The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

[meganbmoore]

This is billed as a mystery, but is really a book about Botswana that features a lead who happens to run a detective agency. Precious Ramotswe is a Botswanan woman who uses her inheritance from her father’s death to buy a house and open a detective agency. She does not, for the most part, handle dangerous cases, but rather cases such as missing husbands and impostors and secret boyfriends.

The cases are, for the most part, excuses for Smith to write about the Botswanan people and culture, with several of Mma. Ramotswe’s cases almost playing out like folk tales. The book is non-linear in its narration, covering both Mma. Ramotswe’s entire life (or at least large chunks of it), and her father’s background, as well as several cases early in her career. Thankfully, the non-linear-ness (if that isn’t a word, keep it to yourself) isn’t jarring, but works well to create a cohesive whole that has a lot of charm.

The book and characters are clearly written with a lot of love, and the prose is reminiscent of oral traditions. It’s a slim little thing, but carries a lot of punch. Smith grew up in Botswana, and I think it shows, as many events and characters seemed to be pulled straight from memory. That said, I’d be curious to see what some native Botswanans have to say about it, good or bad.

Comments

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

*nods* I was also picturing Precious a bit heavier than that, but at least Jill is actually zaftig, instead of the usual "Hollywood-actress fat" where they cast a girl who's maybe, horrors!, an enooooooormous size 10 instead of a 2. *eyerolls*

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

I think they made Jill gain weight for the role? She fits my mental image of Precious. She's a youngish woman (I pictured Precious as being middle-aged for some reason, but she's in her thirties in the books), and a whole lot bigger than any other leading lady in Hollywood ever, so that's good enough for me. Now, Mma Makutsi? Was far too pretty for the role.

I'm looking forward to the series, although the pilot(?) was slightly disappointing in some aspects.

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, the Times article mentioned something about a little padding under her clothes, but it's really hard to say from just looking at stills -- she didn't look particularly heavier-than-usual in the face to me, but I haven't seen the pilot yet; how'd she look to you there?

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

In the pilot she looks a bit bigger? I'm not sure how Jill Scott usually looks.

There are some pictures here (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-476218/The-day-No1-Ladies-Detective-Agency-came-life.html)

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

The plot mostly followed the first book, but there was one storyline that was unnecessarily sexed up. It just doesn't seem like Precious Ramotswe to find out whether a husband is cheating by inviting him into her house. And then we had the wife calling her a slut, which I didn't appreciate at all.

If they wanted to sex it up, they could have just shown flashbacks to the sexy (and, um... eventually abusive) history of Precious and her ex-husband Colin Salmon.

Moar Colin Salmon, says I!

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

*nods* Makes sense...it's been a few years since I last read those so memory may be fuzzy, but "blatantly sexed-up storylines" is pretty much the last thing I would associate with those memories.

(And ooooh, Colin Salmon's playing the nasty ex Makoti? Hubba hubba!)