Mma Ramotswe is back in fine form, still engaged and still
unwed, in Alexander McCall Smith's fifth book in the "Number 1
Ladies' Detective Agency" series.
Her business is on solid financial footing and her
engagement is hanging fire. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is still
devoted and still reluctant to set a date. Meanwhile, Mma
Ramotswe has business to attend to.
A lady who owns a profitable network of hair braiding
salons has four admirers, and wonders if they're after her
affections or her money.
Mma Ramotswe is hired to find out. As for her assistant
detective, Mma Makutsi, the Kalahari Typing School for Men is
thriving, and Mma Makutsi is in the middle of moving into her
own home with -- of all things -- running water. Things are
definitely looking up.
"The Full Cupboard of Life" is a delightful addition to the
series, but plotwise, it's the weakest of the five so far. The
one case Mma Ramotswe is involved in, checking out the four
suitors of her client, seems to be almost an afterthought to
the plot.
In this case, Mma Ramotswe seems less like a detective than
an advisor to the lovelorn; and she realizes after solving the
case to something less than her client's satisfaction, that
even though people may ask your advice, they are going to do
just what they intended to do anyway.
Despite the anemic plot, "The Full Cupboard of Life" is a
delightful read, another paean to the continent bursting with
life and color that Smith loves so much. Nkosi sikelele Afrika! |
