The titular cafe is an ill-considered business venture by Mma Makutsi, in which she is thoroughly taken advantage of and played the fool. The A-plot involves a woman who claims to be an amnesiac and whose identity Mma Ramotswe is hired to discover. And the side-plot involves both Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni and Mma Ramotswe not having enough money to keep all the recurring characters employed.
For one thing, at this point in the series, I don't like seeing beloved characters struggling. A story about Speedy Motors or the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency going out of business is not one I'm interested in reading. It's been a given that the detective agency is bumping along basically breaking even, but Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors has always been portrayed as a going concern. And I felt bad enough for Grace Makutsi back before her marriage when the glamorous and expensive headboard purchased for her marriage bed was ruined because her tiny apartment was too small to hold it; dashing her hopes and ambitions again is too cruel.
For another thing, all of the plots are solved, not by Mma Ramotswe or Mma Makutsi, but by Mma Potokwane. One doesn't read a Sherlock Holmes story to have Inspector LeStrade step in and save the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment