In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies 

  - Alexander McCall Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is more of a review of the series in general, and only a little about this particular book.

After reading glowing recommendations of the series from several members of my online reading group, I checked out the story line to convince myself that this is really worth a read. That done, I bought some of the series, two at a time. I really liked the first two - there isn't much by way of crime detection, but it has a great human angle. However, after that it has been a roller-coaster kind of ride.

I found #3 quite repetitive, and also boring because there wasn't much of a story here. So I decided not to read further than the ones I already had. But when I read #4, I felt that the series had redeemed itself. And so, onto #5 and #6 (to save on delivery charges on a book I really wanted to read at that time), and before I had a chance to read them, bought #7 and #8 (at a used-book sale). #5 hit quite a low for me - not only had I had enough of the old Botwsana morality and Sir Sertse Khama, I was also disappointed that Mma Ramotswe did not give the right advice to her client.

Coming to the #6, I liked it much better than the previous one. For one, though there are references to the things that have been a constant through the series, they are subdued and not played up excessively. There is a positive movement in the lives of people involved, which cheers up the spirit. On the downside, the two lead characters - Ramotswe and Makutsi appear to be indulging in an increasing sense of self-worth (the former for her virtues, the latter for her smartness), and becoming more and more judgemental in the process. At this stage, one even wonders whether their partnership will last, but it obviously does, because there are 19 books out there.

Spoilers ...

There is also an unexplained thread - the intruder in Mma Ramotswe's home and the pumpkin left outside her house - I am still perplexed what it was all about. I wish it would be explained in one of the subsequent books, but I do not hold much hope because of the way the books are written. The business of Mr Maketoni's house is also only half addressed - while Charlie is taken care of, who would want their house to be misused?

As one of my GR friend says, this series is running out of stream. The preaching about traditional values have run their course, and pace of story is erratic at best. As of now, I don't plan to read after the book 8, but you never know. As a matter of curiosity, I looked at the stats of the series on GR - number of ratings, and rating. The number of people who have continued to follow the series is consistently declining (it makes an interesting graph), while the rating is more or less increasing. Perhaps the ones who are sticking to it are die-hard fans :).