Source of book: Audiobook from the library
Hey, another long trip, another Alexander McCall Smith book.
For those who want to brush up on the full set of McCall Smith books we have listened to:
#1 Ladies Detective Agency series:
The Tears of the Giraffe (#2 in the series)
Morality for Beautiful Girls (#3)
The Kalahari Typing School For Men (#4)
The Full Cupboard of Life (#5)
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies (#6)
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (#8)
The Miracle at Speedy Motors (#9)
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (#10)
Sunday Philosophy Club series:
Professor Dr. Von Igelfeld series:
Other books:
La’s Orchestra Saves the World
***
As usual, this book contains multiple threads, a leisurely pace, homespun wisdom, and a lot of tea.
In fact, a minor question of tea threatens to turn into a major conflict: since more regular tea is drunk at the #1 Ladies Detective Agency than bush tea, should the teapots be switched to reflect this?
Each book has its own emphasis, and this one focuses more on the two women than on the other characters. Charley and Fanwell (the apprentices) get very little time on the page, as does Mr. Polopetsi. We hear nothing about the children. Even Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni is limited to a single important scene. Nothing wrong with this, just worth mentioning.
The basic narratives in this book are as follows:
Mma. Makutsi’s fiance, Phuti Radiphuti, is badly injured when a truck hits him, and is forced to have his foot amputated. His controlling aunt, who already disapproves of the match, is determined to use the tragedy as a means of separating him from Mma. Makutsi.
A well-known local midwife enlists Mma. Ramotswe to find evidence that her husband - a celebrity preacher - is cheating on her. But her answer to the question of what she intends to do leaves Mma. Ramotswe unsatisfied. And her discovery that the man in question isn’t cheating, but is experiencing a crisis of faith leads her to an unpleasant truth.
Violet Sephotho returns as a recurring villain. This time, she has tricked a man into deeding her a house, based on her promise to marry him. More about this plot below, as I found parts of it implausible from the legal point of view.
And, a letter from an American lawyer sends the detectives to the wilderness to track down a guide who has been left a legacy by a former guest - but neither the name of the guide nor the camp was remembered by the decedent.
The first plot gets a lot of the attention, and for good reason. The somewhat subversive relationship between Grace and Phuti has been central to many of the books, and is a compelling story. After all, they have had to navigate complex emotions about gender parity and gender roles, class differences and social mobility, shyness and stuttering, and family complexities. We assume they one day will actually get married, but until then, the ups and downs of the relationship are a ride. The trajectory is good, however: both of them are learning to trust each other as time goes by.
The question of infidelity takes a different turn than many similar cases in this series. I love that McCall Smith asks the question of what one would intend to do with that sort of information. I recall from my years of listening to Dr. Laura (before her weird racist breakdown) and she would often ask the same question. If you knew your spouse was cheating, what would be your next step? I think that matters a lot, because without a plan, there is a real tendency to just wallow in the drama. In this particular case, the woman’s desire for proof of infidelity actually says a lot about her, not about her spouse.
It would have been interesting if there had been a deeper exploration of the problem of a priest losing his faith - maybe that will be in a later book.
The resolution to the final mystery felt a bit overly scripted. Things worked out a bit too neatly, but even Mma. Ramotswe knows that, so perhaps it is an intentional satire of that kind of ending. The scenes with the ladies in rickety boats with the threat of lions and hippos and a guide who keeps telling scary stories are hilarious, making the whole thing worth it. The legal issue in this case is totally plausible - the kind of scenario that gives lawyers nightmares, particularly since we can’t count on the #1 Ladies Detective Agency in real life.
The other legal issue, however, was problematic. Now, to be clear, I have zero knowledge of the Botswana legal system. I can only speculate that there should be some parallels to our own.
The gist of the problem is this: the lawyer who draws up the deed has an obvious and glaring conflict of interest which would have been obvious to him before he drafted the document. His long-time client would have been an adverse party to that deed, and he should have immediately refused to do the work. I mean, this is elementary legal ethics, but seems to have been glossed by the author.
Because of this problem, the solution to the dilemma makes no sense. The deed turns out to have the wrong legal description, and is rejected by the Recorder’s office. So, yes, the deed would need to be signed again, which the grantor would refuse to do. After that, likely there would be a lawsuit.
Or, rather, two of them. One to enforce the agreement to transfer the house - and this one may or may not be successful. It is plausible that Violet would just drop the matter as she does in the book, not wanting her fraudulent promises to be made public.
The other lawsuit, though, would almost certainly be successful, and that would be a malpractice suit against the lawyer. And, at least here in my home state, he would have been subject to significant discipline for the conflict of interest.
So, that’s my two cents on that.
If you don’t think too hard about the legal issues in the one case, then the book is otherwise quite enjoyable. As I have said before, these are best read in order, as many threads run through every book in the series. I expect we will continue to listen to the books as we travel.
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