Customer Reviews

Tears Of The Giraffe (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency)

5 star:		(97)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This second entry in Smith's Botswana-set series picks up right where the wonderful The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency left off. Indeed, the two books are utterly seamless, and it'd be a real shame to read this without reading its predecessor first. The book picks up with the engagement of "traditionally built" Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's sole woman detective, to local master mechanic Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. While the structure is the same as the first booka missing son as the central running mystery, and some smaller cases interspersedthe new couple's relationship is the real focus.

So, while Precious is asked by an American woman to find out what happened to her son, who disappeared from a commune ten years previously, she must also negotiate the pitfalls of setting up house with Mr. Matekoni, the acquisition of an engagement ring, and the dastardly schemes of Mr. Matekoni's nasty housekeeper, and the unexpected addition of two foster children to her household. All of which she does with her keen sense of human nature and wisdom. Her secretary/typist is also given increased attention, allowed to take on the case of a cheating wife all by herself.

Built into the stories are ruminations of the tensions between modernity and traditional values. There are a number of passages that attempt to capture the essence of Africa, and how that noble vision is under constant assault by greed, corruption, and power. The adventures of Precious and her cohort are a warm antidote to the often depressing news that dominates coverage of Africa in the West. Smith writes in a delightfully fluid and simple prose with pacing that makes the book quite difficult to put down. The series thankfully continues with Morality for Beautiful Girls and The Kalahari Typing School For Men, with further volumes to follow, one hopes.

I'm an American woman who has spent 12 years living in Africa, and traveled to almost every part of the African continent. When I discovered the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, I could hardly wait to read Tears of the Giraffe. I was not disappointed. I can hardly wait to get to the next books in the series. After saying she would never, ever remarry (in the first book), Precious does get engaged in this book, but continues to pursue investigating her cases while engaged. There are a lot of interesting developments that I don't want to give away. She hasn't gotten married by the end of the book, that is left to us in the third book to find out about.....!

I found it interesting that the author is a Professor of Medical law, living in Scotland, but having been born and raised in Zimbabwe. He has published many varied books on many subjects. I think these are his "fun" books! I also think that part of the reason he has written these books is to show non-Africans what traditional African society is like, especially how it is managing to move into the modern age. By setting it in Botswana, he neatly sidesteps many of the problems found in other parts of Africa, and is able to concentrate both on his story, and on showing us how traditional Africans THINK and act. I found this especially interesting, having lived in several African cultures, myself. I also find the series very uplifting and rewarding to read, in addition to being a good story. I think some of the critical reviews are from people who have never lived or traveled in Africa, and they just don't realize how true-to-life are so many of the episodes-I do not find these books at ALL condescending toward blacks. On the contrary, they are a celebration of the traditional GOOD values found in black African culture (a nice change from what we usually see in the news).

There were several things I especially enjoyed about this book. I don't particularly enjoy first-person, male-oriented police detective novels. This is about a woman detective, who had no more qualifications than you or I, but who just hung out a sign, and used her common sense. She ordered a text book from London, from which she learned some investigative procedures. She's very clever. The book is not written as a first person, blow-by-blow account. On the contrary, it is written in third person, and is more about her LIFE, going through her becoming a detective, the cases she meets along the way (which we watch her solve), and what we learn about the society as we go along. I would highly recommend this book to anyone planning to travel to any southern African country. It is a light, humorous book, from which you can learn a lot while enjoying a great story. I found it difficult to put down. I have now read the first two books in the series, and plan to order every single one. I can hardly wait until they arrive in the mail!

Alexander McCall Smith has written over 50 books, from specialized works as The Criminal Law of Botswana, Forensic
Aspects of Sleep to Children's books. He currently is a Professor of Medical Law at Edinburgh University.

Tears of the Giraffe takes us further into the life of the interesting and confident Precious Ramotswe, the owner and detective of Botswana's only Ladies' detective agency. Among her cases in Tears of The Giraffe are wandering wives, the devious and dangerous maid of Mma Ramotswe's fiance and a challenge to resolve a mother's pain for her missing son, who is long lost on the African plains. Mma Ramotswe's own impending marriage to the best mechanic and gentleman, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, the promotion of her secretary to the dizzy heights of Assistant Detective and new additions to the Matekoni family, all come together again to produce the second humorous and charmingly entertaining of tales in Smith's series.
A enchanting view of life as it is in today's Africa. This mystery is enhanced by the belief and charm of the lifestyle of the
characters and the plot. A totally fun read for the many fans who wish to escape to a simpler lifestyle, whether you've traveled to Africa or not!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book for it's unique and likable characters and exotic setting. The uniqueness of the mysteries
reflect a simpler lifestyle than many of us live and especially expect in a "mystery". TOTAL ENJOYMENT!
John Row

After stumbling upon "The # 1 Ladies Detective Agency," I was so eager to read the sequels that I managed, at great travail, to track them down even before their publication dates in the U.S. Never before have I searched out books so vigilantly, and never before have I written a review.
"Tears of the Giraffe" and "Morality for Beautiful Girls" are even less strictly mysteries that the first in the series, but they are just as wonderful as "#1...". Light reading but with a literary bent, the books contain rich characters, uniquely African and clearly depicted. The ones we know well are big-hearted, kind, well-meaning.
The main character, Precious, solves the few actual mysteries in the sequels in creative ways that surprise the reader. These sequels, particularly "Giraffe," are a bit more about Precious' relationship with J.L.B. Matekoni, a bit less about the detective agency. But they follow smoothly from "#1 Ladies..." and are equally good. Set in Botswana, the books give such a clear and beautiful picture of that country today that now I would like to learn more about it. If the books are realistic, Botswanians fiercely love their home.
Nothing raunchy in any of the 3 books. Terrific "reads."

In the 2nd novel of his series on Precious Ramotswe, the only lady detective in Botswana, Alexander McCall Smith continues to turn the detective genre inside out with some of the best writing you'll see in any genre. Precious is African, female, of "traditional build," open-hearted, optimistic, and wise, in opposition to the classic hard-boiled cynical American wiseguy.

"Tears of the Giraffe" develops the metaphor of a detective as a kind of mother who, by observing the people around her carefully, is at the same time taking care of them. The maternal theme is explicit in this story: the primary mystery involves an American mother looking for a long-lost son. At the same time Precious must cope with the sudden adoption of two winsome orphans by her fiancee, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. Watching out for people, watching out for Africa itself, is a way of respecting it.

The style of the book mirrors Precious herself: simple, too-the-point, a fine sense of humor, and very observant. There are some really eloquent even lyrical passages as Precious drives across her belowed Botswana.

I again caution that readers with a taste for complex who-dun-it thickly plotted detective novels will find this VERY different. And if you are new to the Ramotswe series, start with the first book (The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency), which will give you important details of Precious' and Matekoni's history.

But please read it eventually - you will find no better-written book this year.

Alexander McCall Smith's second book of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Tears of the Giraffe, continues to develop the idea of the female African narrative. In the first book, McCall Smith concludes with Mma Ramotswe agreeing to marry an admirable fellow, the mechanic Mr. J.L.B Matekoni. McCall Smith immediately picks up where he left off, pushing the theme of the family. By using two established people, the book challenges the conventional forms of marriage and family in Botswana culture. Mma Ramotswe and Mr. Matekoni must, through compromise, decide on a lifestyle that will provide for them. Although they share responsibility, McCall Smith's achievement rests in the fact that his main character, Mma Ramotswe, uses her independence to transform her culture. She uses strength and courage to infuse a modern viewpoint on a culture where female dependence is embedded in its history. By the end of the book, Mma Ramotswe's views become infectious, and her effect on Mr. Matekoni clearly shows the manner in which she has revolutionized an entire way of thinking.
Aside from issues of the family, McCall Smith also explores his fascination with the disappearance of the "Old Africa," and mulls over the issues that modern society's growth comes at the expense of tradition and custom. He considers the status of good old-fashioned hard work. Does passion for one's work still exist or has it been eaten by modernity? Mma Ramotswe's secretary has her own theory. She thinks that the more Mercedes Benz a country has, the worse off that country is. As in this case, McCall Smith often uses characters with a limited point of view to produce moments of humor, but he simultaneously makes poignant observations about conflicting culture. At times, he offers more serious and direct commentary. As a result, the book not only takes the shape of histoircal documentation, but it also serves to instruct, to give hope, and to provide some examples of how to deal with a rapidly passing history. Through his series of books, McCall Smith has found a means to combine the local with the vast. He has invented Mma Ramotswe in order to show that one person can make a difference because Africa is comprised of a collection of individual stories. He craftily weaves these stories together to produce his African history, and in doing so contemplates and applauds the progress of a culture.

This series of African stories is a wonderful read, but an even more enjoyable listen. While reading these books, I sometimes become distracted and skip over some of the rich descriptions of the African landscape and people. But these tapes are wonderful! They are narrated by Lisette Lecat, a native South African, who is absolutely perfect for the job. We took them along on vacation and played them in the car while driving 7 hours. Initially, my 11 year old son made fun of Mma Ramotswe and said the tape was "lame" but by the end of our trip he was hooked on the stories too. Definitely worth purchasing, even if you have read the books. You will finally know how to pronounce all of the African names!

I truly enjoyed the first of this series, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and wondered if Alexander McCall Smith could live up to the promise of a great series. He has done that with ease, I think. This book is more of a mystery book than the first one, although still far from the classic mystery genre. It contains so much more than just crime solving. Precious Ramotswe's fiancee, J.L.B. Matekoni plays a much bigger role in this book, as does her secretary, and now-assistent detective, Mma Makutsi.
The main mystery in this entry is the disappearance 10 years earlier of an American woman's son. There are a couple of secondary mysteries, but the main focus of the book is on the engagement of Precious and Mr. Matekoni, as well as two orphan children.
I can't wait to read the third in the series.

I read The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency a few weeks ago, and thought it a very good book. This second installment from Law Professor Smith is perhaps even better, and had me chuckling and guffawing at various passages. Strangely, since I enjoy mysteries, there's less mystery here (basically only two plots, neither of them very mysterious) but you wind up not caring because the characters are so much fun.

Precious Ramotswe runs a detective agency in Gabarone, the capital of Botswana. She's a "traditionally built" woman with traditional values, too. She's also got a very modern job, working as a detective in Africa, and investigating things. At the beginning of this book, she's accepted the marriage proposal of Mr. J.L.B Matekoni, owner of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, and there are many complications that ensue, especially when some orphans are adopted into the family.

One of the writing tricks that the author uses to give the story quaintness is his use of names. You only read Precious Ramotswe's first name once or twice per book. Instead she's referred to as Mma Ramotswe, the Mma apparently being Mrs. in Botswana. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is never referred to as anything else, anywhere in the book, and their respective businesses, the No.1 Ladies's Detective Agency and Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, are both only referred to by their full names. The result is a sort of quaint pride in accomplishment, tempered with a slightly ridiculous feeling to things. After all, there aren't *two* ladies' detective agencies in Botswana.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and will read the third one soon. The fourth I may wait for paperback (or I may not). But this one's definitely worth the price of admission.

Here are some of my favorite things about TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE:

It contains a little bit of interesting African history, personalities, views and culture introduced in a creative way as we read about Mma (pronounced MA) Ramotswe who goes about her daily life and solves cases in Botswana.

There are wonderful passages that cast a different light on Africa - they bring out positive lessons about the continent and its people. I loved passages like this one found on page 55 (Chapter Six - A Dry Place):

"Then there was Mr. Mandela. Everybody knew about Mr. Mandela and how he had forgiven those who had imprisoned him. They had taken away years and years of his life simply because he wanted justice. They had set him to work in a quarry and his eyes had been permanently damaged by the rock dust. But at last, when he had walked out of the prison on that breathless, luminous day, he had said nothing about revenge or even retribution. He had said that there were more important things to do than to complain about the past, and in time he had shown that he meant this by hundreds of acts of kindness towards those who had treated him so badly. That was the real African way, the tradition that was closest to the heart of Africa. We are all children of Africa, and none of us is better or more important than the other. This is what Africa could say to the world: it could remind it what it is to be human."

I'm tickled by some of the story details, such as the names of the businesses in the book -- Mothobani Bookkeeping Services: Tell the Taxman to Go Away; Make Me Beautiful Salon; Honest Deal Butchery; Judgment-day Jewellers. Of course, let's not forget The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency! Love those names.

TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE is full of special narrative touches that are unexpected, humorous, serious, enlightening, mysterious and moving like "The Boy with an African Heart," a missing American boy. The solutions to some of the problems are fitting.

Fafa Demasio