PattyMacDotComma's Reviews > Tears of the Giraffe

4★
“ ‘You are a fortunate man,’ said the jeweller. ‘Not every man can find such a cheerful, fat woman to marry. There are many thin, hectoring women around today. This one will make you very happy.’ Mr J.L.B. Matekoni acknowledged the compliment.”

As you can see, Botswana has a culture all its own. Our attention is on the one and only Precious Ramotswe, founder and owner of the now well-known No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. This is an agency unlike any other, and it’s in a unique part of the world, beautiful and deadly.

She is an intelligent, kindly, bush tea-drinking lady who drives an old, tiny, white van which Mr J.L.B. Matekoni has managed to keep on the road . . . so far. One day, she gives a lift to a lady, who, after seeing Mma Ramotswe’s engagement ring, offers her opinion of the couple.

“It was a good thing to marry a mechanic, she said, as she had heard that they made the best husbands. You should try to marry a policeman, a mechanic or a minister of religion, she said, and you should never marry a politician, a barman, or a taxi driver. These people always caused a great deal of trouble for their wives.”

The pace is leisurely, and the books are full of gentle, philosophical humour. The author makes a point of using his platform to teach us about his homeland. He frequently refers to Africa as a single entity, rather than the large, complex continent that it is, comprising 54 different countries as well as other states and territories.

I wonder if that is because so many people think of Africa that way. We don’t expect Germany to be like Italy, although both are in Europe, and we know India is not like Japan, although both are in Asia. Botswana has its own identity – you will find it near the bottom of the continent.

Map of the countries of Africa

These are heart-warming stories, but the dark undercurrent of historical wars and feuds is always there. When she has to travel across the border to Zimbabwe, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is not happy.

“‘It is more dangerous than Botswana,’ he had said. ‘There's always some sort of trouble up there. There was the war, and then the rebels, and then other trouble-makers. Roadblocks. Holdups. That sort of thing. What if your van breaks down?’ ”

She stands her ground. She is a role model for her young secretary, Mma Makutsi, who is an earnest go-getter, full of enthusiasm and trying desperately to belong somewhere and make something of herself. The author also takes advantage of our attention by giving us some insight into the cultural bias which seems to be the same around the world..

Mma Makutsi has been overlooked everywhere else. She is very dark-skinned and has had no luck straightening her “uncooperative” hair. The lighter-skinned girls get all the attention.

“The fun in this life, the good jobs, the rich husbands, were not a matter of merit and hard work, but were a matter of brute, unshifting biology. Mma Makutsi stood before the mirror and cried.”

But now she has a job! She and her boss drink tea together and wait for clients. She would like to be a detective, too. Mma Ramotswe tells her

“‘As you get older, in fact, you see more sides to a situation. Things are more clear-cut at your age.’ She paused, then added: ‘Mind you, remember that I am not quite forty. I am not all that old.’

‘No,’ said Mma Makutsi. ‘That is just about the right age for a person to be.’ ”

What a nice example of positive thinking! (Of course, she'll have to change her tune in a few years.)

There are actual cases that need solving, but the attraction is the people and the place.

“. . . the sun began to rise above the plains, and for a few minutes, the whole world was a pulsating yellow-gold—the kopjes, the panoply of the treetops, last season's dry grass beside the road, the very dust. The sun, a great red ball, seemed to hang above the horizon and then freed itself and floated up over Africa; the natural colours of the day returned. . . “

These are suitable for anyone, and I think you could enjoy this without having read the first, but these are all part of a continuing story and best read that way.