It's Unanimous!!

All six members of the subdivision book club, in attendance last week, loved the main character of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.

Created by African-born, Alexander McCall Smith, Mma Precious Ramotswe first appeared in print in 1999 and lately, in a 2007 film. Presently, McCall Smith’s series of eleven books, to date, have become the subject of a Sunday evening series on HBO.     (See post #5)

But what makes the protagonist such an admired and admirable individual?

Firstly, the detective is comfortable with who she is, a traditionally built African lady, size 22.  Fond of reading interior design magazines in bed, Mma Ramotswe scorns those “terrible, stick-like figures” featured in their advertisements.

Exuding confidence in her detective  abilities, Precious ignores the disparaging remark uttered by one of three ultra-thin passersby, “How can an elephant go under cover?” and crosses the street with a purposeful step.   (This quote is taken from the movie.)

Secondly, the lady detective is appreciated because of her innate intelligence. “Qualities of curiosity and awareness were nurtured in her mind at an early age.”  Divorced and childless, her cousin taught Precious to count at the age of four.  Reciting car registration numbers and playing Kim’s game honed the child’s memory and observation skills to a sharp edge.

Answering her lawyer’s question: “Can women be detectives?” the female sleuth promptly replied, “Women are the ones who know what’s going on.   Women notice things that men do not”.

Readers also find Mma Ramotswe praiseworthy for her finely determined sense of right and wrong learned in five years of Sunday School.  Disliking Mr. Paliwalar Patel’s archaically rigid method of child rearing, the lady detective commented, “There comes a time when they must have their own lives.  We have to let go”.

Grudgingly, Mr.  Patel agrees to her modern ideas after Precious proved that 16-year-old Nandira  invented her boyfriend Jack, “just to bring a bit of freedom into her life”.

Lastly, Mma Ramotswe’s great love for  the land of Botswana, its people and her desire to do good in the time God has given her deserves commendation.

Learning that Solomon Moretsi has been using the money extorted from three  insurance companies  to support his parents, sick sister and her children, Precious vows not to alert the police.  Promising no more lost fingers, Moretsi commented, “You are a good Christian lady.  God is going to make it very easy for you in heaven.”

(The dialogue between Moretsi and Precious takes place under a tree  as the camera finds disabled and orphaned African children playing happily. Their carefree songs, exuberant dancing and pantomimes  featured at the film’s end are reminiscent of  the African Children’s  Choir concert last year at our church – an event not to be missed.)

This undeniable love for her fellow man drives the  lady detective  to snatch an 11-year-old boy from the clutches of a Witch Doctor and return him safely to the waiting arms of his father.

But even Shakespeare’s  greatest characters were flawed and so is Mma Precious Ramotswe.  As a first time book clubber pointed out, the love affair and  marriage to Note Mokoti seemed to be  inconsistent with the resourcefulness and intelligence of the book’s leading lady.

While speaking of past mistakes, Mma Ramotswe explained her actions thusly:  “Everybody is head strong at the age of 20.  We simply cannot see however much we think we can”.

And yet the reader/viewer finds Mma Ramotswe some 15 years later, an independent business woman with a strong belief in God, love for her country and fellow man with many many more mysteries to solve.

If you are in need of the services of a lady detective,  be sure to give Mma Precious Ramotswe a call.