The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa (Hardcover)

by Alexander McCall Smith (Author)
Key Phrases: wax children, leopard mother, senior cousin, Girl Who Lived, Hare Fools, Two Bad Friends (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Straying from the safety net of a bestselling series (The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, etc.), Smith tells 40 traditional African folk tales with his by now signature humor, simplicity and reverence for African culture. With an introductory letter from No. 1 Lady Detective Mma Ramotswe as a preface, he sets the literary stage for a nostalgic stroll down his own personal memory lane. Born and raised in what is now Zimbabwe, Smith began collecting these stories as a child and combines them with several he gleaned from a friend who interviewed natives of Botswana. Many of the stories parallel classic Western tales, from Aesop to Mother Goose. The ubiquitous wolf-in-sheep's-clothing fable becomes a parable about a girl who unwittingly marries a lion. Other stories deal with familiar themes ranging from ingratitude (in "Head Tree," a man cured of a tree growing out of his head does not pay the charm woman her due) to vanity (in "Greater Than Lion," a hare outwits a conceited and boastful lion). However, many are uniquely African, such as the stories that explain why the elephant and hyena live far from people or how baboons became so lazy. These are pithy, engaging tales, as habit-forming as peanuts.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Spiteful leopards. Reprehensible hares. A proud, heartless hunter who goes from predator to prey. Moral flaws plague man and animal alike in this engaging gathering of traditional folktales from the best-selling author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and its sequels. Scotsman McCall Smith, who lives in Edinburgh, was raised in Zimbabwe and pays frequent visits to Botswana (the latter's real-life village of Gabarone is home to his fictional detective, Mma Precious Ramotswe). Although this collection carries McCall Smith's byline, the stories themselves are the property of the generous, good-humored Africans who have told them for generations (the author--with the assistance of an interpreter--heard many of them firsthand). In the title selection, a girl weds the "king of the jungle," then wonders whether her two offspring are boys or wild beasts. These deceptively simple tales remind us that "we are not the masters of nature--we are part of it," writes McCall Smith in the introduction, a message that citizens of the Western world would be well advised to keep in mind. Preceding this spirited offering is a brief letter from Mma Ramotswe herself, who ponders the lore of her beloved homeland while preparing a pot of bush tea. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon (December 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375423125
• ISBN-13: 978-0375423123
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #360,181 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "A glimpse of an African vision", February 11, 2005

By	Friederike Knabe (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Those familiar with Precious Ramotswe can easily imagine her listening to the tales from this delightful collection. Relaxing after a day's work as No. 1 Ladies' Detective with a cup of bush tea, her mind might wander back to the stories of her childhood. Those new to McCall Smith's books will find in "The Girl Who Married a Lion" an excellent introduction into the gentle and caring world of Mma Ramotswe and her friends. The same warmth and affection that McCall Smith conveyed through his Botswana series has found expression in this latest book. It is a real treasure.

Folk tales in any culture, told and retold from one generation to the next, have special meaning within and beyond their geographic beginnings. They often combine the best of humanity's wisdoms with the local flair of their original source. Sometimes they are revealing, tongue in cheek irony, usually reflecting on one or the other human weakness or strength. They end with a gentle lesson in morality and local customs. The tales in this collection from one particular region of Africa are no different. As in fables everywhere, animals can speak and/or disguise themselves as humans; good and evil spirits test the resolve of the brave and award the deserving. While we might recognize some themes and characters, such as the hare or the tortoise, in all tales the African context shines through very strongly. We hear about a colourful bird that gives milk to sustain a poor family. In another, "children of wax" shape their restless brother into a bird to help him explore life during the hot sunny day. Or crocodiles that are feeling pity for a young girl too weak to carry the calabashes for the daily water needs of her family.

McCall Smith always finds the right tone, the proper nuances and illuminating details to bring the stories alive within their culture and environment. He has been collecting these tales, told to him over decades while living in Botswana and in what is now Zimbabwe. His sensitive retelling them for us conveys the local context vividly. Adding some detail on a landscape here or on a different local custom there makes his narratives rich reading. Enjoy this heart-warming treasure of a book, share it with your children and friends and explore this glimpse of an African vision. [Friederike Knabe]

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unusual collection of African folktales, December 9, 2004

By	Heidi Anne Heiner (SurLaLune Fairy Tales.com) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Alexander McCall Smith has become a bestselling author for his fictional "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" set in Botswana, Africa. In "The Girl Who Married a Lion," Smith retells several stories he has personally collected or received from friends in his beloved African countries, Botswana and Zimbabwe. To date, most African folklore collections have been scholarly, intended primarily for the armchair or scholarly folklorist, not the general public. In contrast, these tales are not presented with lots of scholarly notes and histories, but as an end unto themselves. I would have enjoyed a little more backstory to the tales, but they are presented with a warmth and respect that is often lacking in more scholarly folklore collections.

For fans of Smith's bestselling series, the tales offer another view of Precious Ramotswe's world, an intriguing journey into its folklore, blantantly exploited by the publisher with the inclusion of an additional introduction to the collection by the fictional Mma Ramotswe. While the Ramotswe introduction is charming, it threatens the validity of the collection as a folklore collection, reminding the reader that this collection hopes to capitalize on that series' success.

Despite, and even because of all of this, the book is a worthwhile read, presenting deceptively simple stories from an often overlooked part of the world. Most of the 40 tales have been published previously (see Smith's "Children of Wax"), but seven of them are unique to this new collection. Whether you read the book because you are a fan of Mma Ramotswe or because you love folklore, you will not be disappointed as you enjoy the stories of tricksters, animals, and even a cannibal or two.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Traditional African Tales Accessible for Western Readers, December 12, 2004

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Every culture has marvelous stories that display keen insight, deep wisdom and the values of the community. Usually, the best of these stories are kept in oral form and are transmitted from generation to generation with love as a way to creating a common bond.

When Westerners run into such non-Western stories, they usually want to share them with others as well. How should one do that? You can be very literal and just type out what a story teller says. But the stories often don't make sense without some appreciation of the culture. Some authors will add footnotes to fill in those gaps. Alexander McCall Smith takes a different tack; he rewrites these stories from Zimbabwe and Botswana to make them more like Western stories. As a result, these stories come across almost like Aesop's fables. The experience is an enjoyable one.

The stories are introduced by a letter from the fictional Precious Ramotswe from The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. She relates that these stories were told to her by her aged aunt when Precious was a child. She says the stories initially make her sad, not because they are sad stories but "because they remind me of the Africa of my childhood and all the good things that there were then." But her feeling of sadness lifts when she realizes that she is lucky to remember those days at all.

Each story is quite brief. It's a magical time when animals could speak and the distinction between humans, animals and inanimate objects didn't exist.

The stories deal with common problems such as how farming should be conducted successfully, how a community should share food and water during a drought, how husbands and wives should meet one another, how families should cooperate and how trouble should be dealt with. In many cases, there are no humans in the stories. Those stories often involve hares and the parallels to Brer Rabbit and his briar patch will be lost on few readers. The stories are full of tricksters of the sort the Navajo stories and Greek legends emphasize.

One of the most delightful aspects of the stories is that differences are usually examined for their potential strengths, rather than being condemned on the face of them. These stories will remind readers of The Ugly Duckling.

There's also a strong sense of cosmic justice in the stories. I liked those tales the best. Here are some of my favorites employing this theme: Guinea Fowl Child; A Bad Way to Treat Friends; Hare Fools the Baboons; Pumpkin; Sister of Bones; Children of Wax; Brave Hunter; A Tree to Sing to; Strange Animal; and Two Bad Friends.

I enjoyed every story in the book in one way or another.

I suggest that you space out the reading so that the stories can simmer in your unconscious mind. In that way, you will be continually better able to absorb and appreciate the stories as you continue with them.

May your water hole be full and not muddy!