Life is a rich, full cupboard...& this novel adds to it!

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	• The Full Cupboard of Life (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Book 5) Alexander Mccall Smith Anchor, 2004 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 82 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A charming book -- not a mystery, but warm and wise

For some reason (perhaps because of the way this series gets classified) I thought these were mysteries. There really isn't much in the way of mystery in this book, at least, despite the fact that the lead character is a detective.

The Botswana (country just north of South Africa -- home of the Kalahari desert) setting is a major component of this series. It's hard to imagine the same story told elsewhere. The background in this story -- whose name is never actually mentioned -- is the AIDS crisis in this area, which accounts for the orphans in the story and presumably a brother of one of the character who dies after a long illness. Much of the book concerns the culture in Botswana, particularly the tension between the traditional culture and new ways (not-so-thin women are described as being traditionally shaped, for example, and modesty is a traditional value). In a way, this is an African version of Jan Karon's world -- where people know and care about each other, and the villains -- such as there are -- get dealt with gently.

There are several gentle plots moving through the book -- the main character's is tiring of her very long engagement to a very decent man who is afraid to commit; this man gets bull-dozed by a matriarch running an orphanage into agreeing to skydive for a benefit and doesn't know how to get out of it; a customer comes to the detective and wants to know how she can tell which of her suiters are interested in her for her money, etc.

I intend to read more in the series, but if you're only interested in reading real mysteries or strongly plotted novels, be warned. This is a thoughtful book about another culture and the wisdom to be learned from other cultures.

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A "full cupboard" of everyday life in Botswana.

In his fifth novel about the #1 Ladies Detective Agency, run by Mma Precious Ramotswe, author Alexander McCall Smith presents the full cupboard of Botswana life in all its richness. For Mma Ramotswe, people and their relationships are paramount, and she believes that these relationships are facilitated by Botswana's traditional code of behavior, with its customs of greetings, sitting down together, drinking bush tea, and casually talking around a subject, rather than addressing it aggressively.

Life is a rich, full, and happy experience for Mma Ramotswe, who can find out everything she wants to know from her broad network of family and friends. Engaged to the good-hearted Mr. J.L.B. Matakone, who has not yet set a date for a wedding, she helps him surreptitiously with his problems and cooks and cares for the two orphans he has taken into his home.

In this novel, full of gentle humor and wisdom, Mma Ramotswe and her friends face several "difficult" problems: A woman who has made a fortune establishing hair-braiding salons hires Mma Ramotswe to find out whether her suitors want to marry her for her money. Mr. J.L.B. Matakone finds himself tricked into "volunteering" to do a parachute jump. He is also disturbed to discover that First Class Motors, a rival garage, has sold improper parts and failed to service a classic old Range Rover correctly, and he has been procrastinating about reporting him to authorities.

With an obvious lack of exciting plot lines, the reader focuses completely on the characters-- beautifully drawn, sometimes flawed, and always forgiven their faults. In a pace as leisurely as life in Botswana, McCall Smith recreates the colorful everyday lives of these ordinary people, who treasure friendships, treat each other with respect, and possess inherent good sense. Honoring the values that contemporary readers sometimes do not take the time to preserve, McCall Smith portrays complex social relationships in very simple and direct prose. Warm, gently humorous, and loving, McCall Smith creates a vicarious nostalgia for this way of life. Mary Whipple

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Life is a rich, full cupboard...& this novel adds to it!

"The Full Cupboard of Life: More from the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" is the fifth installment of Alexander McCall Smith's outstanding series about Mma. Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and perhaps the only female detective in all of Africa, with the exception of her assistant, Mma Makutsi. Mma Ramotswe's is an extremely intelligent woman who possesses a keen perception of the human character. She is also a good person with a kind heart and a strong set of values. Most inspiring, however, is her deep and abiding love for Africa, and for Botswana and its people in particular. "They are my people, my brothers and sisters. It is my duty to help them to solve the mysteries of their lives. I strongly suggest that any potential reader who has not already been introduced to our protagonist, read "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" and other prior books in the series. While not absolutely necessary, it will certainly enhance your experience with Mma Ramotswe and her country.

Fortunately Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, Gaborone's best mechanic, are still planning to wed and both are in good health, as are their two adopted children. Alas, their wedding date has still not been set. And if I am anxious about their very prolonged engagement, well imagine how the lady involved with the procrastinating fiance feels. She doesn't want to pressure him, however, as he has enough problems to contend with at the moment. He is concerned about getting out of a promise to make a parachute jump, which Mma Potokwani finagled him into, in the name of charity. And he is also being distracted by a predicament with a business rival at First Class Motors.

Case-wise, a wealthy beauty salon entrepreneur hires Mma Ramotswe to discover which of her many suitors are after her considerable fortune, and what their true motives for matrimony are. And assistant detective Makutsi's 'Kalahari Typing School for Men' is doing so well, she can afford to move...to a house with running water.

As most readers of the series know by now, this is not an ordinary crime novel/police procedural. Nor is it an edge-of-your-seat mystery thriller. Mma. Ramotswe is a private detective, but she manages to solve mysteries without the use of guns and violence, preferring to use unorthodox solutions instead.

The narrative is written simply, in a clear, uncluttered style. And our Number One Detective is a pure delight, as are the people she deals with, and their everyday problems which she helps them resolve.
JANA

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A "soft patch" in the series...

While this was an enjoyable book to read, it didn't really grab me the others in the series until that one paragraph towards to very end when Precious and JLB find themselves under a tree being married while the children around them sing Nkosi Sikeleli Afrika, "the sweet voices of the children rising through the branches of the tree above them, and filling the still, clear air with sound."

It was just breath taking writing in a compact little paragraph that almost brought tears to my eyes (not an easy thing to do). I can just imagine how lovely this scene could be when BBC makes a series based on the books (do you honestly think anyone on Hollywood could do them justice?).

It's an enjoyable, light piece of fiction for a rainy afternoon or an interminable flight.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, page 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

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