The Full Cupboard of Life

i have found a new something to LOVE. and it fits with my quest to immerse myself in thoughts of the beauty of Africa: Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I have only read (or rather listened to the audiobook on my long commute) the Full Cupboard of Life. I was a little resistant to the books at first I think--some prejudice on my part for wondering how a white man could possibly presume to represent the thoughts and feelings of a Batswana woman. But truly truly he deserves all the accolades. This book is so sweet and I do think that AMS must be some kind of a genius. Such African simplicity and purity emerges in the book and it feels good and calming and centering like a nice sweet cup of African tea. The drinking of "bush tea" is a central activity in the book. I wonder if it is the same tea I have had the privilege of drinking in the Zimbabwean bush--the tea leaves boiled together with condensed milk. That is what i think of whenever Mma Ramotswe is drinking "bush tea" and certainly that is the best tea i have ever had the opportunity to drink in my life. And again I applaud AMS for presenting the sensible simple dignity, wit and beauty of the African people.