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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Engaging and entertaining culmination of the series,
By
This review is from: The Full Cupboard of Life (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Book 5) (Hardcover)
For those who know of and like this little series of books, this latest addition will provide much laughter and many poignant moments to reflect on life in Botswana. So, five stars for us!But readers new to Mma Ramotswe and her compatriots should probably start at an earlier point in the series: preferably at the beginning. The satisfying climax Smith provides, complete with bits of text from hymns, would probably have novices wondering about the fuss over these books. The fuss is about characters who develop depth in throughout low-key, but engrossingly real, plots and about narrative that evokes an interest about Africa that transcends mere curiousity. From the way that main characters are finally situated in their stories it seems that this was probably intended to be the final book in the series. For that reason, alone, I urge readers not to begin here. You'll pick up all the details you need, but you will not enjoy the texture of stories woven together, the colors of what I think was meant to be a sunset for these stories. Begin elsewhere. The rest of us can take heart that the author has at least implied that these characters may have more stories to tell, after all. And as long as he loves this village of personalities, their stories will provoke thought and maintain interest.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A "full cupboard" of everyday life in Botswana.,
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This review is from: The Full Cupboard of Life (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 5) (Paperback)
In his fifth novel about the #1 Ladies Detective Agency, run by Mma Precious Ramotswe, author Alexander McCall Smith presents the full cupboard of Botswana life in all its richness. For Mma Ramotswe, people and their relationships are paramount, and she believes that these relationships are facilitated by Botswana's traditional code of behavior, with its customs of greetings, sitting down together, drinking bush tea, and casually talking around a subject, rather than addressing it aggressively.Life is a rich, full, and happy experience for Mma Ramotswe, who can find out everything she wants to know from her broad network of family and friends. Engaged to the good-hearted Mr. J.L.B. Matakone, who has not yet set a date for a wedding, she helps him surreptitiously with his problems and cooks and cares for the two orphans he has taken into his home. In this novel, full of gentle humor and wisdom, Mma Ramotswe and her friends face several "difficult" problems: A woman who has made a fortune establishing hair-braiding salons hires Mma Ramotswe to find out whether her suitors want to marry her for her money. Mr. J.L.B. Matakone finds himself tricked into "volunteering" to do a parachute jump. He is also disturbed to discover that First Class Motors, a rival garage, has sold improper parts and failed to service a classic old Range Rover correctly, and he has been procrastinating about reporting him to authorities. 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. Honoring the values that contemporary readers sometimes do not take the time to preserve, McCall Smith portrays complex social relationships in very simple and direct prose. Warm, gently humorous, and loving, McCall Smith creates a vicarious nostalgia for this way of life. Mary Whipple
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
On the Psychology of Men,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 100 REVIEWER)
This review is from: The Full Cupboard of Life (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Book 5) (Hardcover)
The Full Cupboard of Life is the fifth book in the series that features Mma Precious Ramotswe as the owner of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Botswana. The story features Precious, Mr J.L.B. Maketoni (her fiancé), Mma Makutsi (her assistant and the assistant manager of Mr Maketoni's garage), and Mma Potokwame (the matron of the orphan farm where Mr Maketoni helps out). If you have not read any books in the series, I suggest that you look instead to begin with the first one (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency) and work your way through them in the order of their publication (Tears of the Giraffe, Morality for Beautiful Girls, and The Kalahari Typing School for Men). All of those books are better than this one, and provide helpful context for The Full Cupboard of Life. The Full Cupboard for Life has one detective case in it. Mma Holonga is a successful entrepreneur who has developed a number of beauty parlors for braiding hair in interesting ways and also has created a special formula for treating the hair for braiding. At 40, she realizes that she lacks a husband and child . . . and decides to at least find a husband. But she doesn't want one who is after her money! So she hires Precious to check out her four suitors, beginning with the one she likes best. The case is delicate because Precious is well known in Botswana as a detective, and must avoid having the suitors realize that she is checking them out for Mma Holonga. Most of the book, however, focuses on the personal lives of the others. Precious finally asks her fiancé when they will marry, and he answers that it will be a year or two before he can save the money for a large wedding. When she offers to sell some cattle to hasten the happy day, he declines her offer. When will they ever marry? As usual, Mma Potokwame has plans for Mr J.L.B. Maketoni that will help the orphans. Precious is kept busy helping Mr J.L.B. Maketoni deflect and deal with those plans. In the process, Precious employs some of the classic methods of psychology to influence men to do what she wants them to do. This book moves further away from the roots of the series. Except for one brief encounter with a snake, wild Africa plays no role in the story. The detective agency is almost an after-thought in the story's development. The one assignment is given as limited a space as is possible. But Mr. Smith has created some delightful characters, and those who care about the characters will enjoy seeing them move on with their lives. I hope that in future books Mr. Smith will once again put several detective cases in the story . . . and let wild Africa appear again as a character.
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