Reading Alexander McCall Smith's books is, to me, a bit like eating boiled lollies – very sweet and a bit addictive, but without a huge amount of substance, although they are lovely stories.My family are great fans, although I have to admit I was a little sceptical when the first McCall Smith book I picked up was The Careful Use of Compliments, the third book in the Isabel Dalhousie series – and rather than being fascinated by the protagonist, I just wanted to slap her. Fortunately, my stepfather convinced me to give McCall Smith another go.
Tears of the Giraffe is the second book in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, based in Botswana, and its reflections on daily African life are part of its appeal. It picks up where the previous book left off, following Precious Ramotswe and her detective pursuits, and her burgeoning relationship with Mr J. L. B. Maketoni, the local mechanic, who has a much larger role in this book, as well as a swelling cast of equally engaging characters.
Although the book is light and charming, along the way McCall Smith makes subtle comment on the character and development of Africa, but nothing so heavy-handed that it feels moralistic or preachy. Mma Ramotswe's eminently sensible approach to unravelling the intricacies of her clients' lives is certainly one of my favourite aspects of this book, as well as the unexpectedly elegant and just downright quirky anecdotes with which McCall Smith peppers the prose – for instance, the woman's husband who 'died of burps'.
With two more books in the series, I might have to go back for just one more.
I think (I hope) I have managed to wean myself off reading business books ... I gave them away as a bad idea a few years ago on the basis that if the authors really did know how to run successful businesses they'd be doing so and not just writing about it. I found the ideas offered obvious, stupid or, simply, not the way I work or want to work.
ReplyDeleteFar better to relax with Alexander McCall Smith ... I think I'm up to date with all of his prodigious output to date. My daughter, Rachael, adores them too. I think my favourites are those in the Scotland Street series although I do love Mma Ramotswe and Isabel Dalhousie too - dammit I like them all!
I like the gentleness, the tenderness and the incidental insights into how life could be altogether more pleasant. Escapist? Perhaps - just bring it on ...
Cay Man