BAD Reads
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
 | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Alexander McCall Smith Date: 06 February, 2003 — $8.36 — Book Rating: |
Being a cynic when it comes to best sellers--after 20 years of librarianship I have found that most of what sells that many copies usually stinks---so I held off on reading these for quite a while.
But once I did pick up the first one, I read the 4 sequels in rapid succession. They really are that good.
Mma Precious Ramotswe and her world at first seemed, well, a bit too "precious" for me. I wondered if the author wasn't being a bit condescending. After all how could a man--a white man at that, get the rhythms of a Botswanan woman?
But he does. Smith obviously has a great love for Botswana and its people, and that shines through these stories.
Though libraries and bookstores shelve these as mysteries, they are far more like fictionalized cultural anthropology at its best. Mma Ramotswe and the people of Botswana come to life in each book, and we watch them grow and change. It is obvious from the stories that though their lives are much poorer in terms of the sort of material possessions valued in America, they are far richer in the warmth and caring of their ways. We could use more of the Botswanan way here.
Meanwhile, enjoy these stories. I am not sure if Smith intends to continue the series--he is releasing the first of a new series this fall. But I hope he returns to the people of Gabarone, for I am anxious to visit them again, if only on paper.
