Saturday, May 22, 2010

The Double Comfort Safari Club (2010)

This is the eleventh book in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. We return to Botswana, the home of the recently married Mma Ramotswe and her secretary, Mma Makutsi who is engaged to Phuti Radiphuti.

Mma Ramotswe helps a lawyer in the U.S. find the recipient of a legacy, a friend who suspects her husband of infidelity and her husband who suspects her of infidelity, and Mma Makutsi. Phuti suffers a terrible accident and his doting aunt refuses her to visit and care for him.

One of the charms of this series is the slow, quiet dignity of Mma Ramotswe and life in Botswana. However, this book seemed to start off slower than previous books. It seemed that the first half of the book gives us Mma Ramotswe pondering things over a cup of her favorite red bush tea. Patience is rewarded, however, as events unfold and her assignments are resolved to almost everyone's satisfaction.

This series should be read to give the reader an idea of life in modern Africa. The traditional greetings when people meet, and the respect shown to family and friends is genuine and touching. While we enjoy modern conveniences, I wonder if we are truly better off. Without the assistance of television, radio, computers, libraries, etc. Mma Ramotswe is able to find solutions and settle even the touchiest of matters.

My recommendation for this book: +++1/2

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