THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith: A quick and enjoyable read, but better-written than I expected. The blurb on the front cover, which described the book as “The Miss Marple of Botswana,” was reductive—it was as much or more about character and local color than solving a mystery (or actually, a collection of various small mysteries). I’ve already put the sequel on hold at the library. I loved Precious Ramotswe’s quiet competence, and the simple, straightforward-yet-lyrical tone of the writing. Here’s my favorite passage:

It was time to take the pumpkin out of the pot and eat it. In the final analysis, that was what solved these big problems of life. You could think and think and get nowhere, but you still had to eat your pumpkin. That brought you down to earth. That gave you a reason for going on. Pumpkin.