Book Review: The Miracle at Speedy Motors: A No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Novel by Alexander McCall Smith

Title: The Miracle at Speedy Motors: A No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Novel
Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Publisher: Hachette India, Hachette Book Group
Genre: Detective Fiction
ISBN: 978-0349119953
PP: 256 pages
Price: Rs. 295
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

Alexander McCall Smith’s novel, “The Miracle at Speedy Motors,” once again celebrates the everyday blessings that too many of us tend to take for granted: the love of our friends and relatives, our good health, the beauty of one’s native land, and the gratification that comes from doing our work well. Mma Ramotswe presides over the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Gaborone, Botswana. Her associate is the blunt Grace Makutski, who never fails to mention her score of ninety-seven percent on her final exams at the Botswana Secretarial College. Grace can be smug and patronizing, particularly when she addresses Charlie, the perpetually irritating apprentice of Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni. Mr. Matekoni is Mma Ramotswe’s sweet-natured and compassionate husband as well as the proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, where the detective agency occupies a small office. As always, Mma Ramotswe frequently quotes her hero, Clovis Anderson, who wrote “The Principles of Private Detection.” This treasured book is the source of much of Mma Ramotswe’s practical wisdom. As she drinks her refreshing morning cup of red bush tea, Mma Ramotswe ponders the case of an orphan, Manka Sebina, who wants to find out if she has any living relatives.

Another matter that gives Precious pause is her receipt of a series of anonymous letters that are both insulting and vaguely threatening. Could the reserved Mr. Polopetsi, the general assistant at the garage and their occasional helper at the agency, be the source of the disturbing missives? Another subplot deals with the purchase of a beautiful bed with a heart-shaped headboard by Grace’s fiancé, the kind gentleman, Phuti Radiphuti. Alas, the furniture brings Grace anguish instead of joy.

This novel has vivid and nicely delineated characters: Grace Makutsi is still ambitious and has an exalted opinion of her abilities. She prides herself on her organizational skills: “A tidy office is an efficient office,” she intones. Mma Potokwane, matron of the orphan farm, is a gold mine of information and the source of delicious fruit cakes that she barters for Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni’s assistance around the orphan farm. Mr. Matekoni is often called upon to repair an old water pump, a bus, a tractor, and other broken down pieces of machinery.

Mr. Matekoni and Mma Ramotswe share a house on Zebra Drive with their two foster children, a boy and girl named Puso and Motholeli. Puso is sometimes insecure and angry about his lot in life, and although Motholeli is confined to a wheel chair as a result of “transverse myelitis of the spinal cord,” she has a generally upbeat personality. Although Motholeli’s condition has been considered incurable until now, Mr. Matekoni learns that there is a doctor in Johannesberg who, against all odds, might enable his daughter to walk.

“The Miracle at Speedy Motors” is an amusing, touching, and gentle look at ordinary people who crave a meaningful connection with others and a purpose to their existence. There is a nostalgic bent to McCall Smith’s tribute to those dearly departed who are still with us in spirit, even after they become “late” (Botswanan vernacular for having passed away). I never fail to sigh when Precious longingly remembers her beloved father, Obed Ramotswe, whom everyone respected. “He was a very good man,” she says. “He loved his cattle. He loved his country.” Even such a seemingly small matter as seasonal rains takes on great significance in the parched land of Botswana. Rain is a boon for the people, animals, and the dried out crops, and when it comes, everyone cheers. After all is said and done, Mma Ramotswe recognizes that some problems can be solved and others are beyond repair, “but the holding of hands, human hand in human hand, could help, could make the world seem less broken.” What a lovely sentiment, so perfectly expressed.