When in need of an uplift there is no better medicine than an Alexander McCall Smith novel and especially if it is one in the ongoing series of No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency adventures. Where there is Mma Ramotswe, Mma Makutsi, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, Charlie, and Mma Potokwane, there is hope, kindness, gentle humor, and a veneration of nature that is guaranteed to bring you back from the pit of despair.
How to Raise an Elephant begins with the title reference problem. Charlie, the part-time not so competent employee, at the detective agency and Mma’s husband’s garage has a problem with moving a large object. He borrows Mma Ramotswe’s van and upon its return there is a crease in the tailgate and a strange smell. From here the detecting expands from the immediate problem into a consideration of how the habitats of Africa’s native wildlife are being pressured by farming and civilization. Minor problems do pop up along the way. A distant cousin of Mma Ramotswe approaches her to ask for money and there are reasons to think the relative might be a bit of a grafter. There is also a new neighbor who may or may not have marital troubles.
They all fold together into McCall-Smith’s gentle philosophy. Wisdom accrues as you live and with luck it will give you the judgment to get through life without too many disasters. You just can’t change people by shouting at them or making them feel bad about themselves. Immigrants just want a roof over their heads and an escape from war, violence, and poverty. Even large and heavy problems can be solved with a kindness and concern that allows people to change from within. In particular, humans must be careful with judgments because it is very easy to be entirely wrong. As Mma Makutsi, always the arch jumper to judgment, says to Mma Ramotswe toward the end of the book, “Mma, you’re right about being wrong.”
With that sentiment the world is put once more to right--at least for the moment. The rains arrive and bring life, growth, and healing to the parched lands.
(This volume would make a nice Christmas selection.)
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