The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
Another lovely instalment in the tale of Mma Precious Ramotswe and her increasingly large extended family. But I have become aware that, for some reason, these later books seem to have lost their edginess.
The first (No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency) was a great story too, but with much darker undertones hovering just beneath the narrative – relations between men and women, ritual magic, AIDS and the plight of Africa. Now these undertones seem much more muted.
It’s a function of Alexander McCall Smith’s skill as a writer that we fervently hope for the success in life of Mma Ramotswe and her brood, we live their struggles with them. But is this now at the expense of a certain depth in the books?
For instance, in this volume the detective agency has a rival which is disposed of with virtually no trouble at all. Still a great series, which you will sit down to read, then look up, discover it is eight or so hours later and that you have finished the book, and still recommended.
Tags: Alexander McCall Smith, crime fiction, Mma Precious Ramotswe