Tears of the Giraffe

Book two in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, featuring the only lady detective in Botswana. These books, or at least the two I've read so far, are like photographic negatives of a standard detective story. The detective plots, while interesting enough, sort of happen in the background, while most of the novel focuses on the characters' personal lives, along with some gentle musings about the past traditions and modern realities of Africa. The result is oddly, wonderfully charming. This one may have been slightly less so than the first one, if only just because it was less of an unexpected surprise, but it was a pleasant read nonetheless.

I liked this book better than the first book in the series. I felt it had a more followable plot and secondary plots--reading much more like a finished novel than a series of short stories that were cobbled together.

I didn't like that many of the minor/side characters were so deceitful and immoral--though it may have been done to contrast the morality of the main characters.

McCall Smith continues to enthrall me with this second book in his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I really like how he manages to weave connected stories together, allowing the reader to enjoy the mysteries while at the same time obtaining a better insight into the day-to-day lives of the characters against the Botswanan backdrop. These stories fit into what I consider to be cozy/comfort reads. They involve ordinary people facing problems/concerns centered around human relationships. It is this focus on societal and familial bonds that makes these such a joy to read. I also like how McCall Smith maintains a theme of morality through the stories, having Mma Ramotswe face moral dilemmas when assessing potential harm that may occur show more if a certain course of action is taken, or not taken, as a result of the investigation. As you can imagine, some gentle directional input from Mma Ramotswe is usually required. These stories are not stories of high-flying suspense or riveting chase scenes, and I like them for that very reason. If I want high suspense, I will pick up a thriller to read. 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 'Tears of the Giraffe,' Mma Ramotswe gets engages to a local mechanic, Mr. J.L.B. Maketoni, and next thing you know, also has a couple of foster children. At the detective agency, her assistant, Mma Makutsi, is promoted to Assistant Detective, as they investigate the dissapearance of the long-missing son of an American woman, and (separately) a case of suspected adultery. Mma Ramotswe's unconventional but empathetic methods solve problems in sometimes-unexpected ways that may be for the best. show less

Thanks to Goodreads friend Laura being persistent about getting me to try this series again, I FINALLY read this book. I’d read the first book in the series many years ago and liked it, but didn’t like it enough to read on. I think I’d even tried this one and put it down. I’d really struggled with this author’s writing style.

I was encouraged to read the audio edition with Lisette Lacat as narrator, and I’m so glad. I’m also glad that I decided to keep a copy of the paperback edition because it turns out I read this best by simultaneously listening to the audio book while reading the paper edition. A particular pleasure since, as is not always the case with audio books, the text was read almost precisely word for word. show more Only one word was wrong and contractions were used in the audio and not the paper book, but otherwise they were identical. So I read the Audible edition along with this edition: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
How very weird at times though. One audiobook part ended when there were just five pages left to a chapter in the paperback. It took me a while but I learned that it was better for me to measure my reading progress using the paperback chapters and to simply stop the audio play when I was at a good point in the paperback.

I could get spoiled with the pairing of paper/audio editions. Reading this way would definitely help me read when I have difficulty concentrating, especially when due to neighbors’ noise, but also for when there are other reasons.

For this book the audio helped me tremendously with pronunciations and dialect! And I could see the humor via the audio that I missed when I tried to read the paper book by itself. Also, the paper book helped me concentrate on the audio, though I did have to rewind at times, rarely though. Reading the audio and the paper editions at the same time was a real pleasure and like magic for me. And this narrator couldn't be better. She is perfect. I plan to all this series’ books but I will definitely read the audiobooks, preferably with the paper editions too.

I can’t afford to buy books but I’ll be looking for a CD player. I can borrow CDs and paper books from the library. I think there might be some audio files too but not many, and right now I have no devices that would work with them.

I ended up liking many things about this story.

I thoroughly enjoyed the humor. It’s subtle but very amusing and most of it was based on observations of human behavior. Brilliantly done!

I loved so many of the characters and the relationships. They were a delight.

I appreciated how the various issues and sub-plots were resolved. Very satisfying!

I was so engrossed in what was going on that at some point I’d forgotten to be curious about the book’s title. The reader doesn’t learn the meaning of the title until the last two pages of the novel. I liked it!

I recently saw the 2016 movie A United Kingdom, twice!, because I loved it so much, and it was fortuitous to then start reading this book. They’re a wonderful pairing.

ETA: The "mysteries" in these books seem to be the side stories. The main stories in the books are simple stories about interesting people who live in Botswana. The mysteries are not the main attraction for me. show less

I just love these cozy mysteries that delve into deep moral questions. This one asks if it's right to do the wrong thing to get the right result. Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi ponder their obligation to reveal all they've learned to a client, and, as they often do, come up with a novel solution.

I’m a bit behind in this series as this is only the second of what will, this year, be a ten-book collection. This installment begins with Mme Ramotswe and Mr J.L.B. Matekoni confirming their engagement. At the same time Mme Ramotswe is called upon to investigate the disappearance of a young American man some ten years previously and Mr Matekoni is assisting the local orphan farm to maintain its ageing machinery.

If you have read any of these books at all you’ll know exactly what to expect. The individual annecdotes and events might change from book to book but the overall feel of all them is, I suspect, similar. There’s a plethora of homespun philosophy and wry ovservations from Mme Ramotswe although, in this book more than the show more first, Mr Matekoni’s personality and views on how the world is to be tackled are explored more fully. Both are truly delightful characters: the kind of people you would happily travel to the other side of the world to have a cup of tea with.

McCall Smith was born in what was then Rhodesia and has lived in Africa on and off over his life. His love for, and understanding of, the continent is evident in every word of this book. The cadence of the dialogue, the vivid descriptions of the places and the traits exhibited by the key characters all combine to provide an utterly immersive experience. And, as with the first book, it paints a picture of Africa not often seen: a collection of happy, productive, proud people going about their daily lives with the same struggles, concerns and triumphs that people do the world over.

This book contains a more cohesive several-threaded narrative than the first one which was more a collection of vignettes and I prefer the apporach here. However, the story is still gentle and can drag a little as there’s a sense of inevitability rather than suspense. If you’re looking for a heart-thumping thriller then I suggest you go elsewhere but if you can spare some time to relax and view the world from a different perspective I doubt you’ll be disappointed. For your investment you should get a few laughs, some intelligent food for thought, possibly a tear or two and, I can virtually guarantee this, you’ll feel better when you finish than you did when you started. show less