Morality is not just for Beautiful Girls.
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This is the third in the series of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency and picks up directly from where the last one left off. Mma Precious Ramotswe is engaged to Mr J L B Maketoni and their lives as we left the last book were seemingly happy.
However everything does not appear as rosy as book three starts. The Detective Agency is not making much money and the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, Mr J L B Maketoni livelihood seems to have ceased to be speedy and ever helpful. Mma Ramotswe comes up with the solution, to move the detective agency into the Speedy Motors office and then there will be a saving in money and her faithful assistant Mma Makutsi can help with the administration of the garage.
Throughout the book you sense that Mma Ramotswe is the driving force behind her relationship with Mr J L B Maketoni. His decline into depression came as somewhat of a surprise to me as a reader as there were not any indications of such an illness starting in the two previous books. However, it was dealt with through Mma Ramotswe's research and help from the medical profession and if anything made the reader question what they would do faced with someone who was sliding into such an illness. (The first of the morality issue perhaps throughout the book).
Mma Makutsi comes into her own as she steps out from behind Mma Ramotswe shadow as she is left to deal not just with the detective agency but also the running of the garage. Her past is somewhat hinted upon and there is obviously much to find out about this character and her background. Mma Makutsi can be seen to perform something of a miracle in the garage as she seemingly whips the two lazy apprentices into shape, making them work harder and most of all have more respect for women than they may have had in the past. (Another morality issue?).
Mma Makusti takes on a detective job (whilst Mma Ramotswe is away investigating a stranger poisoning) and successfully secures the business so much needed pula. This I feel makes us the readers think about the importance of Beauty Competitions, in this case Miss Beauty and Integrity and who is the right candidate to win. Although the issue of getting a detective to find out about the contestants and tell the organiser the winner seems to lack any moral judgement, maybe that is the point.
Like previous novels, all the investigations are concluded in the end, whether they are the right answers for the Detective Agency's clients or not are not to be considered. They are results for the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency which makes the book complete.
I do agree with previous reviews that some vital elements seem to have hardly been touched on, the two children adopted by Mr J L B Maketoni and Mma Ramotswe take a very firm back seat and conveniently looked after by Rose, Mma Ramotswe's maid. Also, Mma Makutsi sick brother who makes an appearance early on seems to have been forgotten by a third of the way through the book. I look forward to see if these elements are picked back up in book four.
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Inoffensive and easy to read but faintly patronising
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The book is very easy to read and has some enjoyable gentle humour which makes it a very calming experience.
The author seems to know his market well and writes book after book for those people. This does have the effect when reading that it is very formulaic which does take some of the pleasure of enjoying the country setting away. It also makes the whole experience a bit dull and it felt patronising at some points within the book.
It is a good little touch of Botswana for a reader who has no experience of Africa but I do not think it is suitable for anyone who wants to learn about the country.
I feel very ambiguous towards the main characters and do not really care what they do, although was starting to warm to them a bit more towards the end.
I did enjoy the language used for the dialogue and it encouraged me, along with the various descriptions, to build up a picture in my head of the characters.
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Lightweight
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I was pleased to see that the previous reviewer had not enjoyed this book as much as A.McCall Smith's previous 'No 1 Ladies detective Agency' novels. I wholeheartedly agree and was about to decide that I would read no further in this series. Perhaps I might now give the next a try at some time in the future.
This book concentrated on Precious Ramotswe, her assistant, Mma Makutsi, and to a lesser extent, her husband-to-be and manager of Tlokweng Speedy Road Motors, Mr J.L.B.Matekoni, who is sick through most of this book.
There are two main 'cases', the first is a suspected poisoning within the family of an influential government official and the second is the search for a suitable candidate to represent Botswana in a beauty pageant. neither have particularly exciting twists to them.
I would like to have read more about the orphans now living with Mma Ramotswe and the boy that intriguingly appeared out of the forest.
It seemed more a young adult book, a lightweight, easy read.
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Not as satisfying as its predecessors
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"Morality for Beautiful Girls" is somewhat disappointing in comparison to the previous Mma Ramotswe novels. This has several reasons: The beginning of the novel drags on and on, and it takes almost half of the book until the plot picks up speed and tension. Several subplots are not totally convincing, especially Mr J.L.B. Matekoni's clinical depression which is so out of character and seems contrived - as if the author had intended to give the character more depth, but in my view he failed thus making a highly convincing character rather implausible. Mma Ramotswe seems to have changed character as well in the first half; she comes across as almost meek and resigned while Mma Makutsi becomes a risk-taking, self-confident jack-of-all-trades. Also, the foster children have sadly little airtime, and for many chapters in the book, they seem to be non-existent, and Mma Makutsi's brother is forgotten. Instead, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi go on and on about the good old Botswana morality and the bad girls that erode it - quite repetitive, schematic and boring after a while. Only the last third of the book is as delightful, captivating and convincing as the previous novels. Therefore "Morality for Beautiful Girls" merits no more than 3 stars.
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A nice read
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This book goes to bolster my initial opinion that McCall Smith is a sensational writer to look out for. The book goes to make the series a worthy read. I am particularly drawn to the way the author wrote about the way of life this African country especially its remarkable values. What is more, the characters are real and warm-hearted , and they give the story the humor that is necessary for an interesting life. Other fun books to read are: The usurper and Other stories, The Kalahari Typing School for Men, Disciples of Fortune
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