The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Smith, Alexander. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. New York: Anchor Books, 1998.

As I have been packing my possessions in preparation for a cross-oceanic voyage, I have found myself, sadly, in want of books to read. Having nearly exhausted our library's selection, I have chosen another route: borrowing books from my friends. This means that I sometimes read books that are not within my normal range of genres, but it also guarantees that I can get an in-person review of the book before I read it.

This book is not one that I would have picked up off the shelves myself, but I decided to try it anyway, and I did enjoy it. The story is not a fast-paced thriller like those so popular these days, but the pace of the story does fit the pace of the African culture described. I will admit that I also don't always understand multicultural humor, so I probably missed some very funny things at points in this story. But it was a good read, and well worth the time.

My one caveat is this: abuse survivors may want to skip chapter 2. This chapter describes the protagonist's background, and while not entirely graphic, can still be a trigger point. I was unpleasantly surprised when I hit that chapter, but the rest of the story can be read and understood without it.