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A review by jenbsbooks
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
2.75
I'd heard so many rave reviews about this series ... but I struggled here with the first book and don't think I will continue on. Ironically, I just started the HBO series to see what I think of it, and quite like it so far. The presentation of things in the book just felt strange to me (but was well done, I thought, in the series). The writing, very sparse, simple sentences, not much description or transitions. Some dialog in quotes, other statements/thoughts just in the text. Third person, past tense.
It starts right off telling the reader about the detective agency, Mma Ramotswe, and the "case of the dubious daddy" (that phrasing was from the HBO series, not in the book). While not loving the book, I liked it, and felt it was a maybe a mix of Mrs. PiggleWiggle and Encyclopedia Brown, in Botswana.
Then ... Chapter 2 has the header (headers were not included in the Table of Contents) ALL THOSE YEARS AGO. One moment it is Precious "I am Precious Ramotswe, citizen of Botswana, daughter of Obed Ramotswe" and the statement "His life was unrecorded; who is there to write down the lives of ordinary people?" and then a space and "I AM Obed Ramotswe ..." I was going with the audio edition and I had to stop because I was confused (same narrator, now voicing Obed/first person?). I had to turn to the text to re-read the last sentence and see the space and figure that although we/the reader were just told his life wasn't recorded ... we are now getting a record of his life history. I was never sure exactly WHY we given this history, what exactly it really added to the story overall? In the HBO series, I thought it was brought out better (voiceover, "my father taught me many things ..." setting up better the lessons of observation and such, similar to "Psych").
Chapter 3 was "Lessons About Boys and Goats" and is more history, here as much about Precious's childhood than the father's life. Chapter 4 "Living With the Cousin and the Cousin's Husband" which DID showcase "her first case" solving a mystery (in the HBO series, there was an earlier introduction, which I thought was well done). In this chapter, it also introduces Note, who she marries (I really didn't care for this, feeling the father gave her such support, why did she get involved with an abusive man when she knew that about him, I felt she was a strong woman even back then). Such sparce information about some things too ... saying she was a "mother, for a brief and lovely five days" ... and that's all the info we get about her having a baby, and the baby dying. Chapter 4, we get an accounting of opening the agency and from there on out, it stayed in the present and covered a number of cases (a missing husband, a cheating husband, an amputated finger, a wayward daughter, a stolen car, an inconsistent doctor, and a missing 11-year old boy (the HBO series covers several of this in just the first episode).
The header for Chapter 10 is "MMA RAMOTSWE THINKS ABOUT THE LAND WHILE DRIVING HER TINY WHITE VAN TO FRANCISTOWN" and ... I guess it was just a short chapter to showcase Africa and her thought of "I am just a tiny person in Africa, but there is a place for me, and for everybody, to sit down on this earth and touch it and call it their own" but this just confused me. Did I miss something? Chapter 12 was "MMA RAMOTSWE’S HOUSE IN ZEBRA DRIVE" and that's pretty much what that chapter was, about the house ... and again, why?
I had not heard of Mma before, seems to be similar to Miss or Mrs (per Google, Mma" is a term used as a woman's title, usually to show respect or affection). In the audio, it was SO pronounced, mmmmMa and it kind of drove me crazy. Not something that would bother me in print, and pronounced much more subtly (just "ma") in the live adaptation.
I think I'll remember this - but when I see it recommended as a "so wonderful, so funny!" I just am still not sure why? I can see by ratings, and by the number of books in the series, that it IS popular, so I guess the book is just something that didn't really click with me.
It starts right off telling the reader about the detective agency, Mma Ramotswe, and the "case of the dubious daddy" (that phrasing was from the HBO series, not in the book). While not loving the book, I liked it, and felt it was a maybe a mix of Mrs. PiggleWiggle and Encyclopedia Brown, in Botswana.
Then ... Chapter 2 has the header (headers were not included in the Table of Contents) ALL THOSE YEARS AGO. One moment it is Precious "I am Precious Ramotswe, citizen of Botswana, daughter of Obed Ramotswe" and the statement "His life was unrecorded; who is there to write down the lives of ordinary people?" and then a space and "I AM Obed Ramotswe ..." I was going with the audio edition and I had to stop because I was confused (same narrator, now voicing Obed/first person?). I had to turn to the text to re-read the last sentence and see the space and figure that although we/the reader were just told his life wasn't recorded ... we are now getting a record of his life history. I was never sure exactly WHY we given this history, what exactly it really added to the story overall? In the HBO series, I thought it was brought out better (voiceover, "my father taught me many things ..." setting up better the lessons of observation and such, similar to "Psych").
Chapter 3 was "Lessons About Boys and Goats" and is more history, here as much about Precious's childhood than the father's life. Chapter 4 "Living With the Cousin and the Cousin's Husband" which DID showcase "her first case" solving a mystery (in the HBO series, there was an earlier introduction, which I thought was well done). In this chapter, it also introduces Note, who she marries (I really didn't care for this, feeling the father gave her such support, why did she get involved with an abusive man when she knew that about him, I felt she was a strong woman even back then). Such sparce information about some things too ... saying she was a "mother, for a brief and lovely five days" ... and that's all the info we get about her having a baby, and the baby dying. Chapter 4, we get an accounting of opening the agency and from there on out, it stayed in the present and covered a number of cases (a missing husband, a cheating husband, an amputated finger, a wayward daughter, a stolen car, an inconsistent doctor, and a missing 11-year old boy (the HBO series covers several of this in just the first episode).
The header for Chapter 10 is "MMA RAMOTSWE THINKS ABOUT THE LAND WHILE DRIVING HER TINY WHITE VAN TO FRANCISTOWN" and ... I guess it was just a short chapter to showcase Africa and her thought of "I am just a tiny person in Africa, but there is a place for me, and for everybody, to sit down on this earth and touch it and call it their own" but this just confused me. Did I miss something? Chapter 12 was "MMA RAMOTSWE’S HOUSE IN ZEBRA DRIVE" and that's pretty much what that chapter was, about the house ... and again, why?
I had not heard of Mma before, seems to be similar to Miss or Mrs (per Google, Mma" is a term used as a woman's title, usually to show respect or affection). In the audio, it was SO pronounced, mmmmMa and it kind of drove me crazy. Not something that would bother me in print, and pronounced much more subtly (just "ma") in the live adaptation.
I think I'll remember this - but when I see it recommended as a "so wonderful, so funny!" I just am still not sure why? I can see by ratings, and by the number of books in the series, that it IS popular, so I guess the book is just something that didn't really click with me.