The Blue Bird of Happiness is--Happiness Itself

books:

	• Blue Shoes and Happiness (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 7) Alexander Mccall Smith Anchor, 2007 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 102 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Blue Bird of Happiness is--Happiness Itself

Alexander McCall Smith has hit on a style of prose that does justice to the essential goodness of Africa. Direct and at times lyrical, he shows how there is "more to Africa than all the problems [people]saw." As Precious Ramotswa [her last name is the same as a village in Botswana] muses "They could love us too, as we love them." --p.125. I love how each novel ends with the shaped chant, "Africa, Africa. . . " Smith is truly a white Motswana, even now relocated to Scotland.

For me, the essence of the no. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series is an exploration of values. Quietly and gently and entertainingly Smith refers to the traditional morality of Botswana. It is everyday philosophy he is after--a life well-lived. . . this is the mystery he seeks to portray and penetrate in this charming series.

In "Blue Shoes and Happiness" Mma Makutsi discovers that blue shoes, when they are too tight, are best of all remembered, and are not the blue bird of happiness she'd hoped for after all.

--Janet Grace Riehl, author Sightlines: A Poet's Diary

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Happiness and Bush Tea

Mma Ramotswe is back and it is a real pleasure to sit down and become part of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. This addition to the series does not fall short of expectations. The reader is treated to matters of mystery large and small and the intuitive reasonings of Mma Ramotswe and her assitant Mma Makutsi. Smith's writing is truely compassionate and heart warming. Although we have people committing blackmail, lying, cheating and hurting one another, we have Mma Ramotswe who through her gentle, compassionate ways gets to the bottom of these matters with often life lessons imparted. It is not the "action" that matters in these books as they are not created to be page turners, but slowly savored for the descriptive quality of the writing which includes glorious passages about Africa itself. Often, Mma or her husband Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni are described as sitting quietly pondering the days events and we the reader find ourselves almost doing the same as we ponder the characters, their lives and the country they live in. A wonderful novel which was a pleasure to read.

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Another cleansing of the spirit!

Alexander McCall Smith never seems to run out of steam. His primary characters have grown so vivid in the faithful reader's mind that one expects to run into them at any moment. Mr. Smith's prose flows with certain simplicity, constantly instilling the reader with hope for the human race--almost a spiritual experience. As someone who grew up in Tanzania and Kenya many years ago, I relish Mr. Smith's sensitive yet revealing depiction of a modern-day, urban Africa in juxtaposition with the longing all of us have for "the good old days." BLUE SHOES AND HAPPINESS could use more drama and suspense to keep the reader fully engaged.

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Loved it!

I have been in love the the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency stories for some time, and have enjoyed all of them. This new one does not disappoint.

reviews: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, page 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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