Monday, August 4, 2025

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith

Source of book: Audiobook from the library

 

Another trip, another installment of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books. We are now up to number 12 in the series. This one is, interestingly, a bit shorter than the previous few, checking in at less than eight and a half hours in the audio edition. (Which actually fit perfectly where we needed it.) 


As usual, there are several intersecting plots, each with their own moral and emotional implications.

 

The first involves the older apprentice at Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni’s garage, Charlie. Rumor has been going around that Charlie got his girlfriend Prudence (not a good choice of a name…) pregnant with twins, which he has subsequently abandoned. When this is confirmed through a reliable source, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi decide to try to convince Charlie to man up and take responsibility. As it turns out, though, not everything is as it seems. 

 

Second, a cattle rancher hires her after two of his cattle have their tendons cut. He does not wish to go to the police, and, as Mma Ramotswe quickly realizes, nothing about this case is simple. In fact, it is likely that everyone potentially involved is lying, either to cover for themselves, or someone else. 

 

There are two more personal plots, though, as well. Mma Makutsi is going to finally marry her fiance, Phuti Rhadiphuti, the furniture store owner. He has survived his terrible accident, although he lost a foot and is now trying to relearn how to walk - and maybe even dance at his wedding. More harrowing, he survived his controlling aunt in the last book. But there are still obstacles. Mma Makutsi’s greedy uncle, her nearest surviving relative, asks for an absurdly impossible and insulting dowry from Phuti. And, Mma Makutsi has to find the perfect pair of shoes for the wedding, which leads to disaster. 

 

Finally, Mma Ramotswe has been seeing a little white van around town - one that looks just like her old one, sold for scrap two books ago. Is it a ghost? Do vans have ghosts? Or is it the same van, given a new lease on life?

 

Oh, and one final mention: it is barely mentioned in the book, but recurrent villain Violet Sephotho is at it again, this time, running for political office, which would be a disaster. This thread is never entirely resolved, so we do not know how it ends. Maybe in the next book?

 

There are some interesting themes in this book. The main plot, about the cattle rancher, explores the problem of large employers and people wedded to the land. The rancher is new to the area, having saved his wages as a recruiter for the diamond mines and bought some land. 

 

His employees, as he puts it - correctly - “came with the land.” This means expectations, and also opportunities for the wealthy landowner to exploit his employees. Including, in this case, the all too common practice of having a “town wife” and a “country wife.” The landowner fails to understand how his behavior is creating hatred toward him, so he starts to see conspiracies where they do not exist. 

 

Also, when everyone has a motive, no one can be trusted. 

 

The theme of men exploiting women is also explored in the Charlie plot. While the situation is more complicated than Mma Makutsi thinks at first, she isn’t wrong that young (and not young) men often exploit women, humping an dumping, running away from responsibility. 

 

But women too can be problematic, playing men off each other to gain financial reward. 

 

In contrast to all of this are the two central male-female relationships in the book. Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni is straight up the nicest man you can imagine. And, as the series has gone on, he has learned more and more how to respond to Mma Ramotswe’s eccentricities, just as she has learned to respond to his. 

 

Likewise, the Mma Makutsi and Phuti relationship - and they finally do marry in this book - has been a growth process for both of them. They are both good people, but with their own flaws which often lead to unnecessary drama. But you can’t help but be sure that they will always love each other and work things out in the end. 

 

This is ultimately the theme of the series: good thoughtful humans coming to terms with complicated and nuanced relationships and situations, and working through them for the mutual good. And, of course, with the help of a good pot of bush tea! 

 

***

 

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)

Blue Shoes And Happiness (#7)

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive (#8)

The Miracle at Speedy Motors (#9)

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (#10)

The Double Comfort Safari Club (#11)

 

Sunday Philosophy Club series:

 

The Sunday Philosophy Club

 

Professor Dr. Von Igelfeld series:

 

Portuguese Irregular Verbs

 

Other books:

 

La’s Orchestra Saves the World

 

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