The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
By Alexander McCall Smith
1998
Rhodesian born European McCall Smith somehow channels Oprah Winfrey into an entrepeneurial African Native in a successful emerging free market democracy. Mma Ramotswe is a businesswoman, make no doubt about it. And her P-I business gives McCall Smith a platform of social commentary.
One of those lessons is that men are dogs, and this can be tiring in traditional english literature. However these flaws are well presented here. I'm not enough of an African expert to say whether the profile of character here is one central to the success of this African nation, but if so, this is truly a guiding work.
Certainly quite the opposite effect to what Christine Gregoire is doing to the State of Washington right now.