Customer Reviews

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Box Set: "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" "Tears of the Giraffe" "Morality for Beautiful Girls"

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The first book of the series started slowly because I expected a conventional mystery (Mma Ramotswe is a detective, after all). Instead, these are gentle plots that reveal characters and the modern story of Africa. The writing and, for me, unfamiliar rubrics of daily conversation in Botswana soon completely captivated me. These three novels hang together nicely and they do not seem in any sense repetitive. Characters develop and change as the series moves along. The only thing many readers say as they close the cover of the last of the three books (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Tears of the Giraffe, and Morality for Beautiful Girls) in this set is, "More! More!" The set will be a great Christmas present for a number of the readers on my list.

I loved these books! Simple and well written, I hope the series goes on and on.

I looked up the definition of Mma and Rra. If you go to http://www.gov.bw/tourism/culture_and_his/language.html
you can hear the correct pronunciation by clicking the little sound symbol to the right of the words.

Basically, Mma means "Madame" and Rra means "Sir". They are pronounced exactly as they appear. The Rra has more of a rolled "r" sound, though. Mma is pronounced "Maah" and Rra is pronounced "Rrraah", both with a sharp "ah" sound at the end. I was not able to find out where these words came from originally, or if they are a shorter version of more formal words.

Happy Reading! Z

Having visited Botswana a few years ago and having been a female private investigator in a past life, a friend couldn't help but introduce me to 'The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'. How could I resist this one? It was a literary blessing and near spiritual experience to once again cross the Atlantic to escape the complications and experience the purity, the simplicity and the primitive beauty of Botswana. This a land where, when trees fall across the dusty, sandy roads, the tree is not removed. It's just time for the road to change its course, leaving the tree to continue its cycle through the ecosystem. Mma Precious Ramotswe and her circle of family and friends easily mimic the respectful and infectious spirit of this land. I could easily identify with her love of her homeland and her desire to preserve the freedom and justice Botswana brings to its people. Her common sense and logic, cunning ability to outfox the fox, combined with her strength of character, confidence and dogged courage make her a new literary heroine for me. Alexander McCall Smith has captured the essense of Botswana and its people perfectly through his endearing characters. I can't wait to be infused with more of Precious' wisdom and hilarious antics.

The inspiration for the No.1 Lady Detective, Ma Ramotswe, came to McCall Smith while he observed a "traditionally built and cheerful" woman chasing a chicken in a yard in Botswana. Precious Ramotswe became the heroine of this delightful and engaging series. The box set contains the first three volumes and, as an extra treat, an African folk tale from a forthcoming collection. If you, as I did, just bought the first volume on its own, keep it to lend or give to friends and get the set right away. Mm Ramotswe's charm, humanity and her special sense of fairness will keep you entertained and your heart warmed. You will feel like the author who could not leave Ma Ramotswe at the end of the first book - "it would have been like leaving in the middle of a conversation".

The diverse cases handled by the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, while providing a thread through the books, are not really the main theme. The stories provide the reader with an insight into social aspects of one African society rarely offered in such a caring and empathic way. With great sensitivity McCall Smith explores rising conflicts between the traditional values of Botswana society and the modern influences brought from the cities across the border in South Africa. Of course, there are also the usual domestic conflicts that are the bread and butter of private detectives. Mma Ramotswe solves these with aplomb and wit, using common sense and her own version of justice. It is sometimes more important to teach the culprit a lesson and change his ways than to hand him (or her) over to the police authorities...

Through all the descriptions of her cases and daily goings on in her life, McCall Smith reveals his love for Botswana, her people and the environment. With each volume, we get more intimately involved with the main characters. In addition to Precious, her fiancé, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, her assistant Mma Makutsi and her father, the late Obed Ramotswe who continues to play an important role in her life are major players. One would love to sit down with Precious on the veranda of her house on Zebra Drive to watch the sun set behind the trees and, drinking her favourite bush tea, reflect on life and its quirky sides. Fortunately there are more stories on the way in this highly entertaining and winning series. {Friederike Knabe]

The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency is a treasure. It defies the usual boundaries of genre: While a work of fiction, it evokes memoir and spirit of place (eg Elspeth Huxley's Flame Trees of Thika or Rumer Godden's India stories). While the heroine solves mysteries, the emphasis is less on the mystery to be solved than on life in Botswana, the character of the resourceful and indomitable heroine, the innocence of the victims and the motivations of the perpetrators. While it is fine to read a good mystery, a good novel, a good memoir, a good travelogue--this book is all of the above. It is a truism to say
"This is a book you can't put down" but I do recommend that you abandon your workday schedule when you pick up this book as you will not want to put it down and will likely then seque into Tears of the Giraffe and McCall's other little masterpieces. It is a book that can transport you.

Anyone wanting to read a fascinating book about life in Africa with "homespun" wisdom that is extremely relaxing and enjoyable to read will love this series about Precious Ramotswe and her life in Botswana. She is a delightful character, experiencing life's sorrows, troubles, and joys while maintaining a deep reverence and gratitude for life. After reading this set, I could hardly wait to read the next three - "The Kalahari Typing School for Men," "The Full Cupboard of Life," and "In The Company of Cheerful Ladies." I now can only hope that Alexander McCall Smith will write more books in this delightful series!

I loved this book. I was enchanted with Precious Ramotswe and her family, especially the very centered approach she took to her career and personal life. I am looking forward to reading all the rest of Mr. McCall-Smith's oeuvre. Even if it deals with times past.

Everything changes. Even the Kalahari. There are diamonds under the bush, and the Bushmen from "The Gods Must be Crazy" are now on a reservation, with nothing to do. The Botswana government in Gaborone is a partner with the diamond company in a joint venture, and the Bushmen have been rounded up. According to Mother Jones earlier this year, some have even volunteered to work the mines, just to be able to return to their Kalahari. They are expressly not allowed.

Precious Ramotswe has a good heart and a fine mind, and I think she would find this development even more intolerable than I do.

I have just read the three volumns. My reaction was to search for more. Not a mean spirit in any of it. Easy reading books populated kind dignified people from another culture you would love to meet over a mug of bush tea.

This series, about delightful people in the beautiful country of Botswana, is simply one of the very best new literary series in decades - and if you buy the whole set (which I have - and given it to lots of people), then you will see what I mean. This is just the kind of enlifting, enjoyable, wholesome, delightful and utterly wonderful series of books that make ideal reading in troubled times. Lynne Cheyne, Laura Bush are just among the many many people world wide who have discovered the joys of this fabulous series (and - good news, this, folks): THERE ARE MORE TO COME! Christmas is coming and as my wife and I have discovered, this is THE ideal Christmas present to give to all the members of your family. Buy ten sets today to give one each to all your friends and family - and keep collecting them as new volumes appear in 2004. Not only that, but Alexander McCall Smith is one of the nicest imaginable people to have this unexpected good luck as an author - and he is every bit as funny in real life as he is in print. Make his day, make a great day for all your friends and buy as many sets of this series as possible. Christopher Catherwood, BIG TIME Alexander McCall Smith fan and author of CHRISTIANS MUSLIMS AND ISLAMIC RAGE (Zondervan 2003) and THE BALKANS IN WORLD WAR TWO (Palgrave 2003)

This book is not for readers who have accepted the staple diet of formulaic genres. The fact that a detective agency is mentioned may lead some to expect a Hollywood thriller, with clear cut bad guys and flashy endings. Some of the reviews surely suggest that. Once the first page turns, a reader with an open mind and heart will begin exploring a new world, an Africa that only Precious Ramotswe knows intimately and can convey with wit, wisdom and fondness. There are no totally bad guys, and the good have to tell a lie sometimes if it serves a good cause...Precious!!