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Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Spread too thin I honestly think that Alexander McCall Smith has lost interest in Precious and the crew, the repetition in this novel starts to grate a bit. Like his Isabel Dalhousie novels, the characters sometimes become cyphers rather than real life people. Previously one of the attractions of this series was that the characters seemed real and warm hearted. At one point AMS refers to JLB Maketoni as her fiancé, when they've been married for a couple of novels! Maybe the author just needs to ease... more info
Excellent This is a beautiful series of novels that remind us what it is to be human and to be a member of a closely-knit society. Like the other books in the series, "Blue Shoes and Happiness" is brimming with a sharp wit and accurate perceptions of human nature that seem to echo Austen (with a much more simple style). They also poignantly depict the slow demise of a traditional way of life in a similar way to Hardy, and are full of local colour and description. You'll grow to love Botswana without ever... more info
To Do List: "Find new shoes" Life in Botswana can become immensely complicated. The problem of finding parking space for a "tiny, white van" looms. A space that doesn't have aggressive posts nearby, for favourite. The reason the van sags on the driver's side is a different issue, however important. A fiance fearful of forceful feminism must be handled diplomatically. A "To-do" list includes shopping for shoes. A food thief must be dealt with because a job is at stake. Oh, yes, and there's a cobra slumbering away under one of the desks... more info
Not as "traditionally built" as the others... What I want to say has probably already been said: I love Precious and the gang and, having lived in Africa (though not Botswana per se) for a time, I can relate to the "slower tempo of life" mentality, so to speak, but this book was not up to AMS' usual standard....Which is not to say that I am not eagerly waiting for his latest in the series to be put out in paperback, because I am!
