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3.5 stars
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No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #2
Tears of the Giraffe
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Librarian note: Older cover edition of 9780349116655.
In 1999 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency received two Booker Judges' Special Recommendations and was voted one of the ‘International Books of the Year and the Millennium' by the Times Literary Supplement.
Tears of the Giraffe takes us further into the life of the engaging and sassy Precious Ramotswe, the owner and detective of Botswana's only Ladies' detective agency. Among her cases are wayward wives, unscrupulous maids and a challenge to resolve a mother's pain for her son, who is long lost on the African plains. Mma Ramotswe's own impending marriage to that most gentlemanly of men, 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 brew up the most humorous and charmingly entertaining of tales.
In 1999 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency received two Booker Judges' Special Recommendations and was voted one of the ‘International Books of the Year and the Millennium' by the Times Literary Supplement.
Tears of the Giraffe takes us further into the life of the engaging and sassy Precious Ramotswe, the owner and detective of Botswana's only Ladies' detective agency. Among her cases are wayward wives, unscrupulous maids and a challenge to resolve a mother's pain for her son, who is long lost on the African plains. Mma Ramotswe's own impending marriage to that most gentlemanly of men, 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 brew up the most humorous and charmingly entertaining of tales.
233 pages, Paperback
First published January 1,2000
This edition
- Format
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233 pages, Paperback
- Published
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August 7, 2003 by Abacus
- ISBN
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- ASIN
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- Language
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English
Characters More characters
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Precious Ramotswe
a clever and generous woman who runs the only female-headed detective agency in Botswana -- possibly the only detective agency; she solves crimes based on her knowledge of human nature and hard work...
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Puso
a Masarwa orphan and the younger brother of Motholeli; they are Precious Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matakonis foster childrenmore...
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Silvia Potokwani
the matron of the orphan farm, always pestering Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni for free repairs...
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J.l.b. Matekoni
owner of Tlokweng Speedy Motors...
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Motholeli
a Masarwa orphan who is in a wheelchair due to polio; she loves mechanics and is the sister of Puso; they are Precious Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekonis foster childrenmore...
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Grace Makutsi
a bespectacled super secretary who rises to become Precious Ramtoswes assistant at the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency; she graduated from the Botswana Secretarial College with a never-equaled 97 percent; she goes a long way from her roots in im...
About the author
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Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland. Visit him online at www.alexandermccallsmith.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
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I have a lot to say about Alexander McCall Smith’s series. It is for readers who don’t mind jumping outside a structure and especially; for appreciators of the rich, intricate privilege of immersion in someone else’s culture. Acquaintance with Botswana, Africa is the point. Mysteries are on the side but this series certainly belongs to the genre, in the Botswana way. An incongruous person and place make Precious Ramotswe’s career whimsical; except that it works! Her ‘No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency’ receives ample clients. Rather than one mystery driving the novels; she solves two or three per story, while we observe life in her customs and climate.
Do not minimize these by mistaking the underlying whimsy for “cozy mysteries”. The cultural portrayals are profound and the topics are very serious and sobering. These are “standard adult mysteries”, with a perceptive heroine who surprises us at every turn and makes them spectacular. This is a novel to envision, when we say some of them feel like a journey. Uncannily, this Scottish author has no accent and writes halting, plain dialogue; just the way educated people whose second language is English would speak. We learn how to address men and women, how to respectfully shake hands, and to upturn both of them to receive a gift. Not hiring domestic help if you can afford it at all is considered unkind, for it employs the would-be poor. I feel well-versed in interacting appropriately, if I could visit.
An astonishing survival tactic of a nomadic race, is burying nursing infants if their Mothers die, because taking care of them would weigh on their resources! Siblings come into the lives of Precious and her fiancé, because a Sister saved her Brother and they eventually joined an orphanage. “Tears Of The Giraffe”, 200o, is poignantly memorable.
Do not minimize these by mistaking the underlying whimsy for “cozy mysteries”. The cultural portrayals are profound and the topics are very serious and sobering. These are “standard adult mysteries”, with a perceptive heroine who surprises us at every turn and makes them spectacular. This is a novel to envision, when we say some of them feel like a journey. Uncannily, this Scottish author has no accent and writes halting, plain dialogue; just the way educated people whose second language is English would speak. We learn how to address men and women, how to respectfully shake hands, and to upturn both of them to receive a gift. Not hiring domestic help if you can afford it at all is considered unkind, for it employs the would-be poor. I feel well-versed in interacting appropriately, if I could visit.
An astonishing survival tactic of a nomadic race, is burying nursing infants if their Mothers die, because taking care of them would weigh on their resources! Siblings come into the lives of Precious and her fiancé, because a Sister saved her Brother and they eventually joined an orphanage. “Tears Of The Giraffe”, 200o, is poignantly memorable.
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I don't seek out Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books, and yet when I run across them in a clearance rack I can't help but pick them up. Tears Of The Giraffe is the second in the series, and it is just as charming, just as gently comic, as the first installment.
My only problem with the book -- and it's little more than a nagging feeling in the back of my head -- is that the author's depiction of his protagonist, the exceedingly down-to-earth, compassionate and somewhat bumbling detective Mma Precious Ramotswe, borders on caricature and smells just a bit of cultural superiority ("Hey, readers, let's laugh at this overweight African lady who spends her days drinking bush tea and solving trifling mysteries."). I forgive McCall Smith for this, however, as it's clearly not his intent: His love for the country of Botswana, perhaps for the entire African continent, is genuine and infectious -- I can see why the country's leaders see these books (and the HBO series they inspired) as good advertisements to potential tourists.
My only problem with the book -- and it's little more than a nagging feeling in the back of my head -- is that the author's depiction of his protagonist, the exceedingly down-to-earth, compassionate and somewhat bumbling detective Mma Precious Ramotswe, borders on caricature and smells just a bit of cultural superiority ("Hey, readers, let's laugh at this overweight African lady who spends her days drinking bush tea and solving trifling mysteries."). I forgive McCall Smith for this, however, as it's clearly not his intent: His love for the country of Botswana, perhaps for the entire African continent, is genuine and infectious -- I can see why the country's leaders see these books (and the HBO series they inspired) as good advertisements to potential tourists.
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I think a lot of the reviews appear to ignore this is a series written as a tea cozy mystery genre type. Genres follow commonly accepted rules of plotting and characterization depending on the type of genre. Every once in awhile critics get excited over a "genre bending" book because a book didn't follow the rules. This series is NOT genre bending. What it is is an extremely well written, warm, amusing, tea cozy that lightly touchs on many aspects of African life, VERY lightly. A light touch is at the heart of being a tea cozy mystery and this series does not break any of the conventions of genre writing rules. What sets it apart is the location. The characters are REALLY charming and that is all about the talent of the author. The only quibble I have is the underlying moral tone is a bit louder than it should be even if it's appropriate.
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I enjoyed the tv show, now I am enjoying the books.
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Not sure what McCall Smith's series did to pee me off so much back when I first read it in 2004, but I gave it and its subsequent volumes a measly Two Stars, but that's what I did. Looking back on this series I found it enlightening and interesting getting into the nitty gritty of life in a small-town Botswana; the life, the trials and the tribulations of a woman trying to set up and run her own detective agency. This instalment sees the main protagonist PI Precious Ramotswe investigating a missing American and juggling that with having unforeseen trouble at home!
The only thing I can think of is that the background was pretty good but the actual detective cases lacked imagination? 5 out of 12.
2004 read
The only thing I can think of is that the background was pretty good but the actual detective cases lacked imagination? 5 out of 12.
2004 read
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4★
“ ‘You are a fortunate man,’ said the jeweller. ‘Not every man can find such a cheerful, fat woman to marry. There are many thin, hectoring women around today. This one will make you very happy.’ Mr J.L.B. Matekoni acknowledged the compliment.”
As you can see, Botswana has a culture all its own. Our attention is on the one and only Precious Ramotswe, founder and owner of the now well-known No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. This is an agency unlike any other, and it’s in a unique part of the world, beautiful and deadly.
She is an intelligent, kindly, bush tea-drinking lady who drives an old, tiny, white van which Mr J.L.B. Matekoni has managed to keep on the road . . . so far. One day, she gives a lift to a lady, who, after seeing Mma Ramotswe’s engagement ring, offers her opinion of the couple.
“It was a good thing to marry a mechanic, she said, as she had heard that they made the best husbands. You should try to marry a policeman, a mechanic or a minister of religion, she said, and you should never marry a politician, a barman, or a taxi driver. These people always caused a great deal of trouble for their wives.”
The pace is leisurely, and the books are full of gentle, philosophical humour. The author makes a point of using his platform to teach us about his homeland. He frequently refers to Africa as a single entity, rather than the large, complex continent that it is, comprising 54 different countries as well as other states and territories.
I wonder if that is because so many people think of Africa that way. We don’t expect Germany to be like Italy, although both are in Europe, and we know India is not like Japan, although both are in Asia. Botswana has its own identity – you will find it near the bottom of the continent.
Map of the countries of Africa
These are heart-warming stories, but the dark undercurrent of historical wars and feuds is always there. When she has to travel across the border to Zimbabwe, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is not happy.
“‘It is more dangerous than Botswana,’ he had said. ‘There's always some sort of trouble up there. There was the war, and then the rebels, and then other trouble-makers. Roadblocks. Holdups. That sort of thing. What if your van breaks down?’ ”
She stands her ground. She is a role model for her young secretary, Mma Makutsi, who is an earnest go-getter, full of enthusiasm and trying desperately to belong somewhere and make something of herself. The author also takes advantage of our attention by giving us some insight into the cultural bias which seems to be the same around the world..
Mma Makutsi has been overlooked everywhere else. She is very dark-skinned and has had no luck straightening her “uncooperative” hair. The lighter-skinned girls get all the attention.
“The fun in this life, the good jobs, the rich husbands, were not a matter of merit and hard work, but were a matter of brute, unshifting biology. Mma Makutsi stood before the mirror and cried.”
But now she has a job! She and her boss drink tea together and wait for clients. She would like to be a detective, too. Mma Ramotswe tells her
“‘As you get older, in fact, you see more sides to a situation. Things are more clear-cut at your age.’ She paused, then added: ‘Mind you, remember that I am not quite forty. I am not all that old.’
‘No,’ said Mma Makutsi. ‘That is just about the right age for a person to be.’ ”
What a nice example of positive thinking! (Of course, she'll have to change her tune in a few years.)
There are actual cases that need solving, but the attraction is the people and the place.
“. . . the sun began to rise above the plains, and for a few minutes, the whole world was a pulsating yellow-gold—the kopjes, the panoply of the treetops, last season's dry grass beside the road, the very dust. The sun, a great red ball, seemed to hang above the horizon and then freed itself and floated up over Africa; the natural colours of the day returned. . . “
These are suitable for anyone, and I think you could enjoy this without having read the first, but these are all part of a continuing story and best read that way.
“ ‘You are a fortunate man,’ said the jeweller. ‘Not every man can find such a cheerful, fat woman to marry. There are many thin, hectoring women around today. This one will make you very happy.’ Mr J.L.B. Matekoni acknowledged the compliment.”
As you can see, Botswana has a culture all its own. Our attention is on the one and only Precious Ramotswe, founder and owner of the now well-known No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. This is an agency unlike any other, and it’s in a unique part of the world, beautiful and deadly.
She is an intelligent, kindly, bush tea-drinking lady who drives an old, tiny, white van which Mr J.L.B. Matekoni has managed to keep on the road . . . so far. One day, she gives a lift to a lady, who, after seeing Mma Ramotswe’s engagement ring, offers her opinion of the couple.
“It was a good thing to marry a mechanic, she said, as she had heard that they made the best husbands. You should try to marry a policeman, a mechanic or a minister of religion, she said, and you should never marry a politician, a barman, or a taxi driver. These people always caused a great deal of trouble for their wives.”
The pace is leisurely, and the books are full of gentle, philosophical humour. The author makes a point of using his platform to teach us about his homeland. He frequently refers to Africa as a single entity, rather than the large, complex continent that it is, comprising 54 different countries as well as other states and territories.
I wonder if that is because so many people think of Africa that way. We don’t expect Germany to be like Italy, although both are in Europe, and we know India is not like Japan, although both are in Asia. Botswana has its own identity – you will find it near the bottom of the continent.
Map of the countries of Africa
These are heart-warming stories, but the dark undercurrent of historical wars and feuds is always there. When she has to travel across the border to Zimbabwe, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is not happy.
“‘It is more dangerous than Botswana,’ he had said. ‘There's always some sort of trouble up there. There was the war, and then the rebels, and then other trouble-makers. Roadblocks. Holdups. That sort of thing. What if your van breaks down?’ ”
She stands her ground. She is a role model for her young secretary, Mma Makutsi, who is an earnest go-getter, full of enthusiasm and trying desperately to belong somewhere and make something of herself. The author also takes advantage of our attention by giving us some insight into the cultural bias which seems to be the same around the world..
Mma Makutsi has been overlooked everywhere else. She is very dark-skinned and has had no luck straightening her “uncooperative” hair. The lighter-skinned girls get all the attention.
“The fun in this life, the good jobs, the rich husbands, were not a matter of merit and hard work, but were a matter of brute, unshifting biology. Mma Makutsi stood before the mirror and cried.”
But now she has a job! She and her boss drink tea together and wait for clients. She would like to be a detective, too. Mma Ramotswe tells her
“‘As you get older, in fact, you see more sides to a situation. Things are more clear-cut at your age.’ She paused, then added: ‘Mind you, remember that I am not quite forty. I am not all that old.’
‘No,’ said Mma Makutsi. ‘That is just about the right age for a person to be.’ ”
What a nice example of positive thinking! (Of course, she'll have to change her tune in a few years.)
There are actual cases that need solving, but the attraction is the people and the place.
“. . . the sun began to rise above the plains, and for a few minutes, the whole world was a pulsating yellow-gold—the kopjes, the panoply of the treetops, last season's dry grass beside the road, the very dust. The sun, a great red ball, seemed to hang above the horizon and then freed itself and floated up over Africa; the natural colours of the day returned. . . “
These are suitable for anyone, and I think you could enjoy this without having read the first, but these are all part of a continuing story and best read that way.
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Book 2 does not disappoint! Fantastic character development and a continued strong sense of place. As the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency continues to solve cases, there are ethical dilemmas that must be pondered. What is the distinction between the actions of a detective and that of a criminal? Love these characters and am looking forward to my next visit to the world of Precious Ramotswe.
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