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Avg. Rating: 4.27
By: KrystallizedFlame
I read all 5 books in this series and they are really not my type of book that I like. But my co-workers said I would like them and I did. They were a fast read and funny too. I recommend the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series. They were very fun to read.
Simplistic title has delightful writing
I read this book, then the second one (Tears of the Giraffe), and can't wait for the next one. Alexander McCall Smith has captured a character who stands not alone, but who represents womanhood and hopefully those of modern Botswana. Having never been to Africa it was a delightful opportunity to read of someone else's descriptive manner at detailing a storyline around a whole of their people. Since I do not have any experience to this observation, let it suffice to say that it intrigued me and kept me reading. The main character was just that, a character. Her life and that of the simple life around her was developed in such a manner that I wanted to find out more of how she thought, lived, and developed her detective agency in such a place. Her main male interest was charming as well. He had pride, depth, and honesty when often we think of those we don't know in far away places as perhaps not being as morale as we believe ourselves to be. It was eye-opening, interesting, and worth the read.The sad part was reading some viewpoints from readers who found the book not a "great" detective novel. They missed the point entirely. Her neighbors and clients were charming folks with lives that had simple fears, hopes, and dreams. What more could a reader ask than to have a glimpse into their lives. Read on folks, the second book is as delightful as the first.
Thank you. Reader in California
Enchanting
The dry, endless land of Botswana is the unlikely backdrop of Alexander McCall Smith's detective novel (the first in a series) and the beloved home of his creative, unorthodox P.I. Precious Ramotswe. The resilient Mma Ramotswe, having survived a brief, abusive marriage, the loss of her child, and the death of her father, sells the cattle she inherits to start the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency (wryly noted as the only one of its kind in the country) and proceeds to deftly handle a string of seemingly disparate domestic cases before getting caught up in the sinister circumstances surrounding an abducted boy. Smith crafts more than a detective in the character of Precious, however, as Precious defies cultural expectations by being a one- woman community service, a confidante for those who need somehow to reclaim their own lives. The novel subtly presents a landscape of changing cultural and gender roles as well as the tensions that arise between those citizens who honor the traditional African family bonds and those parasites that would give the old traditions a bad name. But Smith's hand isn't heavy, and his humor is like a warm desert breeze. Finally, his work is a vibrant celebration of Africa and those Africans who strive for a good, peaceful life. The heart of the book is contained in the epigrammatic shape:
africa
africa africa
africa africa africa
africa africa
africa
The shape of the continent--Precious--Mother Africa--- a good, fat woman!
Not so much of a detective as a loving description of Africa
After the death of her father Precious Ramotswe uses the inheritance to buy herself a house and an office from which she starts the first detective agency in Botswana. Business starts slowly, but she gets a number of clients with problems ranging from missing husbands to fraudulent employees and she starts to build up a reputation leading to new clients. The book describes some of the cases that Mma Ramotswe solves, but the real star of the book is Africa: there are long, loving descriptions of the nature, the people, the culture and the life in Africa and anybody who has been to Africa (and subsequently loves the continent despite all its problems) can use this book to refresh their memories and long back to those real African nights. Don't read this as a detective but as a book about Africa.
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