Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith may not be an engrossing detective story but it is a delightful overview of life in Gaborone, Botswana for a few characters created by the author. The book is seventh in the series of No.1 Ladies Detective Agency.
The central plot of the book is about two main incidents which Mma Ramotswe has to investigate. One is about blackmail and the other a medical wrongdoing. Pretty harmless and commonplace, especially if you have read King, Flynn and Connelly. Alexander McCall Smith however brings the life of Botswana, its beliefs, culture and social life through small time incidents in the town.
Mma Ramotswe isn't pondering over evidences, making chases and taking notes. Most of the time she gives a tribute to bush tea, remembers her dad and reminisces about the changing pace of her childhood town. A gentle but firm woman who states her viewpoints on accepting her body in its 'traditional build', the eccentricities of the people she has known and the altering human moralities.
Image from Youtube
Mma Matuksi, Mma Ramotswe's assistant is fun-loving, innocent but also vociferous at times. She isn't too worried about ethics and evidences of the world around her. Her concern is about her fiance and how to prove to him that she is not a feminist as she blurted out.
For Mma Ramotswe and Mma Matuksi is there anything that soothing bush tea and a pair of beautiful blue shoes cannot fix,respectively?
tea illustration from Pinterest
This quick small story may not be for one impactful novel. It is a lovely story in myriad shades of daily life with adequate amounts of twists where needed. I loved reading it and I hope to collect the entire series soon. There are no memorable phrases or reading takeaways. Nevertheless, beautiful things do come in small packages right?
The central plot of the book is about two main incidents which Mma Ramotswe has to investigate. One is about blackmail and the other a medical wrongdoing. Pretty harmless and commonplace, especially if you have read King, Flynn and Connelly. Alexander McCall Smith however brings the life of Botswana, its beliefs, culture and social life through small time incidents in the town.
Mma Ramotswe isn't pondering over evidences, making chases and taking notes. Most of the time she gives a tribute to bush tea, remembers her dad and reminisces about the changing pace of her childhood town. A gentle but firm woman who states her viewpoints on accepting her body in its 'traditional build', the eccentricities of the people she has known and the altering human moralities.
Mma Matuksi, Mma Ramotswe's assistant is fun-loving, innocent but also vociferous at times. She isn't too worried about ethics and evidences of the world around her. Her concern is about her fiance and how to prove to him that she is not a feminist as she blurted out.
For Mma Ramotswe and Mma Matuksi is there anything that soothing bush tea and a pair of beautiful blue shoes cannot fix,respectively?
This quick small story may not be for one impactful novel. It is a lovely story in myriad shades of daily life with adequate amounts of twists where needed. I loved reading it and I hope to collect the entire series soon. There are no memorable phrases or reading takeaways. Nevertheless, beautiful things do come in small packages right?
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