The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
I've just finished the (so far) last book in this, hopefully never-ending, series of books about The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. (The others being Tears of the Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, The Kalahari Typing School for Men, The Full Cupboard of Life and In the Company of Cheerful Ladies - as you may know! Apparently there's even a Blue Shoes and Happiness that I've yet to find & read.
Possibly, this is not Nobel prize literature. Possibly. But it's compelling reading - to me at least! - and I never knew earlier that I was so interested to know about life in Botswana...
Now, isn't that a feat too, worthy of note? Making me toss my old Earl Grey out the window and buy bush tea instead? Google-earthing through Botswana, the Kalahari etc. to refresh my school-girl learning about the area? I think it's definitely worth mentioning. And we haven't really decided how to define excellent writing yet either, have we..?
The New York Times writes:
"The Miss Marple of Botswana."
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.
Get hold of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency here.
Posted by Scholiast at 12:22 AM
3 Comments:
Hey good post! I've started the first bok in the series but it didn't quite take, I think it was bad timing - I will definately give it another try 'cause it seems like just the kind of stuff I would like!
(WV:pushkipo = don't forget to read Pushkin too!)
I ADORE this book. Back when I was a child, I knew this beautiful nun from Kenya and the rhythms and sound of her voice were music. I really felt liek the author has done such an amazing job to capture that tone. These books remind me of Sister Angela.
I read the first book in the series....It was quite enjoyable. I've read a few of his other books that aren't in the series and wasn't very impressed but I think he's got a pretty good gem in the Detective series. I have to search around for the other books.
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