Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith

Never have I appreciated the Third Person omniscient as much as I do when I read the stories from the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. There. I haven’t used such a sterile term to describe a book since my 8^th grade book reports. And yet, it does the job. This selection for “Point of View” is brilliant for an author who seems to understand humanity better than most. While this is the case in almost all this series, it is particularly delightful in Blue Shoes and Happiness, where each character inevitably has thoughts of the weaknesses of those around them. Their relationships are highlighted by these little insights which characters carry, but will never reveal. How much people know about us, but never say! And aren’t we grateful to them for it?

Mma Makutsi has a penchant for unpractical shoes, Mma Potokwane inevitably manipulates and bullies, but only for the good of the orphans, Phuti Radiphuti is more traditional than he lets on, and so on. These character flaws, clear to the reader, and especially within the thoughts of other characters, are never spoken aloud. How an ongoing theme of tact could possibly be as rewarding as McCall Smith makes it is beyond me. In this volume, the rule of tact is forgotten on one issue – Mma Ramotswe’s “traditional” and generous figure, and unhappiness results. Thank God for the comfort of friends when such unspoken rules are broken. Thank the old Botswana morality. These things are not important, after all.