The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (16)

This is another if Smith's wonderful and touching series about the #1 Ladies Detective Agency and its owner, Precious Ramotswe. There is a sly humor here and I am always impressed with the patient and giving nature of Mma Ramotswe and her compatriots. If this is truly how Botswana feels, it is a place I would love to visit. The characters are not like any I have ever met but Precious gives everyone the benefit of her wisdom and charity. She is insightful and seems naive without seeming stupid and although each of these stories stands alone very well, it is wonderful to start at the beginning and meet each of the main characters in the first books and get to know them all better and better as the series progresses. These are quick reads, but I always try to make them last as long as I can because I love them so. You'll end up smiling at the end of each and every book and this is no exception.

I really feel like I know these characters. This is the 16th book in the series and it is uplifting and loving and kind. The situations feel real, not overdrawn and are solved in a reasonable manner without violence or even undue recriminations. I look forward to the next one.

I am deeply addicted to the novels of Alexander McCall Smith & am working my way through every single volume. I love his wit, insights, kindness, consistently superb ethics, humour, & so much more. I've just finished reading The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine, which I enjoyed very much, as always. I was perturbed, however, at the unexpected & fortunately temporary disharmony between Mma Ramotswe & her secretary-associate detective-co-director at the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Mma Grace Makutsi. Some of Mma Makutsi's behaviour struck me as blatantly rude & even conniving: could this really be happening between these longtime friends & colleagues? Well, Mma Ramotswe herself had the same short-lived fear (but long enough to keep the reader in suspense!). I was hugely relieved when all the misunderstandings were happily resolved, & yet I could not help feeling that Mma Makutsi did come out of this volume a bit tainted. Smith's characters are always evolving, as we know, in all his delightful series, & for a moment I wondered whether in some future volume, Mma Ramotswe would actually sack Mma Makutsi. Probably not, but I will keep reading to find out! This thread of course was not the only one in Sunshine, & I must say I found the thread dealing with the poor little boy Samuel very fascinating & uplifting. In Mma Ramotswe, Smith has created a truly--if I may put it this way--saintly character, with infinite compassion & self-awareness & a heart of pure gold. In this very troubled world, A. McCall Smith's books are the perfect mental therapy & fount of inspiration.

When you read a No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Novel you can always be sure of a happy ending. We might not have them in real life, but with Alexander McCall Smith books we can feel safe no matter which book or series we are reading. I have read all the books in this wonderful series and have noticed that the books are getting more and more realistic. Precious is not always perfect and she admits her Botswana and the people are not always perfect. Yet, she has faith that most people are good. I like that this series is no longer as unrealistic as fairy tales are. I am happy that Mr. Polopetsi is back as well as all the usual characters including Mma Potokwane and, Oh No!, Violet Sephoto. And, the plot and subplots seemed more complicated than usual which I think is a good thing. This is a lovely book and I am not at all disappointed. I wish I could personally thank Mr. Smith for enriching my life with his wonderful books.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency is experiencing a slump in business. And Mma Makutsi, now partner of the business but always second in command, convinces owner Precious Ramotswe that she is due for a holiday. This would leave Mma Makutsi at the helm of the business. Feeling pressured by those around her Mma Ramotswe decides to spend a few days away from the office, but she is full of misgivings. The business is like her child whom she must set loose from her apron strings for the first time. So she does what many of us do when we have several days of unscheduled time on our hands - she chips away at chores that she's put off. In doing so, however, she does more detective work than she expects. Meanwhile Mma Makutsi is handling things in her own unique way although it seems that she doesn't have a handle on a very tricky case. But looks can be deceiving! This sixteenth book in the series delivers on the promise of an intriguing mystery told in a relaxing narrative. The characters stay true to their origins and are exactly what the reader expects them to be. The descriptions of Botswana are evocative of a country rooted in the past but sensing the challenges of the present. It is how our favorite characters deal with them while imparting life lessons that make this story, and this series, so endearing. Here's hoping that there are at least several more books forthcoming in this series.

Much weaker plot than in earlier novels in the series--not very entertaining. Although I have read all of the series with considerable interest, respect, and enjoyment of their morality-centered themes, this one lacked the "touch of the master" in my opinion. As prolific as beloved Alexander McCall Smith is, we cannot expect every novel to be brilliant in every respect. Perhaps this one lacks some of the local color found in earlier plots. Perhaps it lacks solid muscle under the flesh of the story, or maybe it attempts to pull together too many unrelated events. Introducing a mistreated boy, who is of course assumed by the familiar orphanage, helps flesh out the tale; but the reader would perhaps enjoy seeing more of the children in Mma Ramotswe's own household. They are always off stage and might be as compelling as waifs on the street (which they themselves once were). The operating mystery that is solved by Mma Makutsi while Precious is "on vacation" is so much weaker than those in previous Smith novels in this series. The sub-plot in which Precious and Mr. Polopetsi solve the case as well seems redundant. Even so, the constant love of Botswana, her husband, and her father that Mma Ramotswe evinces, as well as her sense of justice, are rays of sunshine everyone respects, ingredients that keep the audience returning for more.

Time for another visit with my friend Precious Ramotswe. Time spent with her always makes me feel as if I am walking in sunshine. Mma Ramotswe/Alexander McCall Smith has a particularly generous and benevolent view of human nature. Slow to condemn even the most seemingly egregious behavior, Precious always looks for that kernel of goodness in every human being with whom she comes in contact. This is remarkable because she is the proprietor of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Botswana - the only detective agency in Botswana - and that profession often brings her in contact with some rather shady characters. Precious Ramotswe has never had a holiday, but in The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine, the people who love her are conspiring to convince her that it is time she took one. Chief among the conspirators is her assistant Grace Makutsi who is eager to be in sole charge of the detective agency while Precious is away. Mma Ramotswe is unconvinced that she needs a holiday. She's not sure what she would do on one, but inevitably she is persuaded and begins a two-week vacation. It's more of a staycation. She spends her time at home tidying her cupboards and closets, but that only takes her so far and soon she is bored. On a shopping trip in town, she has an encounter with a young boy who tries to get her to pay him protection money to guard her van. She refuses and when she comes out she finds that her beloved tiny white van has a new and ugly scratch on its side. She confronts the little boy and dresses him down, threatening to spank him, but soon her heart is overflowing with sympathy as she realizes the young child is on his own and only trying to survive. Anyone who knows Precious can guess how this is going to end. Moreover, things seem to be heating up at the detective agency in her absence. A part-timer who had been hired to help out while she was on holiday contacts Mma Ramotswe and tells her that Mma Makutsi has assigned him a case that has overwhelmed him and he doesn't know where to turn next. Of course, Precious makes plans to help him out, suspecting that Grace may have bungled things. Perhaps she should have had more faith in her training of her assistant. These books are deceptively simple. While reading, one feels that they are just talk, talk, talk, and nothing is really happening. Then at the end you look back and realize that actually quite a bit of consequence happened. It's great fun to tootle around the potholed roads of Botswana with Mma Ramotswe in her little white van, listening to her ruminations on human nature, the beauty of the landscape, Nature's gifts, the history of her country, and her memories of her beloved daddy and growing up on his farm. One comes to the end of such a trip with a much lighter and hopeful and more peaceful view of the world. It's a wonderful antidote to some of the darker material I've been reading lately.

Quality and informative well written