Await the travelling Scotsman and his cheery whodunits
Alexander McCall Smith: One of the headliners of GLF 2024
As the trail to the Galle Literary Festival hots up, we talk to Alexander McCall Smith, the amazingly prolific Scottish author and creator of the celebrated No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series among others; a gentle humourist and longstanding enthusiast of our Dutch fort and the festival.
Having been part of the GLF almost from its inception, for Smith the GLF is special given his love for travelling. This year, he will hone in on On Community in Stories, given his penchant for cosy community spirit whether in Botswana (where the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency is set) or Scotland. Smith will be joined by Balli Kaur Jaswal, Amanthi Harris and Artika Bakshi.
He will also unveil the secrets of his prolificacy on a talk titled Hundred Books and Counting, with Hen Tatham.
What do you feel about returning to the GLF? What impressions have previous visits left?
A: I am looking forward immensely to being back at the GLF. This, in my view, is one of the most engaging literary festivals in the world. The setting is superb and the atmosphere is perfect. I particularly like the scale of the events, which allow for personal contact between writers and readers.
There are many types of whodunits – yours is more jovial and cheery. Is this an original approach? Who would you say are your predecessors (i.e. other mystery writers of the same type)? What other writers do you admire?
A. I write a wide variety of novels. My books are not really crime fiction, as they do not feature criminal conduct, and certainly steer clear of homicide, which is the bread and butter of the traditional crime novel. My No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series is about issues in people’s lives that require resolution. Mma Ramotswe, the detective, is more of a helpful friend than a sleuth! So the books are pretty gentle, concerned with issues of personal relationships and so on.
I read widely. Writers I particularly admire are Graham Greene and R.K. Narayan. Narayan was quite an inspiration, and I think I would not have been able to write the Mma Ramotswe books had I not read Narayan’s charming novels. Another literary influence is W.H. Auden, a poet with a most humane voice.
Do you prefer the East African savannah to your native Scotland- more of a lover of the arid bush and the warm people you depict in Precious Ramotswe books?
A: I respond warmly to a variety of landscapes. I have great affection for Africa, but I have a similar feeling for the Scottish landscape. I am very affected, too, by the landscape of Sri Lanka, which I find intensely beautiful.
Can we speak about your love for the exotic and travelling? This must be a main source that feeds your books? Where have you travelled and what places have left indelible marks?
A: I have been fortunate in being able to travel quite widely. There are one or two places that I should still like to see. I would like, for example, to see a bit more of South America.
Despite a somewhat late start you have been really prolific. Do you ever feel drained after putting so much of yourself on to paper?
A: If I spend more than two or three hours writing, I can feel a bit drained. Mind you, when I am writing, I find that time passes extraordinarily quickly. An hour passes in no time at all. I think that is because when I am writing I am in an altered state of consciousness. I write quite quickly – one thousand words an hour.
Agatha Christie was very proud of her non-genre novels but it was the whodunits that became hits. What do you enjoy more and cherish more- your genre fiction, novels or children’s writing? What do you think were more successful?
A: I enjoy all the forms of writing that I do. I think I have a different voice for each sort of book. I write series of books, of course, and that is a process that involves a particular technique. I enjoy that: when one sits down to write the next instalment, one is meeting characters whom one already knows.
Do all your books stem from personal experiences? Can we examine some of your major series/books vis-à-vis inspiration?
A: Personal experience always ends up in a writer’s work. It does not appear in its original form, so to speak: it is often mediated by thought and reflection. As one goes through life, one encounters many different human types, and that obviously appears on the page in some form.
The Galle Literary Festival is on from January 25-28. Please see galleliteraryfestival.com
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