Customer Reviews

The Careful Use of Compliments: Book 4

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The moment I finished this book I wanted to share my enjoyment in it. I've never felt inclined to write a review before despite my constant reading. There are many other impassioned readers and I trust that they will write about those books they find deeply moving. Reading this book has been that way for me. I read the earlier Dalhousie books because I trusted the author, and was waiting to see where he would take me. I found them quietly enjoyable, with interesting themes, but the heroine sometimes felt restricted and thin. I now feel rewarded for my patience.
This novel succeeded in bringing to life thoughts and ideas more engagingly and profoundly for me than any of the previous volumes in this series. I've read all of Alexander McCall Smith's other books, and enjoyed them as gentle and sweet tales. I laughed out loud at his German professors and smiled when his African detective came to her elegant understanding of human nature. I've enjoyed all the stories about Scotland, precisely because the author demonstrates such an understanding of human foibles, while showing affection for his characters. This volume is the first one that touched me on a deeper level. I still enjoyed the discussion of philosophy, but finally believe that Isobel is experiencing life, and through her I felt joy.
This latest book of Mr. McCall Smith's, "The Careful Use of Compliments" combines some of my favorite themes from his other series. The machinations of the intellectually insecure professor, the wonderful observations of human nature in all of its glory, and the posing of a mystery to be solved are all done cleverly. But it is the added depth of feeling, between mother and child, between Isobel and Jamie, and the development of Isobel as a more thoughtful, forgiving and appealing character that brings the book to life. Her sweetness shines forth, altering subtly the dry, more scholarly existence she'd previously chosen and I found the process deeply convincing and wonderful. I'm so glad I bought it, and will be giving it to friends and family to read. I don't recommend books lightly, but this one will engage members of my circle from 21 to 78, provoking discussion and hopefully a measure of enlightenment.

This is the fourth book in the Isabel Dalhousie series. Large sections of the novels, consist of Isabel's internal dialogue. As readers, we get the opportunity to experience the world as seen through the lens of the moral philosopher. Isabel's inner world is as at the very heart of the novels.

However, in this fourth novel, Isabel's world has radically changed. She now has a son and a new lover. She is no longer the middle aged philosopher who lives alone in a large house. Yet, the novel continues to be centered on Isabel's internal life. There are now two new people who are integral to her daily life. Yet, there is only the slightest interaction between Isabel, Charlie and Jamie. They are almost completely absent from her internal life. This lack of day to day emotional and physical interaction, makes this story less believable to me.

Finally, I would recommend the Audio CD to anyone with an interest in this book. As an American, we rarely get the chance to hear the full range of Scottish accents. When I think of Scottish accents, the stereotypical Scottie from Star Trek immediately pops into mind. Davina Porter is such a talented narrator that she is able to recreate the many different dialects that one finds in Scotland. The rich differences between county and city and educated and working class accents are a real pleasure to hear. Davina Porter's fine narration alone, adds another star to the book.

This book is quite the page-turner. The story focuses on a few main points: Isabel as a mother, Cat and Isabel's strained relationship, a painting which appears a fraud, and Isabel's editorial position which has always seemed a certainty and now suddenly disappears. Everything seems finely meshed together in this story--with change being the overall theme. How we react to and recover from major changes in our lives...this is what Isabel does--react and recover. The relationship that Isabel has with Jamie seems perfectly portrayed here as one in which neither person says exactly what they mean or truly trusts the other fully enough to be honest in a situation where there is a question as to why one remains. Their conversations go from seemingly flowing to almost painful, especially when their discussion involves Cat. This book is fascinating and the author really does a fine job of fleshing out this character. She questions everything...herself, the life she has chosen, big debates and little moments of pondering...Isabel is ever the philosopher and just when I think I fully understand her she does something that amazes me and explains it all away until I see all sides to every issue brought up. That's the wonder of these books. There is never a clear cut black and white issue. We may be on one side or another but everything is weighed and weighted...it's really extraordinary and as always a fascinating read!

The Careful Use of Compliments (2007) is the fourth mystery novel in the Isabel Dalhousie series, following The Right Attitude to Rain. In the previous volume, Isabel Dalhousie found a lover and broke up an engagement. She also became pregnant.

In this novel, Andrew McInnes was a painter who lived and died on the island of Jura. Isabel has a McInnes painting along her stairway. Then she sees an offering of a larger piece on the same subject and goes to view it at the auction house.

Guy Peploe is a friend of Isabel and the co-owner of an art gallery. She had seen him at the auction and later he calls her with news of another McInnes painting that he has recently acquired. Isabel goes to view it and believes it to be a McInnes work.

Professor Lettuce -- chairman of editorial board for the Review of Applied Ethics -- writes a letter to Isabel stating that she is being replaced by Christopher Dove at the end of the year. He first mentions the increase in subscriptions under her purview as the editor of the Review and finishes with a hand-written note about the recent death of a reviewer. Isabel decides Lettuce is feeling rather guilty about his contributions to this putsch.

Christopher Dove comes to visit Isabel to discuss the transition. While he is there, her niece Cat comes to return the sweater that Isabel had left at her flat. Dove and Cat have a very friendly conversation and Dove stays over the weekend.

In this story, Isabel decides to bid on the first painting, but something about it puzzles her. She allows herself to be outbid by a neighbor, Walter Buie. She also has some questions about the second painting.

Isabel travels to Jura -- where McInnes had died eight years before -- and visits Barnhill, the house where George Orwell wrote 1984. There she finds something that convinces her that the paintings were done by someone other than McInnes. She passes her findings on to Guy and he agrees to check on the matter.

Cat is having problems with jealousy about Isabel and Jamie. She insists that Isabel stole Jamie from her, but Isabel knows that Cat had already rejected Jamie despite his efforts to return to her good graces. Isabel cannot seem to talk to Cat without fanning the flames.

This tale is mostly about personal relationships and the moral obligations that those incur. Isabel wonders about moral impartialism; could anyone be completely even-handed in their actions and should they be? She firmly believes in social justice, but is also uncertain whether the government can provide it.

Everything she does seemingly provokes her moral senses. Isabel has been told often that she thinks too much. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for McCall Smith fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of Scottish society, ethical problems, and a middle-aged mother.

-Bill Jordin

The Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander Mccall Smith is the most recent entry in the Isabel Dalhousie mystery series. Isabel's son, Charlie, by her friend/lover Jamie has been born and has brought about many changes to her household. Cat, Isabel's niece and Jamie's former girlfriend, has given the new family the cold shoulder, especially Charlie. Jamie and Isabel take a weekend trip to northern Scotland, and Isabel discovers a mystery in two paintings recently come to auction by a deceased artist. She also loses her job as editor of a small philosophy journal, and with all of these changes in her life finds herself on shifting ground. Smith seems to be regarding the transiency of life in this delightful novel. Isabel is lost in love with her new son and finds herself contemplating how quickly life passes. As always, she debates moral arguments of all sorts in her mind and tries to practice being the best person she can. She brings up interesting questions about the responsibility of those with great wealth and how they should be taxed. I really love reading Smith's works. They engage the mind and soul with realistic characters facing everyday problems and struggling to make their little corner of the world a better place. Isabel could easily be accused of being a nosy busybody, but her every act is taken with great thought and in love.

Well, well, well. Perhaps I've learned the secret to enjoying the Isabel Dalhousie mystery series.

Skip a few.

I, like many other Alexander Mccall Smith fans, thoroughly enjoyed (and still enjoy) The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. So when The Sunday Philosophy Club was published, the first of the Isabel Dalhousie sagas, I consumed it eagerly.

Underwhelming came to mind.

Then, like a moth to a candle, Friends, Lovers, Chocolate came out. I couldn't help myself. I gave it a 3-star review, and thought I was saying goodbye to Isabel, friend Jamie, Cat (that pesky niece of Isabel), and the Review of Applied Ethics, which Isabel edited.

The next book, The Right Attitude to Rain, didn't get a glance at the bookstore.

And then, I noticed the newest edition: The Careful Use of Compliments. Isabel has a baby? The father is Jamie, Cat's ex-boyfriend? WHAT? That volume of The Right Attitude to Rain must have picked things up a bit.

In The Careful Use of Compliments, Isabel is a new mother of a bottle-fed three month old, Jamie is still infatuated with older women and is over Cat, Cat is not forgiving her aunt for having a baby with (gasp) HER old boyfriend. The Review of Applied Ethics picks up to new levels of intrigue with a change in personnel and, in between all this, Isabel is involved in a mysterious case involving a deceased Scottish painter and some rather newer paintings... perhaps too new.

What I can't tell you is whether this would make any sense without the benefit of catching at least one of the earlier novels. Nevertheless, I enjoyed The Careful Use of Compliments more than any other Isabel Dalhousie novel. That means I will certainly pick up the next one and give it a look.

And if it doesn't catch my interest? I'll try out the "every other volume" strategy. It worked this time.

This fourth novel in Alexander McCall Smith's The Sunday Philosophy Club series takes Isabel Dalhousie into new territory; since the last book she has become mother to infant Charlie and lover of the young musician Jamie, Charlie's father. Isabel is editor of "The Journal of Applied Ethics" and lives a quiet life in Edinburgh -- except when her pursuit of the morally right thing takes her deep into other people's business.

The early part of the book focuses on Isabel's unexpected ousting as editor, victim of a coup by a Londoner named Christopher Dove. Isabel, being independently wealthy, doesn't need the pittance she earns from the job but as usual she can't leave a wrong unrighted -- you may admire her swift and definitive method of dealing with the situation.

Like the other Dalhousie books, this one features a mystery though rather a little one. At an art auction Isabel bids on a painting by a Scottish landscape artist named McInnes who drowned eight years before. Something doesn't ring true about the painting and she sets off with Jamie and Charlie to the Inner Hebrides island of Jura where McInnes is said to have drowned. No thread is left untugged as Isabel unravels the truth. The secret behind the painting's provenance is just the kind of thing to fascinate Isabel, though for the reader the greater interest is watching her methods and meanderings.

Isabel is prone to quoting from her favorite poet -- Auden -- and making up punning crossword clues to keep calm when her housekeeper Grace is in full spate; she gives a lot of thought to right and wrong and doesn't seem capable of taking the easy option. Jamie and wee Charlie take some of her time and attention -- though less than we might reasonably expect. The story is planted firmly in her point of view.
The Careful Use of Compliments (Sunday Philosophy Club) has a charm that's hard to convey so you should read it for yourself. Isabel has a more distant feel than the much-loved Mma Precious Ramotswe of the Ladies Detective Agency series, but spending a couple of hours wandering the streets of Edinburgh with a moral philosopher is surprisingly entertaining.

Linda Bulger, 2008

"The Careful Use of Compliments" is the fourth and latest book in the Sunday Philosophy Club series. It picks up a year after "The Right Attitude to Rain". Isabel and Jamie now have a 3 month old son, Charlie - although they are still living in separate residences and are not necessarily committed to one another. Isabel's relationship with her niece Cat has been strained by the double whammy of the hook up with Jamie and arrival of Charlie.

Like the other books in the series, there is a mystery afoot. Isabel becomes intrigued by a painting which may or may not be a forgery. The artist died in an apparent suicide several years previously and she starts to wonder if his death was as straightforward as it seems. However this mystery only really takes over in the latter half of the book. The first part is very much about Isabel's relationships with Jamie, Charlie and Cat, as well as her scheming to retain her position as editor of the Review of Applied Ethics.

The thing I particularly like about the Isabel Dalhousie books is Isabel's lovely observations about life, and this book is rich in that regard. I love the way she gets me to think about everyday things in a way that I never have before: what is meant by everyday expressions, or how dentists are unappreciated by society, or the significance of the stamps that we use on our correspondance.

I felt that the series lost its way with the third book, but "The Careful Use of Compliments" brings it back on track. If you haven't read the others in the series, this is probably not a good place to start as it relies on knowing what has gone before. But if you are a fan of the series - as I am - you will find this is a very pleasing addition.

The Careful Use of Compliments shows us Isabel Dalhousie, the practical philosopher of Edinburgh, as she grapples with becoming the unmarried mother of Charlie, keeping Charlie's father Jamie in her life, re-establishing her relationship with her niece Cat (who is miffed that her aunt has borne a child by Cat's ex-boyfriend), fending off a hostile takeover of her editorship of the Review of Applied Ethics, and checking out the authenticity of some paintings that attract her attention. In the course of these joys and trials, Isabel steers close to her notion that people who mean well should act ethically . . . even when it is to their disadvantage to do so. In the process, she learns that a careful use of compliments can open up doors to valuable information and perspectives.

Although Isabel and Jamie, her young lover, share parenthood of the adorable Charlie, they don't share as many other things as they should . . . including trust in one another. Jamie proposes marriage, but Isabel doesn't trust him to mean it. Jamie wants to know how much money Isabel has after she contemplates spending 25,000 pounds on a painting . . . and is chagrined to learn how wealthy she is. Jamie doesn't like Isabel's meddling so she keeps some of it to herself.

Isabel is also on a voyage of self discovery. When a ladder-climbing academic engineers her downfall as editor of her beloved Review, Isabel is shocked by her competitive reaction and what she does based on it. Isabel becomes jealous of Grace (her housekeeper) and her attempts to take good care of Charlie. Isabel is downright annoyed when Cat looks longingly at the covetous academic who is her enemy.

Ultimately, her meddling uncovers a secret she isn't supposed to know . . . and reveals a wrong that needs to be righted. Naturally, Isabel digs in to do the right thing.

The book moves smoothly and covers more interesting ground than many of the earlier books did. Isabel is a little more human and not quite so reluctant to stake her claim on the beloved Jamie.

I found it to be a quick and enjoyable read that left me wanting to see if Isabel and Jamie can build more common ground . . . at least for Charlie's sake.

I picked up The Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith a short time back at the library. I had read the previous three Isabel Dalhousie novels while on a cruise last year, and although the pace was "leisurely", I was curious as to what Dalhousie's pregnancy would mean to her relationship with Jamie. I now know, and I don't think I'll be reading any more of the series. The pace is getting to be a bit too slow, and I have far too many other books I should be reading...

In the last novel of the series, Isabel announces to Jamie (her young lover) that she's pregnant. This novel starts out with her and the baby living in Isabel's house, and Jamie still maintaining a separate residence. He proposes to Isabel, but she's not sure she wants him to feel forced into a marriage so soon. He *does* love the baby and spends a great deal of time at Isabel's place, but Isabel's ever-churning philosophical mind comes up with a thousand reasons why she shouldn't accept the proposal. The general plot that drives this installment is Isabel's curiosity over whether two paintings by an artist thought to be dead are real or forgeries. She can't resist her urge to dig into the situation, and ends up battling some philosophical issues when he uncovers the real story. The secondary plot involves her job as editor for an ethics journal. She's been ousted from the position by two members of the editorial board, and she's less than thrilled to lose the job in that particular fashion. The question becomes what will she do about it, and will she be able to ethically reconcile her actions in her own mind.

To be fair, I knew what I'd be getting when I started reading. The Dalhousie series travels at a very "relaxed" pace, and there are constant interjections of ethics and philosophy over even the smallest things. If it hadn't been for the straight readthrough of the previous three at one time, I'm not sure I would have kept going to the end. This installment, read after nearly a year's separation from the first three, tended to drag out more than I liked. I still like the 44 Scotland Street series, and I'm not soured on Smith as an author. I just don't think this series is quite my cup of tea...