softback, 235 pages
English language
Published Dec. 14, 2002 by Anchor Books.
This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith's widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to "help people with problems in their lives." Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witchdoctors.The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency received two Booker Judges' Special Recommendations and was voted one of the International Books of the Year and the Millennium by the Times Literary Supplement.From the Trade Paperback edition.
I found this book entertaining although, in fairness, the writing style was not particularly polished. The good news is that I learned a bit about Botswana and a few of their mores. As for continuing to read the series, I am still on the fence about that...
Another exquisite surprise. Don't be put off by the genre: this is not a chewing-gum whodunnit. It's a gently meandering tale of hope and joy and hardship and wisdom set in an environment that, to most of us, is as foreign as Mars. McCall Smith writes richly, vividly. The reader on this audio CD is engaging. I never intended to read or listen to this... but I trusted a friend's recommendation and I'm glad I did.
Fun, well-written story. Not deep or gritty, just sort of simple and delightful. I devoured this series really quickly. Easy reads, perfect for the beach or cottage.
Reading The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, my overwhelming feeling was how very Holmesian the book felt. Each chapter dealt with a different mystery (excepting the earliest chapters, which instead were Precious' back story.) However, the whole book was in chronological order and themes and techniques that occurred earlier would recur in later stories -- very evocative of Doyle's classic mystery works.
So the layout, was an initial draw for me. What kept me reading was the theme; most of the mysteries in this installation revolve around the relationships between women and men -- dating, affairs, familial relationships, etc. McCall Smith paints Precious as somewhat of a feminist (a "modern woman"), while contrasting her with the mores of the more traditional people in her town. At times, I felt that the narrative swung the other way -- depicting men as scoundrels and cheaters, which I felt was unnecessary.
Much has β¦
Reading The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, my overwhelming feeling was how very Holmesian the book felt. Each chapter dealt with a different mystery (excepting the earliest chapters, which instead were Precious' back story.) However, the whole book was in chronological order and themes and techniques that occurred earlier would recur in later stories -- very evocative of Doyle's classic mystery works.
So the layout, was an initial draw for me. What kept me reading was the theme; most of the mysteries in this installation revolve around the relationships between women and men -- dating, affairs, familial relationships, etc. McCall Smith paints Precious as somewhat of a feminist (a "modern woman"), while contrasting her with the mores of the more traditional people in her town. At times, I felt that the narrative swung the other way -- depicting men as scoundrels and cheaters, which I felt was unnecessary.
Much has been made of McCall Smith's portrayal of Botswana, and this is where the book truly shines. I had no small amount of trepidation about reading a book with an African female protaganist written by a white man, but it turned out to be unfounded. McCall Smith depicts Botswana aptly, with no hint of Orientalism. It is clear from the outset that McCall Smith loves Subsaharan Africa, and his portrayal of such is fair, not veering into noble savages on one extreme, or war-torn, abject poverty on the other. In addition, McCall Smith takes care to show the reader Botswana itself, with the politics and history, rather than a generic "Africa" setting. This delicacy and honesty is what truly promotes the book from a three star rating to a four.
Given how popular this book seems to be, I was surprised at how long it took me to warm to it. At times the deliberate simplicity of the writing was engaging and light, but at times it also seemed annoyingly patronising to the characters and their culture. Most of the chapters stand alone as fairly self-contained stories, and the highlights were clever little tales in which someone with a little common sense (usually the lady detective of the title, but not always) proves smarter than some people who society would hold to be their 'better'. But really almost all of the little stories do the same thing, so it gets rather repetitive and the chaff ends up detracting from the wheat.
I think this book could be cut up and 3 or 4 chapters made into lovely short stories for an anthology, but the rest left me rather disappointed.
Given how popular this book seems to be, I was surprised at how long it took me to warm to it. At times the deliberate simplicity of the writing was engaging and light, but at times it also seemed annoyingly patronising to the characters and their culture. Most of the chapters stand alone as fairly self-contained stories, and the highlights were clever little tales in which someone with a little common sense (usually the lady detective of the title, but not always) proves smarter than some people who society would hold to be their 'better'. But really almost all of the little stories do the same thing, so it gets rather repetitive and the chaff ends up detracting from the wheat.
I think this book could be cut up and 3 or 4 chapters made into lovely short stories for an anthology, but the rest left me rather disappointed.
Well, it was cute. Not quite a mystery, not really a romance. Everyone's poor, but happy-go-lucky. And completely slid past the prevalence of HIV in southern Africa.
