I have just finished reading two books by Alexander McCall Smith. The first, The Right Attitude to Rain is the latest in a series which began with the Sunday Philosophy Club. Isabel Dalhousie lives in Edinburgh, she is wealthy, attractive and lonely. Her housekeeper, Grace, is of the opinion that she thinks too much, that there is too much thought in her life and not enough action.
This is because Isabel is a philosopher, she edits a philosophical journal and spends a great deal of her time considering how to improve the lives of those around her instead of concentrating on her own. By this book, readers who have become very fond of Isabel (of which I am one) have been waiting to see if her unrequited love for James, fourteen years her junior will ever come to fruition.
You could never accuse Alexander McCall Smith's writing of being pacey or keeping readers on the edge of their seats. It is not his style. Halfway through one of his books, you begin to wonder if anything has actually happened or whether it ever will without noticing that, in fact, something has. I am aware that this sounds incredibly vague and indecisive, but I cannot think of a way of describing the elusive charm (damn there's that word again...) of his writing. By now I should know that there is usually a little pinprick or unexpected revelation at the end of these books which is usually linked to a throw away sentence or discussion earlier on which the reader has totally forgotten about, so that you find yourself saying 'Oh, now I see what that was all about'. It is subtle and very very clever.
The other philosophical lady is, of course, Precious Ramotswe, she of the No 1 Detective Agency for Ladies, the drinker of Red Bush tea, she of 'traditional build'. About half an hour ago I closed up the latest in this series The Good Husband of Zebra Drive and, as with The Right Attitude to Rain, heaved a sigh of pure pleasure and satisfaction at having spent another happy two hours in Botswana with Mma Ramotswe's husband Mr J L B Matekoni, her assistant Mma Makutsi who achieved 97% at her secretarial school, and the recalcitrant apprentice, Charlie who assists Mr Matekoni in the garage at Tlokweng Road.
The problems to be solved in this story are almost immaterial to reading enjoyment as we know that they will be. Reading these books thinking that here is a mystery story to keep you on the edge of your toes would be a mistake. It won't happen. What will happen is that you will sit down and read and feel a warmth and affection for Mma Ramotswe, her love of her family and her life and, above all, her country Botswana
"She had a mental picture of Mochudi as it then was, of the view form the School up on the hill; of the paths that wound through the bush this way and that but which had a destination known only to the small, scurrying animals that used them. These were the things that would stay with her forever and which would always be there......this was the soul of her country; somewhere there in that land of red earth, of green acacia, of cattle bells, was the soul of her country"
Do not read either of the above books if you are in a hurry. They have to be read at a leisurely pace and not rushed. The books are written in such a way that it is almost impossible to race through them. In The Right Attitude to Rain we follow Isabel through her day of editing, writing, strolling to an art gallery, meeting a friend for lunch, everyday activities all making up her life. The reader gets to know her thoughts and to engage with her in some of the intimate moral issues that come her way.
In Botswana, the reader will take it even more slowly. The heat will get to you otherwise. Sit down in the office at the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency and have a cup of Red Bush tea with Mma Ramotswe or perhaps accompany her on a visit to a client in her little white van, driving at 15 miles an hour in case you should have a sudden meeting with an animal in the bush. You will get there in the end.
I like Alexander McCall Smith. I have never met him and don't suppose I ever will, but after reading his books I feel that an author who can create these characters and settings has to be, well, a nice man. I can't think of another word to use which would express it better. The fact that he plays in The Really Dreadful Orchestra, made up of people who just like to play but who have never had the chance, makes me feel even more strongly that he is my kind of person.
