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The Full Cupboard of Life (No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency)

By: Alexander McCall Smith
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Abacus
ISBN: 034911725X
ISBN-13: 9780349117256
Released: 01 Jul 2004
RRP: £6.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

What happened? - By: Nicholas Whyte, 19 Mar 2008
More laid-back Botswana tales, with lots of incident & little plot - indeed, the only actual bit of detection for the detective agency peters out half-way through, as if the author had lost interest in it.
A "full cupboard" of everyday life in Botswana. - By: Mary Whipple, 06 Jan 2006
In his fifth novel about the #1 Ladies Detective Agency, run by Mma Precious Ramotswe, author Alexander McCalll Smith presents the full cupboard of Botswana life in alll its richness. For Mma Ramotswe, people & their relationships are paramount, & she believes that these relationships are facilitated by Botswana's traditional code of behavior, with its customs of greetings, sitting down together, drinking bush tea, & casuallly talking around a subject, rather than addressing it aggressively.

Life is a rich, full, & happy experience for Mma Ramotswe, who can find out everything she wants to know from her broad network of family & friends. Engaged to the good-hearted Mr. J.L.B. Matakone, who has not yet set a date for a wedding, she helps him surreptitiously with his problems & cooks & cares for the two orphans he has taken into his home.

In this novel, full of gentle humor & wisdom, Mma Ramotswe & her friends face several "difficult" problems: A woman who has made a fortune establishing hair-braiding salons hires Mma Ramotswe to find out whether her suitors want to marry her for her money. Mr. J.L.B. Matakone finds himself tricked into "volunteering" to do a parachute jump. He is also disturbed to discover that First Class Motors, a rival garage, has sold improper parts & failed to service a classic old Range Rover correctly, & he has been procrastinating about reporting him to authorities.

With an obvious lack of exciting plot lines, the reader focuses completely on the characters-- beautifully drawn, sometimes flawed, & always forgiven their faults. In a pace as leisurely as life in Botswana, McCalll Smith recreates the colorful everyday lives of these ordinary people, who treasure friendships, treat each other with respect, & possess inherent good sense. Honoring the values that contemporary readers sometimes do not take the time to preserve, McCalll Smith portrays complex social relationships in very simple & direct prose. Warm, gently humorous, & loving, McCalll Smith creates a vicarious nostalgia for this way of life. Mary Whipple

Life is a rich, full cupboard...& this novel adds to it - By: Jana L. Perskie, 02 Jun 2005
"The Full Cupboard of Life: More from the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" is the fifth installlment of Alexander McCalll Smith's outstanding series about Mma. Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, & perhaps the only female detective in alll of Africa, with the exception of her assistant, Mma Makutsi. Mma Ramotswe's is an extremely intelligent woman who possesses a keen perception of the human character. She is also a good person with a kind heart & a strong set of values. Most inspiring, however, is her deep & abiding love for Africa, & for Botswana & its people in particular. "They are my people, my brothers & sisters. It is my duty to help them to solve the mysteries of their lives. I strongly suggest that any potential reader who has not already been introduced to our protagonist, read "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" & other prior books in the series. While not absolutely necessary, it will certainly enhance your experience with Mma Ramotswe & her country.

Fortunately Mma Ramotswe & Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, Gaborone's best mechanic, are still planning to wed & both are in good health, as are their two adopted children. Alas, their wedding date has still not been set. And if I am anxious about their very prolonged engagement, well imagine how the lady involved with the procrastinating fiance feels. She doesn't want to pressure him, however, as he has enough problems to contend with at the moment. He is concerned about getting out of a promise to make a parachute jump, which Mma Potokwani finagled him into, in the name of charity. And he is also being distracted by a predicament with a business rival at First Class Motors.

Case-wise, a wealthy beauty salon entrepreneur hires Mma Ramotswe to discover which of her many suitors are after her considerable fortune, & what their true motives for matrimony are. And assistant detective Makutsi's 'Kalahari Typing School for Men' is doing so well, she can afford to move...to a house with running water.

As most readers of the series know by now, this is not an ordinary crime novel/police procedural. Nor is it an edge-of-your-seat mystery thriller. Mma. Ramotswe is a private detective, but she manages to solve mysteries without the use of guns & violence, preferring to use unorthodox solutions instead.

The narrative is written simply, in a clear, uncluttered style. And our Number One Detective is a pure delight, as are the people she deals with, & their everyday problems which she helps them resolve.
JANA

A "full cupboard" of everyday life in Botswana. - By: Mary Whipple, 20 May 2005
In his fifth novel about the #1 Ladies Detective Agency, run by Mma Precious Ramotswe, author Alexander McCalll Smith presents the full cupboard of Botswana life in alll its richness. For Mma Ramotswe, people & their relationships are paramount, & she believes that these relationships are facilitated by Botswana's traditional code of behavior, with its customs of greetings, sitting down together, drinking bush tea, & casuallly talking around a subject, rather than addressing it aggressively.

Life is a rich, full, & happy experience for Mma Ramotswe, who can find out everything she wants to know from her broad network of family & friends. Engaged to the good-hearted Mr. J.L.B. Matakone, who has not yet set a date for a wedding, she helps him surreptitiously with his problems & cooks & cares for the two orphans he has taken into his home.

In this novel, full of gentle humor & wisdom, Mma Ramotswe & her friends face several "difficult" problems: A woman who has made a fortune establishing hair-braiding salons hires Mma Ramotswe to find out whether her suitors want to marry her for her money. Mr. J.L.B. Matakone finds himself tricked into "volunteering" to do a parachute jump. He is also disturbed to discover that First Class Motors, a rival garage, has sold improper parts & failed to service a classic old Range Rover correctly, & he has been procrastinating about reporting him to authorities.

With an obvious lack of exciting plot lines, the reader focuses completely on the characters-- beautifully drawn, sometimes flawed, & always forgiven their faults. In a pace as leisurely as life in Botswana, McCalll Smith recreates the colorful everyday lives of these ordinary people, who treasure friendships, treat each other with respect, & possess inherent good sense. Honoring the values that contemporary readers sometimes do not take the time to preserve, McCalll Smith portrays complex social relationships in very simple & direct prose. Warm, gently humorous, & loving, McCalll Smith creates a vicarious nostalgia for this way of life. Mary Whipple

A beautiful read - By: Mikhail, 12 Apr 2005
An entertaining read though not as entertaining as the previous novels. Dwelling more on character building, it will certainly serve to build on further stories in the series. I particularly liked the gentle humor & wisdom in the novel. A recommended red though, along with titles like:

The Girl who married a lion, The usurper & Other Stories, Triple Agent, Double Cross