I love these books from the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. The dialogue, description of the countryside and local customs, and vividly described characters all make you feel like you are there in Botswana. I laugh when I hear Mma Ramotswe talk about her traditional build, as she enjoys the greasy doughnut snacks. It seems like every culture has someone like her assistant, Grace Makutsi, a rather plain looking girl with big glasses who instead prides herself on her high scores from the the Botwana Secretarial school she attended. She does find a fiancee, but is afraid she has scared him off with her talk about feminism and so entices Mma Ramotswe's husband to buy chairs from his furniture shop, trying to help the business and not appear too radical in her ideas about the relationships between men and women. The mechanics who work for Mr. Matekoni also show up in every culture--they seem to always be taking breaks, making rude comments to the young girls who walk by, and needing constant instruction and encouragement to stay on task, but also pretending to be brave when a cobra appears in Mma Ramotswe's office and throwing a wrench at it! We see the fear and superstition in the lives of the village people who believe that this snake (who has been rescued by someone from an animal preserve and turned loose near their village) is bad luck, and how their fears actually influence how they feel and behave. It's interesting the comments about the greediness of those who drive Mercedes Benz cars, items of status and wealth that often divide the very rich from the very poor in this developing nation. Many of the cases that Mma Ramotswe undertakes in this book seem to have in common the fact they they have all written for advice to Auntie Emang, and our detective uncovers what is happening and wraps up many of her cases with this discovery. Part of the title comes from the blue shoes that Grace Makutsi has to have, even though they are a size too small and hurt her feet. I guess loving shoes and beautiful things as well as vanity may also be something true in every culture!
There is only one thing wrong with this series in my opinion: that is that there appear only to be 9 books! Despite rationing myself to reading these interspersed with various other reading matter, to eke out the supply, once I begin reading one I can do so in one or two sittings, and find it impossible to restrain myself to reading a section or a chapter at a time. This is partly due to the contruction of these books. Instead of each story or chapter tackling one particular investigation, the cases of the agency, the business of the garage and the private concerns of the small community of people who work under the combined roof of the two businesses, the garage and the detective agency: Mma Ramotswe and J.L.B. Matekoni, the couple who own the two businesses, Mma Makutsi working for the agency, the two apprentices for the garage, Mr. Polopetsi working for the garage but sometimes also for the agency, the two children Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni was persuaded to adopt, and Mma Potokwani from the orphanage, and now too Phuti Radiphuti - all are interleaved and intermixed, in the way life is not full of clean distinctions between work and family life. AMS treats the phsical happenings and the thoughts and hopes and worries of the group of people with equal gentleness and in this volume even one of the mechanics who has been a shadowy sketch before, begins to blossom into a human with frailties, fears and dreams. Why would one not wish for more of such easy, satisfying reading, whether under blue equatorial skies or merely escaping the grey, rainfilled ones of Western Europe?
What do You think about Blue Shoes And Happiness (2007)?
Maybe I didn't like it quite as much as the previous one, but still, it is always wonderful to visit Botswana and lose myself in the world of the tiny white van and 97%, of Seretse Khama and the old Botswana morality. The intertwining plots perhaps had the common thread, this time, of vanity and pride: Mma Makutsi's statement about being a feminist nearly derailing her engagement (or so she thinks!), Mr. Polopoletsi's attempt to solve a problem on his own, Mma Ramotswe's diet, and of course, the blue shoes of the title. My favorite bit of this book was the scene where Mma Ramotswe speaks with the American tourists at the game park. I actually got weepy, and since I listen to these books on my mp3 player while running, I am sure I looked very funny jogging down the path with tears streaming down my face.I think one result of reading these books is that I am now unable to think of large people as "fat" - they are "traditionally built," if you please!
—Isis
More gentle mysteries for Precious Ramotswe to solve, though with a now richer tapestry of characters in supporting roles. I can really imagine life in Botswana, with the day to day happenings rarely hugely dramatic but all the more believable for this. I'm happy that Grace and her new fiance sorted out their little argument (which turned out to not really be an argument at all) and that things continue to tick along at the detective agency. I'm only half way through the series but I'm already interested to know how Alexander McCall Smith is going to tie up the whole series. A nice, relaxing book but read them order for the best experience!
—Juliana Graham
There are so many great reviews of these books that it is hard to not be repetitive. This book was one of my favorites because of Mma Makutsi and her "blue shoes." Like so much else in Smith's books, the shoes are a vehicle for philosophy. There is a contrast between Mma Ramotswe's contented life and Mma Makutsi's need driven one. Mma Ramotswe sits under trees and looks at the land with such contentment and joy. She doesn't escape from her problems, but she does let the land put them into perspective. When I am reading these books, I am reminded to step back and thank God for all my blessings. I want to follow her example and live my life consciously instead of piling up task after task, goal after goal. Here's a great example. I am a retired teacher and librarian. I homeschool my grandchildren, but it is now summer and I don't even have lesson plans to do. For the last four hours I have explored Goodreads and written reviews of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books trying to understand what they have taught me and why I like them. Still there is a little gremlin in my head telling me to stop indulging myself and get up and do some real work...like cleaning. Now, my house is just fine. There are things out of place, but there are no roaches, no visible dirt piles or much dust on furniture. Why would I feel that it was just play to stop and think about all the things I have learned from these books and to put them into words? Why would I feel that it is more valuable to sweep this almost clean floor, chase a bit of dust, and get rid of some clutter? I think that is what I like about Mma Ramotswe. She reminds me of what is important...and Mma Makutsi takes a giant step in realizing that in this book.
—Anne Hawn Smith
