44 Scotland Street: 44 Scotland Street Series (1)

Alexander McCall Smith has the rare talent of being able to see people as they see themselves. This ensemble book introduces us to many different characters, from a young woman searching for meaning in a life that seems out of control to an accidental philosopher to the hapless head of the Edinburgh Conservative party. Some are deep and interesting characters, others are simple and shallow. But whoever they are, when Smith describes their thoughts and actions even the characters who in the hands of another author would be contemptible are shown to be victims of their own foibles and outlook. That doesn't mean that there are no bad guys; Anyone who has known a lunkhead jock or over-ambitious mother will immediately recognize Bruce and Irene. But no one is a villain in their own mind, and the beauty of these books is that you can almost identify with everyone in them. Almost. Not quite though. "44 Scotland Street" was actually written as a newspaper serial, something that I haven't personally run into before. It was published in "The Scotsman" in Edinburgh in daily increments, and in the preface Smith points out that one consequence was that once a chapter was written, it could never be revised - it had been published and read already! He also points out that by publishing daily each chapter had to have a point of action, and to give the impression that more events were in the offing. Perhaps it's just my personal preference, but the pace that this forced was very enjoyable. It's not a novel with a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter, but it is a book where something happens every chapter. Smith seems to have enjoyed the experience enough to continue the stories in a second serial, which has now been collected together into "Espresso Tales". I for one definitely plan to buy it.

The already pronounced success stars have a great disadvantage - we expect the next act to be as great as the last. Never can a baseball slugger of fame be adequate when we attend the game - unless he hits a shot heard around the world. Never can the ballet dancer have an above average day when we patronage. Never can a beloved writer be just a head taller than the good writers we also occasionally read. McCall Smith is a proven writer, and beloved. The Botswana series has millions of reading minions, who inhale each novel religiously the week it comes out. I know one of those readers. See him every day in the mirror. And, then that writer occasionally throws out other stuff - get a fresh try at it. And, sometimes it is good - 44 Scotland Street. And, sometimes, it is not as good - the Isabel Dalhousie series (But on September 16 a new novel comes out and he may rebound, and how we hope he does rebound). Funny. Insightful. Depictive. And more. This novel handles a 5-year old [Bertie] and his all-too-aggressive mother [Irene] (who would make the most ardent soccer mom of the USA look like a pushover), a widowed and well traveled Scot who married an Indian [Domenica], a young girl experiencing her second year off [Pat] while working for the loser (but nice) rich boy [Matthew] and rooming with the narcissist hunk [Bruce] whose interest in his work as a surveyor under a boring boss and socialite wife is waning. The meetings of poor little Bertie with his shrink are hilarious. The introspection of Domenica is great. And, Matthew's befuddling self is both endearing and provocative of sympathy and tears for his ever lost self esteem. Each chapter is 3 pages long - probably as this was written for the newspaper's daily delivery. So, you can read one chapter and commence sleep with a smile. Alternatively, you can read 50 chapters and still have plenty left to read the next night. Either way, it makes for great bed stand reading. This one is worth turning the pages. Try it, you will like it.

I believe I've become addicted to Alexander McCall Smith's writing! Everything I read by him, I thoroughly enjoy. This book is very different than The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie series, and the Professor Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld series. Each has its own character, style and humor. This book is based on a daily newspaper serial, McCall Smith was asked to do after he brought up the subject in an article he wrote in the newspaper, The Herald, in Scotland. As usual, McCall Smith was up to the task and, I believe, is working on another serialized story that will eventually be put into book form. This book is about the motley crew who inhabit an apartment building on the edge of the Bohemian part of Edinburgh's New Town, 44 Scotland Street. There's Pat, the newest tenant, and from whose point of view the story is told;. Bruce Anderson, the gadabout narcissist who is sure every woman in the world adores him; the Pollack family, little Bertie, age 5, his pushy mother, Irene, and his long-suffering father, Stuart. Then we have wise and free-spirited Domenica Macdonald, a woman in her sixties, and another man, Mr. Syme, who stays to himself and is rarely seen by the others. Among the storylines are Pat's struggle with her growing attraction to flat mate Bruce, Bertie's acting out resulting from his growing resentment of his mother's efforts to make him grow up way before it's time; and Domenica and Pat's growing friendship. To support herself, Pat takes a job at an art gallery run by a mild-mannered, seemingly ineffectual, rich kid named Matthew, and a series of events unfold involving a painting. My favorite character turned out to be Bertie as he begins to rebel against the pressures brought to bear on him by his parents. The characters are a mix of personalities as one would expect, and the events portrayed are an equal mix of serious, kooky, and downright hilarious! I hope there will be more books about these characters. Carolyn Rowe Hill

I thoroughly enjoyed '44 Scotland Street' and couldn't put it down. Call it a guilty pleasure, or call it an absorbing glimpse into the lives of a variety of characters. It was like being a fly on the wall, watching Bruce preen in front of the bathroom mirror; I loved to loathe this guy, and how delicious to see him squirm through various situations. Yet even he was well-rounded enough to have some good in him, as you see him being kind to the boss's ugly duckling daughter. Many of these characters, Pat, Angus, Domenica and Matthew, felt like friends to me, probably because each segment was told from the point of view of it's character. Each chapter ended with a small cliffhanger that made you eager to continue to the next segment. If I had been reading this in the newspaper, as originally published, this would have tortured me! I really needed to read on for resolution. Finally, I really enjoyed seeing the little boy prodigy rebel against his horribly pushy mother and try to insist on living a normal life. Hooray for Bertie! And hooray for Alexander McCall Smith! I would rate this book right up there with the Mma Ramotswe books, and am hoping for a sequel soon.