How to Raise an Elephant

No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Book 21

By: Alexander McCall Smith

Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh

Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

The next book in the perennially adored No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series sees Precious Ramotswe calling upon all her maternal instincts when she's faced with a two-ton case.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, but can Mma. Ramotswe and the rest of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency come together to raise a pipsqueak pachyderm? We may find out in this novel. We may not. Who can say?

©2020 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2020 Recorded Books

Horrible Narration - Won't finish listening

The Narrators own voice is fine, but the voices used for the books characters is very harsh. It somehow manages to be grating, shrill, gruff and squeaky all at once. The women's voices all sound dry and raspy as well, both Precious and Grace sound like they are over one hundred years old. Its just too much of a distraction to focus on the actual story.

Audible should refund everyone who purchased this book. The narration is beyond unacceptable.

Prepare Yourself

We have been spoiled. We were drawn to Botswana and the life of Mma Ramotswe written with beauty and heart by Alexander McCall Smith. The experience was enhanced with the voice of Lissette Lecat whose words gently rocked us with their melodic tones. It was a delicious experience time after time. This book lacks that because a different narrator was used. although I am sure she did the best of her ability, it was jarring. several voices sounded alike. she voiced Mma Potokwani and Charlie so that they sounded like an old parrot asking for a cracker. Other voices grated or just sounded wrong. again, we are used to Lisette Lecat. Smith guided us through the life of the people associated with the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency as only he can. That remained true. The performance, not so much.

Author on autopilot, Screechy narrator

I’ll start with the narrator, because that’s the thing that bothered me the most about this audiobook. She has a lovely speaking voice. I’m not sure why she, or the editor of this audiobook, did not give it a listen before unleashing it on unsuspecting audiences.

Mma Romotswe’s voice was fine, but every other character sounded exactly the same—chalk on a blackboard. Mma Makutsi and Charlie sound just alike and their screeching made this book almost painful to listen to. I missed the old narrator. Ms. Andoh has a beautiful voice. She could be a great narrator, but she needs to learn to modulate her voice and the editor should be fired for this version.

As for the story, it’s always nice to be back with old familiar characters, but the author (in all his series) absolutely has to dwell on “reverse discrimination” (usually against men) and it is getting quite tiresome. I really felt that there was very little effort in this book and that’s disappointing as I am a long time fan.

Narrator Ruins Book

Be sure to read a paper copy of this one. I am a huge Alexander McCall Smith fan I love all the Number Ine Ladies Detective agency books. But this narrator is AWFUL. The voices she uses for the individual characters are grating. I couldn’t finish the audio version.

Did not enjoy new narrator!

I have listened to every one of these books, and have loved them for the simple, gentle stories and lovely narration. Probably won’t listen to future books in this series-difficult to listen to the high, squealy voice.

Enjoyed it very much

Always thrilled when there's a new addition to this series. Did get used to the new narrator, and by midway through the book quite enjoyed listening. Am thinking any narrator would have had a hard act to follow, since those of us who have been listening to Lisette Lecat for years and years have grown to identify these books with Ms. Lecat's wonderful reading.

Miss Liset Lecat

Cute story, I was disappointed with some of the characters voices they were too sharp for the characters personalities. And some were too similar to one another and one cannot tell characters apart by the voices. The narrator voice was the most pleasant.

story is good, narrarated voices not so much

Narrator regular voice is fine but the character voices are screeched and clipped. Hard to listen.

Hard on the Ears

I want to start by saying that the story was great, as have all in this series thus far. The new narrator, Adjoa Andoh, however, was awful. The narration was fine, but the dialogue! Imagine a fork scraping across a plate and forming words. It took so much effort for me to trudge my way through the story. About halfway through, Ms. Andoh seemed to improve and relax into the characters a bit and I was able to finish without too much difficulty. I wouldn't mind getting my credit back on this one.

Another great story

As a fan of Alexander McCall Smith and the Number One Ladies Detective Agency, I always look forward the the next book in the series and this one did not disappoint. It’s always nice to slip into Botswana and re-engage with these beloved characters.