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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 witch doctors.… (més)
bell7: Readers who enjoy Mma Ramotswe's understanding of people may also appreciate Inspector Gamache's methods and insistence that listening to and understanding people solve cases.
elbakerone: Although they take place in different African countries (Smith's Botswana and Parkin's Rwanda), both books have a similar flavor with the leading ladies helping out their neighbors. Throughout their respective stories, each book reveals a bit about the culture and daily life of the country where it takes place.… (més)
amyblue: Although Jana Bibi is set in India and No. 1 Ladies detective Agency is set in Botswana, both have a great respect for the local culture but are told from a more western perspective, and both have a cast of quirky characters.
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. ( )
"It was curious how some people had a highly developed sense of guilt, she thought, while others had none. Some people would agonize over minor slips or mistakes on their part, while others would be quite unmoved by their own gross acts of betrayal or dishonesty."
My reread of the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency was quite enjoyable. I don't recall which year I initially read the book but I only recalled bits and pieces of the story. I think this 1st book in the series was a little rough around the edges and the detective events disjointed or too easily resolved, especially one dangerous situation. Otherwise, I really liked getting reacquainted with the characters all over again. ( )
Mma Ramotswe's love of Africa, her wisdom and humor, shine through these pages as she shines her own light on the problems that vex her clients. Images of this large woman driving her tiny white van or sharing a cup of bush tea with a friend or client while working a case linger pleasantly. General audiences will welcome this little gem of a book just as much if not more than mystery readers.
afegit per Lemeritus | editaPublishers Weekly(Aug 27, 2002)
Informació del coneixement compartit en anglès.Modifica-la per localitzar-la a la teva llengua.
This book is for
Anne Gordon-Gillies
in Scotland
and for
Joe and Mimi McKnight
in Dallas, Texas
Primeres paraules
Informació del coneixement compartit en anglès.Modifica-la per localitzar-la a la teva llengua.
Mma Ramotswe had a detective agency in Africa, at the foot of Kgale Hill.
Citacions
Informació del coneixement compartit en anglès.Modifica-la per localitzar-la a la teva llengua.
...was featureless land, cluttered with low thorn trees, on the branches of which there perched the hornbills and the fluttering molopes, with their long, trailing tail feathers. It was a world that seemed to have no end, and that, I think, is what made Africa in those days so different. There was no end to it. A man could walk, or ride, forever, and he would never get anywhere. -Page 15
...every man has a map in his heart of his own country and that the heart will never allow you to forget this map. -Page 18
The problem, of course, was that people did not seem to understand the difference between right and wrong. They needed to be reminded about this, because if you left it to them to work out for themselves, they would never bother. They would just find out what was best for them, and then they would call that the right thing. That’s how most people thought. -Page 35
The Reverend looked down at the ground, which, in her experience, was where people usually looked if they felt truly sorry. The shamelessly unrepentant, she found, always looked up at the sky. -Page 68
If she had listened to her father, if she had listened to the cousin’s husband, she would never have married Note and the years of unhappiness would never have occurred. But they did, because she was headstrong, as everybody is at the age of twenty, and when we simply cannot see, however much we may think we can. The world is full of twenty-year-olds, she thought, all of them blind. -Page 135
Mma Ramotswe did not want Africa to change. She did not want her people to become like everybody else, soulless, selfish, forgetful of what it means to be an African, or, worse still, ashamed of Africa. She would not be anything but an African, never, even if somebody came up to her and said “Here is a pill, the very latest thing. Take it and it will make you into an American.” She would say no. Never. No thank you. -Page 215
Darreres paraules
Informació del coneixement compartit en anglès.Modifica-la per localitzar-la a la teva llengua.
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 witch doctors.
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Google Books — S'està carregant…
(3.73)
March Read - NO SPOILERS - The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
7
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. (