Life is in the details

by MICHELE VAN HESSEN
Sun Correspondent
*Archived May 2006 article

Prolific does not even begin to describe the talent of McCall Smith or "Sandy," as his friends know him. Born in Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe, he was educated in Africa and Scotland. He was a professor of medical law in Edinburgh, an international authority on genetics, and an advisor to UNESCO and the British government on bioethics. During his tenure as a law professor he helped to establish a law school in Botswana. He has written over fifty books. "Nothing really happens in my books, I think that people like books that deal with the little incidents of life. There's a lot of tea drinking, and that seems to strike a chord. It's the minutiae, the little rituals, the eating of cake. Often people say to me, 'Could you write more about tea scenes?' or 'We like the cake'" laughed McCall Smith. He calls himself "a serial writer for which there is no cure." When reading the manuscript for The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency his publisher suggested there ought to be a wedding. After the first four volumes about Mma Precious Ramotswe, the publisher suggested a working title for a novel Wedding as a reminder. There are now six volumes for this serial story. Precious Ramotswe and J. L. B. Matekoni are engaged, but with no immediate plans to get married. So, said McCall Smith, "There are about four more volumes to come."

Traveling all over the world has led this author to use a variety of locations for his work. "I think it is important for a writer to see other societies and attempt to understand them," said McCall Smith. "Of course," he continued, "you have to be careful. It is easy to get things wrong. One might put palm trees in the wrong place, for example in New York." He is continually working on seven serial novels. While in Hawaii he was working on The Right Attitude to Rain, the third book for the series that began with The Sunday Philosophy Club. McCall Smith's books are positive and have happy endings. When asked by a devoted reader why his writing is never negative, he replied, "There is enough going on in the world that authors don't need to help."

He has broken new ground in publishing a daily serial novel titled 44 Scotland Street for The Scotsman Newspaper. "I had subsequently mentioned in an article that it was a pity newspapers here didn't do serial novels and that is when the proposal came from The Scotsman," said McCall Smith. The editor of the paper thought it was rather a good idea and invited him to a meeting. "Over lunch I said it was quite a tall order to do a weekly installment which is when they said: 'Actually, we'd like it daily,'" McCall Smith smiled. "My agent said: 'You've agreed to what?' Then I discovered it was a very entertaining and enjoyable process. The characters just walked on to the stage uninvited. They flocked in. They were knocking on my door asking to be admitted," said the inspired narrative author.

In addition to writing McCall Smith plays in an amateur orchestra. "I am the co-founder. I play the bassoon, but not the entire instrument, as I dislike the very high notes and stop at the high D, which I think is quite high enough. This orchestra is pretty awful, and that is why it bears the name The Really Terrible Orchestra," said McCall laughing earnestly.

McCall Smith's fan mail includes a signed photograph from Laura Bush.

Clever, elegant and funny, McCall Smith is a writer that gives us novels that provide entertainment while sharing the moral dilemmas of everyday life.