds dear before killing Siri. There is a gathering of journalists to honor the five years of the Laotian government’s existence which Siri calls the second biggest nothing and Siri assumes that the killer might be among them. It becomes even more likely when two journalists are killed in an accident Siri is certain is murder. Further investigation leads to more than one natural death is actually a murder cleverly managed by this unknown revenge-seeker and Siri and his wife seem rather recklessly insouciant. I will always remember the thrill of reading “The Coroner’s Lunch.” I had never read anything like it. As the series progresses, the role of magic and spirits became more and more important. The stories became increasingly madcap and comic. Still, the deep moral force that Dr. Siri embodies has always been a strong component. This time, we see that in his stories of the past. Now, though I think he seems, if not tired of life, fully ready for death. I know I would feel much more alarm at the threats than he did. Sometimes series get tired and become more and more reworking the character’s quirks than presenting a mystery. This release treads on that line. I am not giving up on Dr. Siri, not yet, but I can see the wear and tear starting to show. The Second Biggest Nothing will be released August 20th. I received an e-galley from the publisher through Edelweiss. The Second Biggest Nothing Colin Cotterill author site “Don’t Eat Me” by Colin Cotterill review https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2019/08/08/9781641290616/ sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
Pertenece a las seriesDr. Siri Paiboun (14)
"A death threat to Dr. Siri and all his friends sends the ex-coroner down memory lane in the 14th installment of Cotterill's quirky, critically acclaimed series set in 1970s Laos. Vientiane, 1980: Laos is celebrating its fifth anniversary of communist rule, and Dr. Siri and his crew couldn't be less thrilled. But really, things could be a lot worse. Madame Daeng's noodle shop is thriving, Tukta and Geung are on their honeymoon, and Siri and Civilai are still plotting their directorial debut. But before things get too comfortable, Dr. Siri finds something odd tied with pink ribbon to his dog, Ugly's, tail: a mysterious note written in English. Upon finding someone to translate the note, Dr. Siri learns it is a death threat--and not just to him, but to everyone he holds dear. And whoever wrote the note claims the job will be executed in two weeks. Thus, at the urging of his motley crew of faithful friends, Dr. Siri contemplates who would hold such a strong grudge as to wish him dead, launching him into hair-bending scenes from his past, including the first time Siri met his lifelong pal Civilai in Paris in the early '30s, a particularly disruptive episode at an art museum in Saigon in 1956, and a prisoner of war negotiation in Hanoi at the height of the Vietnam War in the '70s. There will be grave consequences in the present if Dr. Siri can't put together the clues in the past"-- No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999Clasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio:
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There are some very nice twists and turns in the plot of The Second Biggest Nothing. I'd narrowed down the incident at the heart of the death threat against Siri and his loved ones, but my deductive powers failed me at the very end. That's always fun for someone who reads as many mysteries as I do.
But no matter how good the mysteries and the evocation of a time and place are in this series--and this book-- the beating heart of it all is found in that marvelous cast of characters. Cotterill shows us that Communists are pretty much just like us, which is probably something not everyone wants to read (but should). This latest book in the series gives longtime fans a special treat by letting us visit with Siri and Civilai when they are young men in Paris. It's always good to be able to learn some of the backstories in an older character's life.
However-- no matter how good the stories are (and they are)-- it's what Cotterill has to say through his characters that means the most to me. Through the years, Siri and his wife Daeng have created their own tribe, their own family. This family contains doctors, police officers, nurses, politicians, and restauranteurs, but it also has members with psychiatric problems, others with Down syndrome, etc. The philosophy of Siri and Daeng's tribe is that everyone has value and should be treated accordingly. Seeing all these characters live, work, investigate, and laugh together is wonderful.
By all means, read this series. Read it for the mysteries. Read it for the characters. But read it to absorb what it has to say about the human race.
See what I mean about Cotterill's books satisfying on so many levels? ( )