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44 Scotland Street by: Alexander McCall Smith List Price: £6.99 City Travel Guides Price: £5.49 You Save: £1.50 (21%)Prices subject to change. |
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Binding: Paperback EAN: 9780349118970 ISBN: 0349118973 Label: Abacus Manufacturer: Abacus Number Of Pages: 336 Publication Date: August 11, 2005 Publisher: Abacus Release Date: August 11, 2005 Studio: Abacus Sales Rank: 2324 Related Items:
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Editorial Review: Review: 'It is hard to think of a contemporary writer more genuinely engaging...(his) novels are also extremely funny: I find it impossible to think about them without smiling' Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday 'A treasure of a writer whose books deserve immediate devouring' Marcel Berlins, Guardian Times, 20 August 2005: ‘Addicts of McCall Smith’s Precious Ramotswe novels will recognise the gentle humour … of his latest work’ Product Description: The story revolves around the comings and goings at No. 44 Scotland Street, a fictitious building in a real street in Edinburgh. Immediately recognisable are the Edinburgh chartered surveyor, stalwart of the Conservative Association, who dreams of membership of Scotland's most exclusive golf club. We have the pushy Stockbridge mother, and her prodigiously talented five-year-old son, who is making good progress with the saxophone and with his Italian. Then there is Domenica Macdonald who is that type of Edinburgh lady who sees herself as a citizen of a broader intellectual world. In McCall Smith's hands such characters retain charm and novelty, simultaneously arousing both mirth and empathy. 44 Scotland Street is vintage McCall Smith, tackling issues of trust and honesty, snobbery and hypocrisy, love and loss, but all with great lightness of touch. Clever, elegant and funny, this is a novel that provides huge entertainment but which is underpinned by the moral dilemmas of everyday life and the characters' struggles to resolve them. Synopsis: The story revolves around the comings and goings at No. 44 Scotland Street, a fictitious building in a real street in Edinburgh. Immediately recognisable are the Edinburgh chartered surveyor, stalwart of the Conservative Association, who dreams of membership of Scotland's most exclusive golf club. We have the pushy Stockbridge mother, and her prodigiously talented five-year-old son, who is making good progress with the saxophone and with his Italian. Then there is Domenica Macdonald who is that type of Edinburgh lady who sees herself as a citizen of a broader intellectual world. In McCall Smith's hands such characters retain charm and novelty, simultaneously arousing both mirth and empathy. 44 Scotland Street is vintage McCall Smith, tackling issues of trust and honesty, snobbery and hypocrisy, love and loss, but all with great lightness of touch. Clever, elegant and funny, this is a novel that provides huge entertainment but which is underpinned by the moral dilemmas of everyday life and the characters' struggles to resolve them. About the Author: McCall Smith is a Professor of Medical Law as well as an author who has written over 50 books on a wide range of subjects: from Forensic Aspects of Sleep to The Criminal Law of Botswana, The Perfect Hamburger (children's fiction) to The 2 1/2 Pillars of Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Life as we know it?Alexander McCall Smith has the happy knack of writing novels which are light and fun without being trashy - and the short chapters of the Scotland Street novels make them perfect for the daily commute. It's refreshing to read a novel which doesn't depend upon Big Dramatic Events to keep things moving. Instead we just get the minutiae of day-to-day middle-class life in Edinburgh and the everyday thoughts, feelings, doubts and joys of some if its inhabitants. Especially amusing is pushy mother Irene and her unfortunate 'project child' Bertie. Rating: - Delightful slice of Edinburgh middle class lifeThis is gentle satire of Edinburgh middle-class Edinburgh life and being born and bred in the city I really enjoyed all the familiar landmarks and streets as well as the depictions of the foibles and prejudices of residents. The characters really come to life in the interweaving of the events that bring them together. There are some very funny scenes, especially concerning the child prodigy, Bertie. I'm looking forward to reading the follow-up books in the series to see what happens to them all. Rating:  - The Emperor's New Clothes....More and more I find that the hype for films and books way, way exceed the actual product - and this book is yet another example of this. Admittedly some sections were entertaining but, on the whole, the writing is dreary and concentrates on a bunch of self-absorbed people. Perhaps a matter of personal taste. I found the characters annoying and trite - a narcissistic former tenant of 44 Scotland Street, daddy's little rich girl, a feeble art gallery owner etc etc. The most interesting character is probably Cyril the dog. Probably would have been more interesting if Cyril had contracted rabies and bitten them all. My personal opinion and I doubt I will be reading another McCall Smith book. Rating:  - snooze-fest.this book was bought for me so i thought i'd better read it, but i wish i hadn't bothered! i very rarely give up on books ut i came close with this one several times. after giving it several "last chances" i wish i'd gone with my first thoughts and not bothered! the only parts i came close to enjoying were the bits about "the child genius" which were mildly amusing, but otherwise a load of rubbish! Rating: - A Great MixHaving only discovered this author through watching the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency on the television - oh what a find. I have started with this set of Alexander McCall Smith books. The characters are warm and interesting, who all make up the foundations of the house in Scotland Street. Pat was slightly dysfunctional and I thought at times very awkward within the book. Perhaps that is why she is on her second gap year. Bruce makes you want to despise every man ever living, but you know he is like a scratch annoying when you have got it but you just have to itch it. I hope he gets some sort of justice - perhaps his move into wine might be the down fall for him? Bertie was the strongest that shone through ... Read More: |
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