The Full Cupboard of Life (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, #5) in Q&A with Alexander McCall Smith

Apr 13, 2009 PurplyCookie rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-fiction, book-series, detective-fiction, cozy-mystery

This time around, Mma Ramotswe is distracted by her long-prolonged engagement to Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, Gaborone's best mechanic; it seems she will never be married, despite her fiancé's honorable intentions. He installs an extra large seatbelt in her car to keep her safe (she is quite comfortable with her "traditional build," despite the new, slender fashion of the modern woman), but an altercation with another mechanic and the prospect of a charity parachute jump keep his mind off matrimony.

Mma This time around, Mma Ramotswe is distracted by her long-prolonged engagement to Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, Gaborone's best mechanic; it seems she will never be married, despite her fiancé's honorable intentions. He installs an extra large seatbelt in her car to keep her safe (she is quite comfortable with her "traditional build," despite the new, slender fashion of the modern woman), but an altercation with another mechanic and the prospect of a charity parachute jump keep his mind off matrimony.

Mma Ramotswe herself has weighty matters on her mind. She has been approached by a wealthy lady — whose fortune comes from successful hair-braiding salons — and has been asked to check up on several suitors. Are these men just interested in her money? "Judging men! Men are always looking at women and judging them. Now we have the chance to do some judging back." This may be difficult to find out, but Mma Ramotswe is, of course, a very intuitive lady.

Readers will be seduced by the beauty of the land and intrigued by local customs. "And that was surely what most people wanted, at the end of the day; to live on the land that they love, and nowhere else; to be where their people had been before them, as long as anybody could remember."

They will learn about drought and irrigation, about growing pumpkins, braiding hair, and dealing with poisonous snakes. The cases Mma Ramotswe handles are more about solving problems than crimes. Her behavior is governed by good manners, politeness, and honesty, and her favorite tool in the art of detecting is tea, preferably Bush Tea.

With an obvious lack of exciting plot lines, the reader focuses completely on the characters--beautifully drawn, sometimes flawed, and always forgiven their faults. In a pace as leisurely as life in Botswana, McCall Smith recreates the colorful everyday lives of these ordinary people, who treasure friendships, treat each other with respect, and possess inherent good sense. "Nobody needed to be a stranger; everybody could be linked in some way with others, even a visitor; for visitors came for a reason, did they not? They would be associated, then, with the people whom they were visiting. There was a place for everybody."

Book Details:

Title The Full Cupboard of Life (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Book 5)
Author Alexander McCall Smith
Reviewed By Purplycookie ...more

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