Point of View

This novel is told by a third person narrator with the narration switching between several different characters of focus. The most frequently seen characters of focus are Ramotswe, Charlie, and Makutsi. The narrator reports the emotions and thoughts of each character in turn. Since there are several different storylines in play — the election, Charlie’s relationship with Queenie-Queenie, and the Marang investigation — it would be difficult to tell all of these stories from a single character’s point of view. For instance, Ramotswe is not involved at all in Charlie and Queenie-Queenie’s relationship so there is no way that she could serve as a first-person narrator. Other characters are similarly limited.

Because McCall Smith wants to focus on the relationships between Ramotswe, Makutsi, and Potokwane, and the way these women interact with each other, a third person narrator really works best to achieve that...