So for the past few months I’ve been listening to books more than reading them. I could have kept track of the Camillieri mysteries I had listened to but I grew frustrated with their misogyny and finally gave up on them. Then began a much happier streak of listening to the audio versions of Donna Leon’s Brunetti’s series set in Venice. I really enjoy them although I read them already so they don’t count for this exercise. By the way, the German television version of the novels are fun but it is weird reading english subtitles to German speech set in Venice.
As I began to despair that I would ever be able to concentrate on anything longer than a magazine article again I remembered that I had another of Smith’s Botswana novels, number 18 in the series, The House of Unexpected Sisters. In this one the case seems even less important than in earlier books. Instead the heart of the novel is Mma Ramotswe’s searching into the truth of her own family. It is a gentle and kind and lovely story and in a time when much of what is happening is anxiety producing it was good to spend several hours in Precious’ company.
60 Before 60 