Pool and its Role in Asian Communism: An unlikely pair fight child trafficking during the CIA secret war in Laos

by Colin Cotterill

Dr. Siri's author Colin Cotterill's stand-alone novel set in Laos

A new edition with a new preface from Colin Cotterill

For those that have the book already, here is the new or extra preface -

Writing Pool and its Role in Asian Communism scratched two itches for me. I’d spent four years in Laos, and I was juggling ideas for a series of books set there. But I was a raw novice as a writer, and I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. I needed a sort of gentle introduction to the place that flitted back and forth between southeast Asia and a familiar western culture.

I was working in child protection in Phuket and I was reading a lot about kids trafficked from Asia. I’d written two dark books locally that zoomed in on child abuse and undoubtedly depressed the one or two readers that bought them. But I still wanted the world to know what was happening right under its nose.

I made a rash decision to attempt to write a humorous child trafficking book. I developed this, make ‘em laugh then hit ‘em with a moral, philosophy that eventually served me well in the Dr. Siri series. (My story of Cambodian genocide was nominated for a UK Last Laugh award.) But I needed to write about life through the eyes of a victim, which brings me to my second itch. I wondered whether I could get away with telling the entire story in ungrammatical colloquial English, and not my own patois but that of an uneducated girl growing up in Indiana. I’d been there but I doubted I could write a linguistic analysis of the language. I had to rely on the wasted years of watching US movies at the Gaumont picture house.

Slowly, the story of Saifon in the US and events in Laos came together with political insights of a novice socialist state. I can’t take full credit. The characters led me through it. Reviews gushed, my confidence blossomed, and ‘Pool’ took its place as one of my favourite books.

Back to the Book

A funny and moving tale set during the secret war in LaosThe Year is 1970. Waldo Monk is a 65 years old African American, a widower, and two months away from retirement after a lifetime at Roundly's pool-ball factory in Mattfield, Indiana. Enter Saifon, a twenty-something Lao-American girl with an attitude, who has come to the US under mysterious circumstances. She's just arrived at Roundly's, and it's Waldo's task to train her up for his job as pool-ball quality controller.Saifon hates just about everyone, and even though Waldo is tempted to strangle her at first, a friendship grows between them. Two personal disasters in Waldo's life lead to him 'adopting' Saifon instead. But Saifon's mission at the factory is to make enough money, by hook or by crook, to get back to Laos - for she has sworn to discover the truth about her past.

These two very odd companions find themselves in the CIA’s secret war in Laos finding both the best and the worst the Lao civil war throws up.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Asia

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Colin Cotterill was born in London and trained as a teacher and set off on a world tour that didn't ever come to an end. He worked as a Physical Education instructor in Israel, a primary school teacher in Australia, a counselor for educationally handicapped adults in the US, and a university lecturer in Japan. But the greater part of his latter years has been spent in Southeast Asia. Colin has taught and trained teachers in Thailand and on the Burmese border. He spent several years in Laos, initially with UNESCO and wrote and produced a forty-programme language teaching series; English By Accident, for Thai national television.

Ten years ago, Colin became involved in child protection in the region and set up an NGO in Phuket which he ran for the first two years. After two more years of study in child abuse issues, and one more stint in Phuket, he moved on to ECPAT, an international organization combating child prostitution and pornography. He established their training program for caregivers.

All the while, Colin continued with his two other passions; cartooning and writing. He contributed regular columns for the Bangkok Post but had little time to write. It wasn't until his work with trafficked children that he found himself sufficiently stimulated to put together his first novel, The Night Bastard (Suk's Editions. 2000).

The reaction to that first attempt was so positive that Colin decided to take time off and write full-time. Since October 2001 he has written nine more novels. Two of these are child-protection based: Evil in the Land Without (Asia Books December 03), and Pool and Its Role in Asian Communism (Asia Books, Dec 05). These were followed by The Coroner’s Lunch (Soho Press. Dec 04), Thirty Three Teeth (Aug 05), Disco for the Departed (Aug 06), Anarchy and Old Dogs (Aug 07), and Curse of the Pogo Stick (Aug 08), The Merry Misogynist (Aug 09), Love Songs from a Shallow Grave (Aug 10) these last seven are set in Laos in the 1970’s.

On June 15, 2009 Colin Cotterill received the Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library award for being "the author of crime fiction whose work is currently giving the greatest enjoyment to library users".

When the Lao books gained in popularity, Cotterill set up a project to send books to Lao children and sponsor trainee teachers. The Books for Laos programme elicits support from fans of the books and is administered purely on a voluntary basis.

Since 1990, Colin has been a regular cartoonist for national publications. A Thai language translation of his cartoon scrapbook, Ethel and Joan Go to Phuket (Matichon May 04) and weekly social cartoons in the Nation newspaper, set him back onto the cartoon trail in 2004. On 4 April 2004, an illustrated bilingual column ‘cycle logical’ was launched in Matichon’s popular weekly news magazine. These have been published in book form.

Colin is married and lives in a fishing community on the Gulf of Siam with his wife, Kyoko, and ever-expanding pack of very annoying dogs.

Reviews

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pool and its Role in Asian Communism

This delightful story was written in broken English.

Set in the time of when the Vietnam war spills into Laos the background is historically correct, but the main essence of the story is about child trafficking from Laos to America

We learn of Saifon, a young woman from Laos now in America, and Waldo, an African-American working in a factory that produces pool balls.

With this setting you might not expect any jokes, but this was written by Colin Cotterill a master of understated humor.

Here are some passages that made me smile...

"The maid and her boy come into the yard to watch the two crazy dancing guys, one burnt sienna, one mocha cream. If you gotta be bombed, be bombed by guys with rhythm."

"You probably worked out the, what do you call it? ...the irony here already. Saifon and Waldo was getting cooperation from the CIA, who was supporting the RLA, who ... But Saifon and Waldo was also the honored guests of the PL, who was allies of the North Vietnamese who, if anyone's paying attention still, you'll know are the commies everyone else is fighting against."

Colin Cotterill has written many novels set in South East Asia and this is one of his best!

Enoy.

[Mark Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a great book. A genius mixture of humor and pathos. Colin Cotterill again forays into 1970s Laos and all the insanity thereof. Unlike either his Dr. Siri Paiboun or his Jimm Juree series, this tale is a stand alone and is actually all the more satisfying for it inasmuch we get from plot point A to Z with no need to leave any "and than...." devices as lead ins to the next book. This little gem needs no book ending

The book synopsis pretty much tells you all you need for a story overview - what it doesn't tell you is the amount of heart you are going to encounter along the way...and the only way your are going to experience that is to read the book. So do so, you'll thank me later.

[Mackay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the terrible title, this book is well worth reading. It's funny (sometimes laugh out loud funny) and poignant, sweet without being saccharine, and it informs the reader about some of the late stages of the US war in Vietnam and about the human heart, both its beastliness and its greatness. Waldo is a hero you've never met before, and Saifon, the heroine, it well worth following.

Not a mystery and not part of either of Cotterill's series, this stand-alone novel deserves more attention.

[John Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a few mediocre books, it was a delight to come across this one.

At my age it would be wrong to say that I had been brought up on the Dr Siri Paiboun series by this author but they were my mainstay for many years and the go-to books of choice after a boring or particularly heavy book. I knew that I would enjoy Dr Siri. Sadly the series ended last year.

I was surprised when I found this book recently. I just knew from the title who it was by and I see that it was published only a year after the first of the Dr Siri books. I couldnt wait to get started.

Once again the author chooses a distressing subject matter but he manages to surround it with such good natured humour. I rarely laugh out loud when I am reading and I cant remember when an author last brought a tear to my eye. Colin Cotterill managed both here almost at the same time. This is a rare talent.

If you have never read any of this authors work before read this book and enjoy it. Then search out The Coroners Lunch and enjoy your journey through Laos with the Dr Siri series. Then drop me a line and thank me for the recommendation.

[Patricia Hoesel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a comedy, although parts of it are pretty funny, this story of a retired pool ball inspector and his 20-something Lao trainee who visit Laos during the secret war in the 1970's is at times touching and at times almost scary as they navigate a strange world to discover a dangerous secret.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! Funny, sad and so much more. The quirky characters that Cotterill always delivers and the totally non-typical story that is so much more than just entertainment.

[Mindy McAdams · Rating 3 out of 5]

In spite of the stupid title (which has little to do with the story), this is a fun and breezy story about two unlikely friends who meet in a Midwest U.S. factory and eventually travel to Thailand and Laos to bring criminals to justice. There's a huge drawback, however, in the super-annoying bad-English dialect in which it is written. If you are impatient while reading dialect, this would probably drive you crazy. I really disliked the dialect, and it detracted quite a lot from my enjoyment of this book.

Both of our main characters are flawed as well, but if you enjoy the Dr. Siri Paiboun mystery novels by the same author — as I do — you might enjoy this too. It's a very different setting, and there are no characters as lovable as Dr. Siri and his cohort (Waldo is sweet, but he's kind of a caricature), but the formula is similar and the humor — while less subtle — is also similar.

P.S. If you've never read the Dr. Siri books, I highly recommend those! Start with the first, The Coroner's Lunch (2004), and read them all.

[Glen U · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Pool and Its Role in Asian Communism" is a stand alone novel set in Laos and Thailand in 1970. It is an early piece written by Colin Cotterill, before his Siri Paiboun series gained acclaim in the literary world. Uneven at times, it is still filled with wonderful characters, an intriguing (if sometimes confusing) plot and Cotterill's trademark wry wit and sarcastic tone. The story starts out slow and the writing is lacking in continuity. As the book progresses, Cotterill pulls the tale together and the reading becomes more coherent and complete as we follow our heroes through Nixon's secret war in Southeast Asia. By the conclusion, the writing has coalesced into the creative and compelling story that the reader is familiar with from his Dr. Siri mystery series, where the good guys win, even if not in the conventional sense that one would expect. A very good read.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great quirky book! Billiard ball factory worker nearing retirement is training a young Laotian woman in the fine points of quality control. He then gets involved in her quest to track down some bad men from her youth. Wonderfully told through the eyes of a mysterious third party. Author Cotterill does an excellent job racking-up the characters for an adventure of a lifetime with Waldo Monk. Boozy bosses and sleazy pedophiles---it's all in here. Very enjoyable read with satisfying conclusion. 4.5 stars.

[Stefan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical novel set mainly in South East Asia / Laos in the early 70s. I love the fact, that the author never starts whining or preaching. It's actually a joy to read!
I'm happy that this one was re-published as a Kindle Version, as it's almost impossible to get hands on the paperback edition.

[Liz Bingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic book

[Mrs G K Cockrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

.

Another superb book from Mr Cotterill. I raced through it and I am now starting from the beginning again.
Another book about Waldo and Saifon would be lovely. Please

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predecessor to the Siri Paiboun series, and it shows. Could have been a solid five stars but for two factors that knocked it down to four edging on to three and a half.

One irritant was the totally unnecessary use of a second-hand narrator who turns out to be a very minor character that doesn't even appear until the end. Why not just give us a straightforward story? you know, "show not tell"? The secondhand "dialect" narration doesn't add a single spark of authenticity, while letting the characters simply speak in character would do so. The "surprise reveal" at the end that ties this secondhand narrator in to the story was just annoying as all get out, particularly as said narrator simply could not be privy to all the characters' thoughts, feelings, past etc.

Another problem is the British author's decision to use American dialect as the narrative language. Trouble is, either his editor or his proofreaders were also British and let slip several terms that Midwestern English does not use even today, let alone in the 1970s, such as "biscuits" where Waldo or Wilbur would speak of cookies, "bin liners" for garbage bags, "queues" for people waiting in line, and "messing about" for "messing around." Not to mention that his Indianans are just a bit southern-fried, a common failing even among US authors who've never actually lived in the Midwest and don't realise it's not in the South.

I will say, it was a fast and engaging read, with none of the unnecessary ghostie-wostie woo-woo so loved by Cotterill in some of his other novels. There is a rather heavy-handed history lesson, but I suppose that people born after 1980 would have to have the Vietnam conflict explained; it was part of our lives in those days, even as kids, and still made not a lot of sense, even though real footage was all over the TV every day.

[Mari Vihuri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The start was very slow for me. I was annoyed that it was "written by an uneducated narrator" with grammar and spelling mistakes. I have come to expect tales of SE Asia from Cotterill so all this action in America just didn't grab me and the book lay waiting for weeks. But once I decided to take it on, I became charmed by the characters. And of course by the time the action moved to Laos, I was really lapping it up. Maybe the grammar also improved by then, or maybe I just had got so used to it that I did not even notice. Once again Cotterill in his humorous way shone a light on a serious problem we should acknowledge more.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

Another great story from Colin. Brought tears to my eyes at the end. I loved the Dr. Siri books and finished them all so was excited to find this one. It might become one of my favorites. Now onto the Jimm Juree series.

[Griffin Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

for only picking it up because the title and cover were funny, I had a surprisingly good time with this. first was so slow though, once we reach laos the story really kicks into high gear which was desperately needed.

[margot velez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun summer read.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is quite good and the characters unique and interesting. It is written in broken English, which is difficult to read. The reason for the poor English is not explained until the end, which did detract from the enjoyment of the book. I wish that had been handled differently. Aside from that, the book is very enjoyable and, like his other books, helped create a sense of what the war and politics in SE Asia mean to those in it.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas Hardy had 19th -century Wessex; Colin Cotterill has Laos in the 1970s. No matter what perspective he takes, Cotterill writes a compelling - and amusing story. This is a departure from the Dr. Siri stories, although an occasional character like Civilai or Dtui shows up. Keep on writing, Mr. Cotterill!

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A black, near-retirement factory worker and a Laotian refugee make an unlikely heroic pair in Pool and its Role in Asian Communism. This narrative is written in less-than-perfect English, but I think that adds some mystery as to who the narrator is and what their role is in the story.

When Waldo's retirement plans forcibly change, he joins Saifon on her quest for justice.

[James Hooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This title sounds like an incredibly dull journal article - and it is absolutely NOT! It goes in so many unexpected paths and has such real people I want to read it several times again. A gem.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite authors, but found the language of the book completely off-putting.