Customer Reviews

Espresso Tales

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Once again, McCall Smith takes us to visit with the 44 Scotland Street neighborhood. This time, we learn much more about Bertie - the extremely precocious 6-year old - and his conflicts with his incredibly clingy mother Irene. And, we actually hear his father speak up and do something other than read the newspaper. The meetings with Bertie's psychiatrist are again entertaining as is the doctor's attempt to reach catharsis with his most famous patient.

And, we hear Domenica speak about globalization. Matthew shows us he can do something right, and then we meet his father and his potential nuptial mate. Cyrus' dog bites the people who deserve it. Cyrus gives a great party at the end. Pat, after two gap years, decides to attend university. Bruce as a failed person fails in business - or does he? And more.

But, McCall Smith tells us he wrote this book to find closure from the previous book "44 Scotland Street." Here he failed. And, failed miserably. And, thank our lucky stars he is such a failure.

This group of eccentrics is fast making books which rival his beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. At the end, we ask for more. What is going to happen to Domenica in her quest to seek pirates? Or, what will happen to Bruce in London? Or, how is Pat going to handle her first year at university after not one, but two, gap years? And, will Matthew accept his father's new bride, if there is to even be one?

If you are thinking of reading this book, do so. But, I highly recommend that you first read "44 Scotland Street" so as to acquaint yourself to the characters and their surroundings.

I thoroughly enjoyed Espresso Tales, Alexander McCall Smith's followup to 44 Scotland Street...and I can't wait to read the next book in the series, which he is now writing.

I thought 44 Scotland Street was weakened a little by the sheer number of characters, but here the focus seemed tighter. We get to reunite with Bertie, the boy genius who just wants to be a regular kid; Bruce, the indefatigable narcissist; Pat, the understated gallery worker/college student; Matthew, who has now made a profit at the gallery, and has his gentle eye on Pat; Domenica, the sharp-tongued elderly woman who may be a porteparole for McCall Smith himself; and Angus, the eccentric painter whose dog, Cyril, gets a charming chapter of his own.

Everything that happened to these characters just seemed right, and it was such an enjoyable ride.

Mccall Smith is truly amazing. He has at least four book series going and all contain strikingly original and interesting characters. I happened to like the "Espresso Tales" sequel to "44 Scotland Street" somewhat better than the original. It's got more piquancy and snap and its ironies are sharper and often funnier. The resolutions of Bernie the Kid's painful problems with his yuppie mother and his much hated psychologist are delicious, but there are a host of other comeuppances that Mccall Smith hilariously tosses in here that are wonderful. This is a great airplane read--which is appropriate, since it is said that the author often creates most of these short novels on transatlantic flights of his own.

There's only one reason to buy this sequel to 44 Scotland Street - to see what happens to Bertie. Otherwise it adds little to the tales already told, and the new characters are boring, to say the least. I was suprised to find I didn't like it - it's the only Smith book I haven't totally enjoyed so far. Anything but this, that's what I recommend.

Espresso Tales was first published as daily installment's in the conservative newspaper, "The Scotsman". The novel follows the daily lives of an ensemble group of middle class Edinburgh neighbors. At its core, Espresso Tales is a novel of Edinburgh written for the people of Edinburgh. The book is filled with the inside references and observations that McCall Smith's neighbors must have delighted in.

Alexander McCall Smith is a great craftsman who specializes in the philosophical problems of ordinary life. However, I think his wise pen is best used when directed towards a lady detective in Botswana or linguistics professors in Germany. There is something about writing about his own backyard which fills McCall Smith with the need to preach to his neighbors. There is always the sense that McCall Smith is preaching to a conservative choir of loyal Scotsman readers.

Espresso Tales is a pleasant read with many charming chapters. Alexander McCall Smith has a winning personality and it is hard not to like his many books. However, if a reader is new to Alexander McCall Smith, this is not the first of his books to read. Start with the Number One Lady Detective Series and then move onto the sublime Portuguese Irregular Verb series.

I have read few books that are so well written. This book is enjoyable for the story line and the characters, but almost more enjoyable for McCall Smith's masterful writing. I savor every sentence for its humor and whimsy. He also has great insight into human nature and paints our idiosyncrasies in a kinder light that makes the reader feel more inclined to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

This is the second in a series, and if you liked the first, you'll like this one. As with 44 Scotland Street, I found myself laughing out loud in places. The stories are quirky and funny and full of Alexander McCall Smith's usual wise (and never cliche) observations about humanity. In a few places, you get the feeling that the author is pontificating through the voice of one character, Domenica, but Alexander/Domenica are so on target, one doesn't mind. Bertie, the victim of an overbearing and psychologically-confused mother, gets more play in this series (and a bit of justice, finally) as does Ramsey Dunbarton, whose "memoirs" occupy half-a-dozen chapters. Dunbarton manages to be the most unintentionally hilarious character I've ever encountered in a book. You'd never want to be seated next to him at a dinner party, but from the safe perspective of literature, he's a hoot.

Espresso Tales is an apt title, because I've found this series as addictive as caffeine. One of the few books I've run out and purchased the day it hit the stores.
And it was worth the trip.

Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith is the type of book that restores your faith in literature. For everyone who says that good books aren't being written anymore, send them to Smith, because everything he writes is wonderful. Smith returns us to 44 Scotland Street to update us on the goings-ons of its denizens. It took me a couple of chapters to remember who was who and slide back into the rhythms of their lives, but once I was there, it was nearly impossible to leave. Poor Bertie is back with his horrible mother Irene. Bruce has returned with his clove hairgel. Just about everyone has returned, except the pair who hung around Big Lou's. Smith has several surprises in store for his characters, and I don't want to give any of them away. The writing is smooth and seamless as he moves from character to character. If only they made movies like this, my faith would be restored in the movie industry!

There is one problem with Smith's '44 Scotland Stree' series...and that is that you don't want the books to end. I am pacing myself reading 'Espresso Tales' to make the pleasure last. I'm an avid reader, and I know no other author who mixes pure entertainment with deep insights--and humor--and does it in such a gentle way. The fact that Smith wrote these stories for continuing newspaper publication--sometimes on the fly--just illustrates what a master he is. When does the next book in this series arrive?

Espresso Tales is the sequel to 44 Scotland Street, featuring the inhabitants of a multifamily house at that address in Edinburgh, Scotland. The form of both books is rambling and linear, forgivably so in this case as they were originally released in serial form in the Scotsman newspaper.

In 44 Scotland Street, the main character was clearly Pat, a college-age young woman who was a little adrift in her life. Her encounters with her neighbors and at work formed the context for the stories in the book. In Espresso Tales, Pat is much less the main character. The book's focus shifts aimlessly between Pat, Bertie, the gifted kindergartener and his family, and other characters. Pat and Bertie's stories engage me more than others and I was impatient at times waiting for their turn in the spotlight.

A great part of the charm derives from the immense amount of detail provided of daily life in Edinburgh. This information is provided not in an encyclopedic way but in loving detail the way a portrait miniature would be painted. The characters are "types", but not stereotypes. Big Lou, the rough-spoken woman who runs the coffee shop has been reading philosophy on her own, and bristles when her intellectual customers patronize her. Not only does she "ken well" who Sisyphus was, she's read the Camus book about him, which is more than her educated customer can say.

If you enjoy Scotland, or enjoy the gentle charm of McCall Smith's writing, you'll enjoy this series. But start with 44 Scotland Street or you'll have trouble catching up.