Hi Waffles
Glad you are not feeling too bad apart from lack of appetite. This is what i thought about the book:
I read this book quite a long time ago and others in the series too. Picked a copy up at a jumble sale on Saturday and have just finished rereading it. It’s just as wonderful as it was the first time, full of wisdom, insight, humour, sadness, vivid characters, brilliant descriptions that bring Botswana to life and all kept moving by the crime narrative. It’s refreshing to have crime stories that, while sometimes very distressing, are full of humanity, not violence towards women which seems to be the current fashion in crime writing. The language is simple, elegant and direct.
The book contains much social commentary on Botswana, particularly on the role and behaviour of men, that is less than complimentary. The book is written by a white man and I have heard people say that a white man should not be writing about a black woman in an African country. But maybe a view from outside can in some ways be more perceptive. There is no doubt that the author, who lived in the country, loved it and its people.
There are two passages in the book which might mean something to us. The first is Precious’ father’s feelings about death; he suffered from a life limiting illness too; and a sentence on p158 which talks about feeling like a different person in the middle of the night.
I have also read some of the author’s books about Edinburgh where I lived for a few years. They just don’t have the same effect on you.
