But readers new to Mma Ramotswe and her compatriots should probably start at an earlier point in the series: preferably at the beginning. The satisfying climax Smith provides, complete with bits of text from hymns, would probably have novices wondering about the fuss over these books. The fuss is about characters who develop depth in throughout low-key, but engrossingly real, plots and about narrative that evokes an interest about Africa that transcends mere curiousity.

From the way that main characters are finally situated in their stories it seems that this was probably intended to be the final book in the series. For that reason, alone, I urge readers not to begin here. You'll pick up all the details you need, but you will not enjoy the texture of stories woven together, the colors of what I think was meant to be a sunset for these stories. Begin elsewhere.

The rest of us can take heart that the author has at least implied that these characters may have more stories to tell, after all. And as long as he loves this village of personalities, their stories will provoke thought and maintain interest.


These books are so insightful and well written that it takes my breath away:5+   July 27, 2005
 26 out of 27 found this review helpful

With each book I fall more in love with the writing of Alexander McCall Smith. The simple, straightforward way in which he has his characters think and speak makes the mind pictures he draws funnier than they would be if he wrote more elaborately. I found this book to be the funniest one yet. Each reader will respond differently as to any given book, but I love the low key humor that comes from Smith's hand.

In this episode, we find Mma Makutsi moving into a "home" of her own. She's come a long way from her extremely humble beginnings in Bobonong. Mma Potokwane wants Mr J.L.B. Matekoni to make a parachute jump, and she and Mma Ramotswe talk wedding plans. Then there are the four suitors of the wealthy Mma Hologna. She would like to know who wants her for her and who wants her for her money. She and Precious Ramotswe have the following conversation upon first meeting:

"You are very kind to see me," (Mma Hologna) said as she sat down on the chair in front of Mma Ramotswe's desk. "I can imagine how busy you must be."
"Sometimes I am busy," said Mma Ramotswe. "And then sometimes I am not. I am not busy today. I am just sitting here."
"That is very good," said Mma Hologna. "It is good just to sit sometimes. I like to do that, if I get the chance. I just sit."
"There is a lot to be said for that," said Mma Ramotswe. "Although we would not want people to do it all the time, would we?"
"Oh no," said Mma Hologna hurriedly. "I would never recommend that."

This kind of exchange happens often in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. I find them extraordinarily insightful and hilariously funny in the simple way in which they portray the depth of basic human communication and societal rituals, like manners. In the Botswana of Mma Ramotswe, having good manners is extremely important.

I continue to be impressed by how well AMS understands the human psyche, both male and female. The women in this series are particularly wise and clever in the way in which they can manipulate the men in their lives. There are two delightful instances in Full Cupboard where Mma Makutsi and Mma Ramotswe use psychology extremely well to alter circumstances for a better outcome. Read and enjoy.

Carolyn Rowe Hill



These books are so insightful and well written that it takes my breath away! 5+   July 26, 2005
 24 out of 24 found this review helpful

With each book I fall more in love with the writing of Alexander McCall Smith. The simple, straightforward way in which he has his characters think and speak makes the mind pictures he draws funnier than they would be if he wrote more elaborately. I found this book to be the funniest one yet. Each reader will respond differently as to any given book, but I love the low key humor that comes from Smith's hand.

In this episode, we find Mma Makutsi moving into a "home" of her own. She's come a long way from her extremely humble beginnings in Bobonong. Mma Potokwane wants Mr J.L.B. Matekoni to make a parachute jump, and she and Mma Ramotswe talk wedding plans. Then there are the four suitors of the wealthy Mma Hologna. She would like to know who wants her for her and who wants her for her money. She and Precious Ramotswe have the following conversation upon first meeting:

"You are very kind to see me," (Mma Hologna) said as she sat down on the chair in front of Mma Ramotswe's desk. "I can imagine how busy you must be."
"Sometimes I am busy," said Mma Ramotswe. "And then sometimes I am not. I am not busy today. I am just sitting here."
"That is very good," said Mma Hologna. "It is good just to sit sometimes. I like to do that, if I get the chance. I just sit."
"There is a lot to be said for that," said Mma Ramotswe. "Although we would not want people to do it all the time, would we?"
"Oh no," said Mma Hologna hurriedly. "I would never recommend that."

This kind of exchange happens often in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. I find them extraordinarily insightful and hilariously funny in the simple way in which they portray the depth of basic human communication and societal rituals, like manners. In the Botswana of Mma Ramotswe, having good manners is extremely important.

I continue to be impressed by how well AMS understands the human psyche, both male and female. The women in this series are particularly wise and clever in the way in which they can manipulate the men in their lives. There are two delightful instances in Full Cupboard where Mma Makutsi and Mma Ramotswe use psychology extremely well to alter circumstances for a better outcome. Read and enjoy.

Carolyn Rowe Hill



The title says it all. Life is a very "full cupboard" here.   July 15, 2004
 22 out of 25 found this review helpful

In his fifth novel about the #1 Ladies Detective Agency, run by Mma Precious Ramotswe, author Alexander McCall Smith presents the full cupboard of Botswana life in all its richness. For Mma Ramotswe, people and their relationships are paramount, and she believes that these relationships are facilitated by Botswana's traditional code of behavior, with its customs of greetings, sitting down together, drinking bush tea, and casually talking around a subject, rather than addressing it aggressively. Life is a rich, full, and happy experience for Mma Ramotswe, who can find out everything she wants to know from her broad network of family and friends. Engaged to the good-hearted Mr. J.L.B. Matakone, who has not yet set a date for a wedding, she helps him surreptitiously with his problems and cooks and cares for the two orphans he has taken into his home.

In this novel, full of gentle humor and wisdom, Mma Ramotswe and her friends face several "difficult" problems: A woman who has made a fortune establishing hair-braiding salons hires Mma Ramotswe to find out whether her suitors want to marry her for her money. Mr. J.L.B. Matakone finds himself tricked into "volunteering" to do a parachute jump, in order to raise money for the Orphan Farm run by the intrepid Mma Potokwane, who refuses to take no for an answer. He is also disturbed to discover that First Class Motors, a rival garage, has sold improper parts and failed to service a classic old Range Rover correctly, and he has been procrastinating about confronting the garage owner or reporting him to authorities. Mma Makutsi, the assistant at the detective agency, has been so successful running the Kalahari Typing School for Men at night, that her dream of renting her own house has now come true, and Mma Ramotswe is helping her to furnish all two rooms.

With an obvious lack of exciting plot lines, the reader focuses completely on the characters-- beautifully drawn, sometimes flawed, and always forgiven their faults. In a pace as leisurely as life in Botswana, McCall Smith recreates the colorful everyday lives of these ordinary people, who treasure friendships, treat each other with respect, and possess inherent good sense. Honoring the values that contemporary readers sometimes do not take the time to preserve, McCall Smith portrays complex social relationships in very simple and direct prose. Warm, gently humorous, and loving, McCall Smith creates a kind of vicarious nostalgia for this way of life, a nostalgia which readers will continue to indulge and treasure as the series continues. Mary Whipple


A "full cupboard" of everyday life in Botswana.   March 18, 2005
 21 out of 21 found this review helpful

In his fifth novel about the #1 Ladies Detective Agency, run by Mma Precious Ramotswe, author Alexander McCall Smith presents the full cupboard of Botswana life in all its richness. For Mma Ramotswe, people and their relationships are paramount, and she believes that these relationships are facilitated by Botswana's traditional code of behavior, with its customs of greetings, sitting down together, drinking bush tea, and casually talking around a subject, rather than addressing it aggressively.

Life is a rich, full, and happy experience for Mma Ramotswe, who can find out everything she wants to know from her broad network of family and friends. Engaged to the good-hearted Mr. J.L.B. Matakone, who has not yet set a date for a wedding, she helps him surreptitiously with his problems and cooks and cares for the two orphans he has taken into his home.

In this novel, full of gentle humor and wisdom, Mma Ramotswe and her friends face several "difficult" problems: A woman who has made a fortune establishing hair-braiding salons hires Mma Ramotswe to find out whether her suitors want to marry her for her money. Mr. J.L.B. Matakone finds himself tricked into "volunteering" to do a parachute jump. He is also disturbed to discover that First Class Motors, a rival garage, has sold improper parts and failed to service a classic old Range Rover correctly, and he has been procrastinating about reporting him to authorities.

With an obvious lack of exciting plot lines, the reader focuses completely on the characters-- beautifully drawn, sometimes flawed, and always forgiven their faults. In a pace as leisurely as life in Botswana, McCall Smith recreates the colorful everyday lives of these ordinary people, who treasure friendships, treat each other with respect, and possess inherent good sense. Honoring the values that contemporary readers sometimes do not take the time to preserve, McCall Smith portrays complex social relationships in very simple and direct prose. Warm, gently humorous, and loving, McCall Smith creates a vicarious nostalgia for this way of life. Mary Whipple