Violet Sephotho as a political analogy?

Or was it an accidental analogy?

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Aisha: Number 17 in the series…

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Zahara: Of?

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Aisha: I’m talking about the Number One Ladies Detective Agency. The author claims to be non-political, but I can’t help but wonder about the ending of Precious and Grace.

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Zahara: Where Violet Sephotho wins the election by buying votes?

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Aisha: And he writes, “How could Botswana, of all places, choose as Woman of the Year a person as self-seeking as Violet Sephotho? Did people not realize? Were people such poor judges of character as to be unable to see Violet for what she was?”

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Zahara: Yes, but the reply is, “There are many things in this world that are not right.”

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Voice-over

Was it a coincidence that Precious and Grace appeared in September 2016 just before the U.S. elections were being decided? Did Alexander McCall Smith have a notion that the US presidential election would be won by Donald Trump overturning standards of decent behavior? Could he have been alluding to Hillary Clinton as being a self-seeking politician? Was he referring to what goes on in many other places in the world? Or did he intend no allegory at all?

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Quotes from and Quotes on "The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon"

Goodness shining through…

Mma Ramotswe: Everything is too complicated these days, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni. Everything is made to be thrown away rather than fixed.  It is all very wasteful. (warming to her theme)  When I think of what we made do with in the past, it makes me very sad.  If you found a hole in a sock, you darned it. If the handle came off a cup, you glued it back on.

Mr J.L.B. Matekoni: Yes. You never threw things away.  Nowadays, if something goes wrong, you throw it out of the window, just like that.

Mma Ramotswe: And people too. If you suddenly decide you don’t like somebody, you throw them out of the window too.

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Voice-over

It’s such a comfortable book. You warm to the characters as Mma Ramotswe warms to her theme. And the author in his turns of phrase (someone who has died is "late") and in his naming Mr J.L.B. Matekoni...

Reviewing the book on Goodreads, Jill Furedy wrote, “These books just make me happy…There are good and kind people who try to conduct themselves respectfully and honorably…These are not who-dun-its, but quiet stories, with an appreciation of life, love, family, and beauty."

A reader like me finds himself (or herself, to be “modern”) agreeing with what both the characters and reviewers say.

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Taste of Starbucks Coffee… in Asmara?

Asmara Stabas

Discussing a subject near and dear…

Eritrean: I’ve often thought Starbucks coffee tastes too strong, tastes burnt.

Ethiopian: I always thought their coffee had no aroma, had no taste.

Eritrean: Coffee is subjective. Take roasting. Some like it mild, some like it dark. Starbucks does it dark. Burnt, in my taste. Who likes burnt beans?

Ethiopian: Apparently some do.

Eritrean: We seem to be at odds. You think Stabas is tasteless. I think it doesn’t suit my taste. But we continue to meet here. Maybe the bulldozer of marketing buries the mouse of culture.

Ethiopian: Bulldozer? Mouse? Haven’t I heard that somewhere before?

Eritrean: Article on Tibet. Nothing to do with coffee. Have you ever tried Eritrean coffee? Mind-blowing.

Ethopian: Ethiopian light roast doesn’t taste so bad either.

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Voice-over
So we borrow. Usually unacknowledged as a shortcut to sounding original. But getting back to the taste of coffee. A topic on which everyone is an expert. Correction. A topic on which everyone has an opinion. Tastes vary. Widely. Wildly, even. Example here.
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