Customer Reviews

The Full Cupboard of Life

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't read much fiction -- and mysteries, not at all-- so I had ignored earlier volumes in this series about Lady Detective Mme Ramotswe. Then I found "The Full Cupboard of Life" on a half-price sale & decided, since it was set in Africa, to give the author a try.

I'm so glad I did! What a delightful read for a hot summer day under a tree in the back yard. It also brought back happy memories of my travels in Africa. Since the focus is more on character & setting than on plot or mystery, it was especially enjoyable to me.

Now that I have made the acquaintance of Mme Ramotswe so late in the game, I am determined to get her life story straight by getting all the other books in the series and reading them in the correct order.

So much one hears of Africa is doom and gloom, hopelessness, poverty & war; it is a nice change to read about its people having what we westerners would consider a normal life.

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 and wisdom in the novel. A recommended red though, along with titles like:

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

I don't know how anyone could fail to love the Mma Ramotswe novels of Alexander McCall Smith. Mma Ramotswe and her fiancé, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, are such lovable people and Smith's writing is so fluid and beautiful that the books in this series really transcend the mystery genre. Of course, unlike most conventional mysteries, the Mma Ramotswe series concentrates more on character than it does on mystery and therein, I think, lies its enormous success.

In THE FULL CUPBOARD OF LIFE, Mma Ramotswe really only has one case: she's hired by a wealthy woman, who, like Mma Ramotswe, was blessed with girth rather than height, to investigate her five suitors, which Mma Ramotswe does in her typically humorous and no nonsense fashion. But that's just the spine of the story. Much more happens in the book and it's every bit as interesting as Mma Ramotswe's detective work.

If anyone has stayed away from this series of books because they're set in Botswana, they're making a huge mistake. These books portray the universality of human behavior, not their differences. And, they're filled with so much warmth and gentle humor it would, I think, take a cold-hearted person not to fall in love with the characters and want more.

Smith lavishes as much love and care on his secondary characters as he does on his primary ones, all to the book's credit. Mma Makutsi plays an enlarged role in this book, experiencing one heartbreaking event as well as one dream come true. Mma Potokwane is also featured as she contemplates writing a book and attempts to sort out the marriage plans of Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni.

THE FULL CUPBOARD OF LIFE is a warm, wise, witty book told with, above all, plenty of heart. Authors wanting to learn how to create wonderful, engaging characters can learn a lot from Alexander McCall Smith and this wonderful series of books. Readers can gain hours of pleasure with wonderful people they'd love to know and spend time with in real life. I don't think a book can earn much higher praise than that. It's really wonderful to see well-written, charming books filled with warmth, humor and humanity reach the bestseller list. It restores my faith, at least partially, in the book buying public.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I did the other four -- the pace, the writing, the gentleness of the characters were all wonderful-- I was troubled by one central episode. When Mma Ramotswe "tricks" the apprentice on the parachute jump, she places the young man in a dangerous situation so as to protect Mr. Matekoni from possible harm. Late in the book she does express some remorse that she did so, but when the "trickery" occurred I found it to be jarring and out of character for the kind-hearted and highly moral Mma Ramotswe. I just didn't believe she would do such a thing -- solving her problem by placing the apprentice in great jeopardy. But then again, people (myself included) do things they otherwise might not do to protect those they love. I think she is diffferent though, and would have come up with a better, more clever, less hurtful solution.
I love the series and look forward to more.

I give this novel a weak 4 stars. As an avid Precious Ramotswe fan this book was like a fast food version of the series I've grown to love. There were parts that made me laugh but I feel that the character development was a bit overdone this time around if there is such a thing. Precious didn't seem to be at the center of the book. The book felt rushed. I just knew that the something I was missing would come and it never did. Nice ending but it didn't make up for other things I was missing. I love Precious for her outlook on life as a woman and as a black African. That Mr. McCall Smith is able to capture this is nothing short of amazing. However, this time around I felt Precious' words and those around her were forced. The beauty of the previous books has been on solving mysteries with compassion, common sense, and a deep love for the surrounding country of Botswana. I didn't get a feel for the mystery part of the equation this time around. There was only one mystery that seemed thrown in for good measure and then not even really solved. I know it's hard for an outhor to constantly live up to making each book better than the last but I have a favor to ask of Mr. McCall Smith. Please let Precious and all of her supporting cast do what they do best--be themselves. Many of us feel like we know this woman and all those that surround her so please bring her back to her natural element---being the No. 1 Ladies Detective that Botswana has to offer. I don't consider this a bad book but would only recommend it if you've already enjoyed the previous books, then you can overlook this tiny stumble. I'm very hopeful for the next book in this series.

Life is good. Precious Ramotswe is back. Of traditional build and generous heart she's the indefatigable, irresistible proprietress of Botswana's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.

Fifth in the highly acclaimed series by Alexander McCall Smith "The Full Cupboard Of Life" finds Mma Ramotswe disconcerted by her long engagement to Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, a true gentleman and the best mechanic in Botswana. She wonders if she will forever be an engaged lady, "a status somewhere between spinsterhood and marriage."

Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni is also distracted.. His two apprentices are disappointments, apparently unable or unwilling to comprehend the high standards required of them in such trustworthy positions. He fears that their lackadaisical work will cause "great sadness among the cars of Botswana." He also faces a frightening parachute jump, the brainchild of Mma Potokwani.

Orphan farm matron Mma Potokwani is formidable. She, too, is of generous proportions, a state that only hinders when she attempts to bend over - a minor inconvenience since she is aware that "Men wanted women whose shape reminded them of good things on the table."

So, blessed with self-esteem and grit that matches her girth she presses on. Using a sweet cake wreathed with raisins as enticement she coaxes Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni into agreeing to jump from a plane as a fund-raiser for the orphans. Thus, the honest, gentle mechanic is reminded again that women are more clever than men. He yearns to disabuse her of this dangerous plan. Yet he fully realizes the difficulty in standing up to women - "it appeared to make little difference."

Mma Potokwani also tackles Botswana's's longest engagement, urging Mma Ramotswe to set a wedding date. When Mma Ramotswe demurs, explaining that Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni likes to consider things for long periods of time, Mma Potokwani counters with, "That is a weakness......there are some men who need to be organized by women."

Mma Ramotswe agrees with this logic much to the distress of her assistant, Mma Makutsi, who views the orphan home matron as the kind of forceful woman who would exploit a man's gentle nature.

Of course, Mma Makutsi would never have the temerity to voice disapproval, even though she is the successful head of a school (engagingly chronicled in "The Kalahari Typing School For Men,"). In addition, her thoughts are occupied by the purchase of a home. No longer must she perform her daily ablutions at an outdoor tap.

Her mind also turns to the Agency's latest client who has a problem she envies - four suitors. Mma Holonga is a wealthy woman who made a fortune through hair styling salons and a mixture called Special Girl Hair Braiding Preparation. While Mma Holonga may be adept at hair braiding she knows little about men. She asks Mma Ramotswe to investigate and discover which men are interested in her money and which are interested in her. A challenge, indeed.

Botswana is a place where all worries wash away with a steaming cup of bush tea, where it's a pleasure to sit in the sun and talk. "The Full Cupboard of Life" offers wit and wisdom on every page. Read it and you will find yourself very much like Botswanans on happy occasions - ululating with pleasure.

- Gail Cooke

In Smith's 5th book in the "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series, he again concentrates on many of his recurring themes. Smith uses the detective agency as a backdrop, to discuss the morality and ethics of Botswana, as a microcosm of the whole world.

Because Botswana is a relatively small country, much of it being desert, the Botswanians tend to know each other, all over the country. This intimacy of course is less in the urban environments than in the more traditional rural areas. Nonetheless, by American standards, even the urban life is rather suburban if not rural in appearance.

The issues that Smith concentrates on are the feelings that are universal in virtually every society. While there are specific nuances in each country, and within a country, in each region, still, there are certain things, that are common to all. Men will always seek the love of women. Women will always be more selective than men in choosing their mate.

In Botswana, the meeting of the traditional versus the contemporary is deeply explored. The role of women in the Botswanian society is investigated and parsed. There are many types of women in Botswana, as there are many types of women in any part of the world.

But Smith also finds, that there are similarities between men and women, and that these similarities are universal and accepted by almost all societies. By using Botswana, as a developing third world nation, Smith allows the reader to look back at the early days of his/her own country, and then see how far their country has come, from inception, to today. While the detective plots lend an interesting backdrop to Smith's message, the real concentration in all of Smith's books in this series are the way in which people treat others, and the way in which they should treat others. The book provides another wonderful view of cross-cultural interactions and perspectives.