The Full Cupboard of Life

Rating:
Summary: The Full Cupboard of Life: More from the No. 1 Ladies' Detec
Review: The subtitle should be "More of the Same." Same (admirable) characters, same tea, same tiny white van, same predicaments. Not enough fresh here to warrant one's time.

Rating:
Summary: the best one so far
Review: This book is just delightful, the best so far of the series,what a wonderful character he has created and i cant wait for the next one in the series...........In The Company Of Cheerful Ladies........

Rating:
Summary: A Full Cupboard indeed!
Review: This final? book in this series wobbled a bit here and there. Reading this author is such of joy of words, phrases and wonderful characters. I feel they are people I know, respect and care about. The characters are defined somwhat again so the book can stand alone or be read out of sequence. Intelligent and about good and gnetle people in a wonderful country that opened my eyes to this area.

Rating:
Summary: Full Of Life
Review: This is the fifth of a contracted 8 books in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. The first book in the series broke out of genre limitations and was as much an astute and charming literary experience as it was a detective's story. The next three books offered more time with the enjoyable protagonist and regular characters in the surprising world of contemporary Botswanna, but they no longer held the surprise of the first book, and the mysteries devolved into simpler puzzle that were more comments on the human condition than challenging plots.

THE FULL CUPBOARD OF LIFE springs back with a lot of the energy of the first book. True, there is only one detective case that gets attention in the plot, plus the mystery of Mr. JLB Matekoni's intentions as Mma Ramotswe's fiancée-will he ever name the wedding date-but this volume buzzes with the character development, gentle humor, cultural backdrop and insight into human ironies that blasted the first book to international attention. There are twist endings to both questions posed to Mma Ramotswe. In the meantime, things are looking up for her associate, Mma Makutsi, whose entrepreneurship has brought her comfort in life though as yet has yielded a love interest, and there is much to be learned about the wiles of Mma Potokwani, the orphanage manager who knows how to get what she needs for her just causes. The author is true to his characters and their world, and works a spell with his graceful prose. The country he describes is astounding.



Rating:
Summary: more...more...I want more!
Review: This whole series is a treasure to behold. I hope there will be many, many more in this series. 5 stars is not enough. Try listening to one. The reader is superb.

Rating:
Summary: Where is the mystery ?
Review: Though the 5th book keeps the charm of the series intact, I feel the book is too heavy with character development (of already well-developed characters) and very, very short on plot. The one case Precious has never develops into more than a shrug of the shoulders. The depth of the previous four books is lacking in this one. Still if you're a fan, as I am, you probably won't be more than slightly let down and still wait in breathless anticipation of the next (hopefully more plot-heavy)book in the series.

Rating:
Summary: McCall Smith Delivers High Intrigue and Unbridled Romance
Review: We now return to Botswana, "the fortunate country." At least according to Mma Ramotswe, founder and chief detective of the No 1. Ladies' Detective Agency. Mma Ramotswe lives in Gabarone, the only city in this country the size of Texas, where the hustle and bustle for a foreigner seems like a race between two snails. But for someone like the traditionally sized Mma, it is still too frantic, causing her to long for weekend visits to her village home. For all Batswana, Mma believes, "those quiet days in the village would prove to be the best time for them."

So we know that, although many hours may pass, not a great deal will occur. We will relax and drink bush tea and think carefully about things, knowing that the facts of the case will present themselves with clarity after a suitable wait.

Mma Ramotswe is feeling that it may be time for her fiancé, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, to make good on his promise to marry her. Money is no object. The good Mma has cattle left to her by her father. But Mr. Matekoni, proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, is caught up in events in his own life, such as being asked to do a sponsored parachute jump by the very convincing Mma Potokwani, matron of the orphan farm. His intentions are good, but he is a little unclear when it comes to the details of the actual wedding and the setting of a date.

Since time passes very, very slowly in Botswana, each of the delightful books in this series by Alexander McCall Smith, who grew up in the region, gives a gracefully unfolding panorama of small, seemingly insignificant happenings in the lives of its central characters. In so doing he illustrates what Mma Ramotswe would teach if she were a teacher and not the proprietress of a successful sleuthing service. If you slow down and look at each thing lovingly and carefully, you will find the answers you seek.

In this case, the highly respected Mma has been asked to examine the motives of the four suitors of another dynamic woman, Mma Holonga, owner of a chain of hair braiding emporia. Mma Holonga, being successful, is also wealthy, and fears her suitors may be interested only in her money. So she has consulted with Mma Ramotswe, who promises to investigate each man with care and try to determine who is most sincere in his interest. "Men are always looking at women and judging them," Mma Ramotswe declares with delight, "Now we have the chance to do some judging back."

In the end, Mma Ramotswe's labors on behalf of Mma Holonga will backfire, in a curious and fitting way, so that she will be bemused but not befuddled. And Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni will find himself moved towards that inevitable moment of tying the knot with Mma Ramotswe, not against his will but in spite of his tardiness in dealing with details. And this will also be all right because "there is no other lady I would ever wish to marry."

In the midst of all this high intrigue and unbridled romance, Mma Ramotswe's secretary finds a new home and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's apprentice comes into his own. And the choir sings Nkosi Sikeleli Afrika, "the sweet voices of the children rising through the branches of the tree above them, and filling the still, clear air with sound."

--- Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: What's so amazing about this book is that it can stand on its own; you don't need to have read the others. Don't get me wrong, it helps, and the others are just great, but leave it to Alexander McCall Smith to create something that not only fits into the whole, but works by itself. Then again, look at the other books. Would you expect any less from such a master craftsman? I think not.

Also recommended: McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood"