I am now finished with number 6 of this witty, wonderful series. Several problems crop up in this installment. Charlie, the older apprentice, takes up with an older woman. There is a problem with the tenant of Mr. JLB Matekoni's former home. Mma. Makutski goes to dance school and is paired up with a very shy, clumsy dancing partner. Note Mokoti shows up in town and tries to cause trouble for Precious Ramotswe. And who is Mr. Polopetski?

This one has a bit more plot that some of the previous ones. The apprentice Charlie is up

to no good, as usual, and when Grace and Precious follow him, they not only discover a

problem with Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's old house, they also, quite by accident, pick up Mr.

Polopetsi, a new assistant for both the garage and the agency.


Also, Precious has to confront a difficult part of her own past, while Grace, who starts

attending a dancing school, finds her future completely re-written. Of course everything

ends positively, which is one reason I enjoy the series so much.

Another reason is Precious' philosophy:


"There were many selfish people about these days, people who seemed not to care if

they scraped the cars of others or bumped into people while walking on the street. Mma

Ramotswe knew that this was what happened when towns became bigger and people

became strangers to one another; she knew, too, that this was a consequence of

increasing prosperity, which, curiously enough, just seemed to bring out greed and

selfishness."


"If you knew what it was like to be another person, then how could you possibly do

something which would cause pain? The problem, though, was that there seemed to be

people in whom that imaginative part was just missing. It could be that they were born

this way---with something missing from their brains---or it could be that they became like

that because they were never taught by their parents to sympathize with others. That

was the most likely explanation, thought Mma Ramotswe. A whole generation of people,

not only in Africa, but everywhere else, had not been taught to feel for others because

the parents simply had not bothered to teach them this."

Lovely prose, gentle clever people.

My time with Mma Ramotswe is never wasted:

“For that is what redeems us, that is what makes our pain and sorrow bearable - this giving of love to others, this sharing of the heart.”

Never disappointing and as always hilarious!!

I found out that I had bought this e-book and had forgotten it. I like these series because they take place in Botswana and the main characters are females.

In this book Mma Ramotswe faces her past and Mma Makutsi finds her future. In the end who left the pumpkin at Mma Ramotswe's house?

CAWPILE 6.43

What a nice visit with my friends in Gaborone. These books are so enjoyable and I love the characters. Every book makes me smile.

On page 110 and 111 I was very much able to relate to the issue Mma Ramotswe and Mma Potekwane discussed, I wrote the quotes from those pages down, for your entertainment:)

"Mma Ramotswe sighed. "We are all tempted, Mma. We are all tempted when it comes to cake." "That is true," said Mma Potekwane. "There are many temptations in this life, but cake is probably one of the biggest of them.""

""Temptation is very difficult," said Mma Ramotswe quietly. "I do not always resist it. I am not a strong woman in that respect." "I am glad you said that," said Mma Potokwane. "I am not strong either. For example, right at the moment, I am thinking of cake." "And so am I," confessed Mma Ramotswe. Mma Potekwane stood up and shouted to the girl outside. "Two more pieces of cake, please. Two big slices.""

Delightful!The more I read McCall Smith, the more I look forward to reading more.

Come spend some time in Botswana with the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. This series is like visiting an old friend and learning about a new place. Each installment adds to the store of knowledge one accumulates about this part of Africa. The characters become more defined. Mma Ramatswe and Mma Makutzi are indeed cheerful ladies for the most part. As they help their clients and assist Mr. J.L.B. Matakoni with the workload of the car repair business, we are reminded of Mma Ramatswe's traditional build and Mma Makutzi's desire to be a better dancer, buy new shoes, and perhaps get married someday. Hopes and dreams abound. Not a quickly paced book, but the character-building and sense of place more than make up for it.

L'un des meilleur livre de Alexander McCall Smith.
C'est là que l'on se rend compte que les enquêtes de Mma Ramotswe sont secondaires, et que la vie de celle-ci, de son assistante Grace et de son mari ont plus d'importances.
Grace Makutsi est un personnage aussi intéressant que Mma Ramotswe, et la voir, toujours vaillante (97 sur 100, on ne risque pas de l'oublier..), s'acheminer tout doucement vers le bonheur me fait plaisir.
Sa passion pour les chaussures est très touchante.
L'ajout d'un nouveau personnage ( M Polopetsi) est également très appréciable, car il s’épanouit dans les deux univers au garage et se montre indispensable.