review
Mma Ramotswe is the main character of the popular book series ?? The Best Ladies Detective Agency ?? by Alexander McCall Smith. This lovable, traditionally built lady is the only female detective in Botswana. Together with her assistant Mma Makutsi she runs the “Best Ladies Detective Agency”. spinning. The cheerful looking booklets were written by Zimbabwe-born writer Alexander McCall Smith and are an international success.
Mma Ramotswe
Mma Ramotswe plays the leading role in the nine consecutive booklets of ‘The best ladies detective agency’. The booklets connect with each other, but can also be read separately. Mma Ramotswe is a traditionally built (nice name for fat) woman who starts a detective agency in Botswana with the money of her late father. Pretty soon she is assisted in her work by Mma Makutsi. She has the secretary education agferond with a 9.7 and regularly reminds everyone of this. Practical Mma Makutsi and smart Mma Ramotswe solve everything from adultery to mysterious deaths in a hospital. Nine volumes have now appeared:
- The secret of the crocodile
- Tears of the giraffe
- Good morals for beautiful girls
- The Kalahari night school Full life
- The riddle of the pumpkin
- The happiness of blue shoes
- The good husband of Zebra Drive
- The wonder of Speedy Motors
The seasonings
Although the books are often counted among detectives, the tension is hard to find. Mysterious cases are indeed solved, but it never becomes horrifying. Human nature plays an important role. Mma Ramawotse is a wise, sympathetic woman with a lot of insight into people. She is not quick to judge people. Her husband, the garage owner Mr. JLB Matekoni, is a gentle and loving man. Although his two apprentices, whom he has to learn the trade of auto mechanics, are lazy and uninterested, he treats them with great patience. Mma Makutsi is a hard-working secretary who, despite her high grade in job applications, always lost out to the more attractive girls.
Typically Mma. Ramotswe
All the books show that Mma Ramotswe loves rooibos tea. She drinks it several times a day to relax and think everything through. She often drinks it outside in front of her house while overlooking the beautiful African landscape and musing about Botswana. She drives a white van that, according to her husband, should have gone to the junkyard long ago. But because she is so attached to it, her husband keeps the van as good as possible. She also often mentions that she has a traditional figure. According to her, being fat is the traditional build of African ladies and she is completely satisfied with that. A recurring theme is musings about the past. Although Mma. Ramotswe is a positive person, she notes that people are getting greedier these days. Botswana’s honest morality is hard to find these days. Even the traditional figure seems to be less appreciated ??
Popularity
The booklets are an international success. They are proof that things like sex and violence in books are not necessary to gain popularity. In the US, the first booklet was published shortly after the attacks on the Twin Towers and was quickly in the bestsellers list. A possible explanation for this is that they are relaxing, friendly and uncomplicated books. A psychiatrist even recommended the books as an antidepressant. The African atmosphere is described very well. Although the descriptions are short and simple, as a reader you quickly imagine yourself in Botswana. In the Netherlands the books are not very well known yet. They are hardly for sale in the shops. However, it is easy to get hold of it via the internet. The booklets all have colorful covers and are not expensive. They may seem a bit simple to the real literature readers, but when you read them, chances are you will be carried away by the simple warmth and charm. The BBC has since filmed the books starring Jill Scott as Mma Ramotswe.
The author
Alexander Mc Call Smith (1948) was born in Zimbabwe and lives in Edinburgh where he teaches medical law at the university. Besides the Mma Ramotswe novels he also wrote ?? The philosophy club of Isabel Dalhousie ?? and “The dream god”.