The Full Cupboard of Life

Book number five in Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. This time, Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's first female private detective, investigates a rich woman's potential suitors and deals with a fiance who can't say no to performing a dangerous stunt for charity, but can't say yes to setting a date for the wedding.

Like the rest of the series so far, the most apt word for this one -- and I mean this in the best possible way -- is "gentle." It's a gentle story about gentle people (mostly), featuring gentle ruminations, the gentle suggestion of a plot, and a gentle sense of humor. Actually, that last thing is very much in evidence this time out, and I found myself smiling or even laughing (gently!) quite a few times show more as I read. Which is enough to make this probably my favorite of the series so far. show less

These books are pure and simple joy. It's lines like this that keep me coming back for more: "Mma Ramotswe nodded vaguely. She was not particularly interested in the affairs of the Botswana Secretarial College, although she always listened politely when Mma Makutsi sounded off about such matters. Most people had something in their lives that was particularly important to them, and she supposed that the Botswana Secretarial College was as good a cause as any. What was it in her own case, she wondered? Tea? Surely she had something more important than that; but what? She looked at Mma Makutsi, as if for inspiration, but none came, and she decided to return to the subject later, in an idle moment, when one had time for this sort of show more unsettling philosophical speculation." Those lines, and the clear, honest portraits of the people, both the recurring characters and the individuals involved in each new mystery. show less

After reading the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency a couple of years ago, I accumulated a few of these, and went through 6 in less than a month. They're very quick reads - I read 2 and part-of-a-third in one day.

They're very entertaining, charming, and compulsively readable. Although marketed as mysteries; they're not, really. Rather they follow Mma Ramotswe and those around her through their daily lives - it's almost besides-the-point that the business she runs is a detective agency. The stories are suffused with McCall-Smith's obvious sincere love of Africa (where he grew up), and the reader feels that a genuine window has opened up into the lives and mindsets of ordinary Africans. I don't agree with many aspects of Precious Ramotswe's show more view on the world, and I probably wouldn't get along with her in real life - but these books made me feel like I might understand people like her more than before.

However... there's also a weird aspect to the books. They're so relentlessly cozy. It's not that McCall-Smith ignores the poverty, the devastation of AIDS, the lack of education, etc... these things are acknowledged, but then almost swept to the side. On the one hand, it's a celebration of the spirit of the people of Botswana and their love of their homeland... but on the other hand, it sometimes feels like a minimization of these things. It's not just larger social issues: there's domestic abuse, adultery, etc... all the normal foibles of humanity (although all reference to sex of any kind are totally non-existent)- but all the unpleasant things somehow get almost drowned out in the cozy, feel-good atmosphere of the books. Maybe it's just that I usually read darker, grittier material [especially in mysteries {McCall-Smith is no Stieg Larsson!}] but it felt a bit strange to me. I can't decide if it's a detriment or a positive asset to the books.

In 'The Full Cupboard of Life' Mma Ramotswe is beginning to get a little antsy about her engagement - which is stretching out indefinitely, with no wedding date set. Mr. JLB Maketoni is a fine man and a great, honest mechanic - but his issues with depression make him a little indecisive when it comes to important matters such as marriage. However, he's sometimes easily pushed into things too - and here he finds himself terrified to have been pushed by the matron of the orphan farm into sorta-of agreeing to do a parachute jump for charity. Meanwhile, a wealthy woman hires the detective agency to investigate the possible ulterior motives of her multiple suitors. show less

Another engaging and insightful entry in the series. In this one, the moral lesson of the book deals with looking beneath the surface because things – and people – are not always what they appear to be at first glance. As always, there are three cases for the No 1 Ladies to resolve with the last one ending in an especially delightful way.

This book and the second are my favorites so far, for different reasons, and the author has become one of my top faves. The story and the author's writing style is such that I have gone from book to book with no gap in between, eager to find out what happens next. In fact, it was hard for me to stop the flow and write this, but I felt I had to while the material was still fresh because it is the funniest so far. There were several moments when I laughed out loud and could not stop chuckling, the funniest of which was Mma Potokwane's announcement that the time had come to get Mr. J. L. B. Maketoni to the altar and her plan of how to go about it. Another was the joke that Mma Makutsi played on the two apprentices about the most handsome show more man. I dare anyone to read those without laughing (chapters 13 and 16)! I read the book in one day, like the others, and immediately wanted to start reading it again just to savor all the funny moments. The author has such a funny way of describing the power of dominant women over men and the Batswana way. How could this book not get five stars? show less

One of the best parts of Alexander McCall Smith's series is that each book improves in terms of character definition and advancing the plot. Book 5 integrates Precious Ramotswe with the other characters in a more realistic and intriguing way. The author hints at the distinctions we must draw between manipulation and persuasion (in the character of Mma Potokwane), fear and caution (with Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's never-ending engagement to Mma Ramotswe), and speaking one's mind and biting one's tongue (aptly expressed in the character of Mma Makutsi.)
Fans of the series who may by this time be frustrated with a lack of resolution to certain issues, will be slightly pacified in this book. McCall Smith highlights some of the more minor, yet show more regular, characters, filing out the world of Mma Ramotswe's Botswana. This book manages to be endearing without the sense of condescension that some complain about with the first book. By Book 3, the author seems to have pulled up his proverbial chair and can now dialogue comfortably with his characters. The Full Cupboard of Life continues this trend and promises to bring the story to an enriching and delightful end in the final two books of the series. show less

There was a side door to the house, and she opened this and peered out into the yard. The paw-paw trees had incipient fruit upon them which would be ready in a month or so. There were one or two other plants, shrubs that had wilted in the heat but which had the dogged determination of indigenous Botswana vegetation. These would survive even if never watered; they would cling on in the dry ground, making the most of what little moisture they could draw from the soil, tenacious because they
lived here in this dry country, and had always lived here. Mma Ramotswe had once described the traditional plants of Botswana as loyal and yes, that was right, thought Mma Makutsi, that is what they are - our old friends, our fellow survivors in this show more brown land that I love and love so much.

In the fifth instalment of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Mma Potakwani, the matron of the orphan farm at Tlokweng, manoeuvres Mr J.L.B. Maketoni into doing a charity parachute jump, Mma Makutsi moves house, and Mma Ramotswe investigates a rich business-woman's suitors to find out if they are only after her money.

While reading this book, it occurred to me that Mma Ramotswe would be perfect for a Botswana version of the "Grumpy Old Women" television series, since she is always lamenting how the old Botswana ways and traditional values are in danger of being lost in the modern world. show less