Customer Reviews:
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 More please? May 9, 2003
I bought this book for my mother, after she'd read a favourable review of it in the local paper. After some months' passage I borrowed it - and finished it in a day and a half.A gentle story, gently and simply told - with character-reflections on aspects of personal morality and the handling of life's varied problems that I found most involving. The other books in the series have to be must-reads now; here's hoping they're as good as this one is.
Lives Up to the First in the Series! December 16, 2002
61 out of 62 found this review helpful
This second entry in Smith's Botswana-set series picks up right where the wonderful The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency left off. Indeed, the two books are utterly seamless, and it'd be a real shame to read this without reading its predecessor first. The book picks up with the engagement of "traditionally built" Precious Ramotswe, Botswana's sole woman detective, to local master mechanic Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. While the structure is the same as the first book—a missing son as the central running mystery, and some smaller cases interspersed—the new couple's relationship is the real focus.So, while Precious is asked by an American woman to find out what happened to her son, who disappeared from a commune ten years previously, she must also negotiate the pitfalls of setting up house with Mr. Matekoni, the acquisition of an engagement ring, and the dastardly schemes of Mr. Matekoni's nasty housekeeper, and the unexpected addition of two foster children to her household. All of which she does with her keen sense of human nature and wisdom. Her secretary/typist is also given increased attention, allowed to take on the case of a cheating wife all by herself. Built into the stories are ruminations of the tensions between modernity and traditional values. There are a number of passages that attempt to capture the essence of Africa, and how that noble vision is under constant assault by greed, corruption, and power. The adventures of Precious and her cohort are a warm antidote to the often depressing news that dominates coverage of Africa in the West. Smith writes in a delightfully fluid and simple prose with pacing that makes the book quite difficult to put down. The series thankfully continues with Morality for Beautiful Girls and The Kalahari Typing School For Men, with further volumes to follow, one hopes.
Grace and humour March 2, 2002
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
What a treat of a book where character and plot move forward hand in hand.Tears of the Giraffe explores the strangeness and magic of Botswana while allowing the protagonist, Mma Ramotswe, founder of the No. 1 Detective Agency and her secretary/assistant, the plain, intelligent and ambitious, Mma Makutsi, a down to earth and philosophical approach to the business of detection. The two women complement each other. Mma Makutsi's deference to her boss occasionally overwhelmed by her frankness... The plot of Tears of the Giraffe moves effortlessly from daily life in Botswana, through politics, environmental issues, magic and tradition, disability and social responsibility, grief and loss with delicacy and humour. It is a book with depth and grace but never heavy handed. This is the perfect read for a miserable, cold Sunday in the UK.
An excellent sequel to the No 1 Ladies... August 23, 2001
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
McCall Smith's second book is a worthy successor to the first.Yes, it *is* more of the same; but same is good - since it is the same charm, the same humour the same warm (and, I am given to understand, accurate) descriptions of life in Botswana and the same romance with Mr J L B Matekoni, proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. These books would make a very good TV series, I think. It is a shame they're not better known in the UK
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