The second book in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency is Tears of the Giraffe. When I finished the first book, I immediately queued this book for download when it was available. Did I mention that I read many of my books from the local library, using my Kindle?
The story develops the characters and the success of the agency. More of the story is told from the viewpoint of Mr JLB Matekoni, Mma Ramotswe’s fiance. He adopts 2 children without her knowledge and much of their relationship gets wrapped around their new family.
A friend had read the first book and then saw the author Alexander McCall Smith speak on campus. He said that after seeing the white Englishman behind the books, the premise of the story didn’t mesh with what he saw and he did not pursue reading more of the series.
After I finished reading this book, I decided to visit HBO-GO to watch the old episodes. I hadn’t seen one since they aired in 2008 and with 2 of the books freshly read, I watched with different perspective. HBO did a lovely job showing love for Africa, a basic theme in these stories.
The story ends with an explanation of the book title. Mma gave a client a basket with a design worked into the weaving. She explains that the marks are giraffe tears which the giraffes have given to women so they can weave the tears into the basket. The American client asks why the giraffe give its tears. Mma shrugs and say “I suppose it means that we can all give something. A giraffe has nothing else to give – only tears.” This is the book’s lesson: we do what we can to help each other.
It’s time to queue the next book in the series.
