Alexander McCall Smith: The House of Unexpected Sisters
Že osemnajsta po vrsti, a zato nič manj duhovita. Tudi tokrat je govora o tradicionalni grajenosti, oboževanem bocvanskem govedu ter takšnih in drugačnih medsebojnih človeških odnosih, s poudarkom na tistih med ženskami. Ne manjka niti koristnih življenjskih modrosti. Za lahkotno večerno branje ob kosu slastnega sadnega kolača. Sedemindevetdeset procentov plus.
“The size of the van was an issue: Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni had long ago installed an old-fashioned bench seat that would allow the seating of two passengers, along with the driver – or, rather, would allow that where all three were of moderate size. Mma Ramotswe, however, being traditionally built, required slightly more room than the average driver – in fact, a full eight inches more room, and this meant that she overflowed – in the nicest possible sense – into the space that would be occupied by the passenger in the middle.
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In Botswana, that was the most uncontroversial of comments. Nobody would disagree with any sentiment in favour of rain, nor could they express anything but sympathy for cattle. Cattle had no vote, nor the words to express a view, but their feelings ranked above just about everything else in the country.
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Anybody in any employment in Botswana was expected to engage somebody to help in the house. There was nothing extravagant about this; it was, in fact, a form of sharing: if you had a job, you had money, and money needed to be spread around.
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‘[…] sometimes it’s not easy to say the things we need to say. It is not easy – maybe even impossible – because we are weak. All of us. We try to be strong, but we are weak.’ She paused. ‘If I may say so, Mma – that is well known.”