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63 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An enviable life, October 4, 2009
You have to believe that author Alexander McCall Smith has a special fondness for his main character in "The Sunday Philosophy Club" series, Isabel Dalhousie, for he has created for her a seamlessly agreeable life. She is intelligent, well-educated, well-to-do and beautiful. She has a handsome, sensitive and younger fiance, who has fathered her beautiful and well-behaved son. Isabel loves her "job" as a moral philosopher and editor of a scholarly journal and lives in a historic mansion in Edinburgh, a city that fits her like a glove. So without the frisson and stress, how does "The Lost Art of Gratitude" (and others in the series) grab the reader's attention and hold it? It may well be that the very stresslessness of living is what makes her story so interesting and enjoyable to the reader. You know that nothing terrible will ever really happen to Isabel and to the ones she loves. Who doesn't fantasize about a world where we are surrounded by beauty and intelligence that will never end? Where babies don't ever have to have their diapers changed nor do they ever get colic or throw tantrums. Where your SO, in addition to being beautiful/handsome and talented, respects you and intuitively connects with your every thought and impulse. And is always yin to your yang. McCall Smith does provide a few gray clouds for his heroine in "The Lost Art..." in the form of a couple of Isabel's old adversaries--Minty Aucterlonie and Christopher Dove, but they have both been vanquished by Isabel in the past, and there is no doubt that she will prevail against them again. Ultimately, the greatest pleasure from the book for this reader, was the time and space that Isabel Dalhousie is given to ruminate about the human condition and the interactions of people in ordinary day-to-day situations. This isn't peace in the Middle East or the answer to world poverty, but it is important reflection on how we behave toward each other as residents of shared communities. Hypocrisy and greed are two of the main identified enemies for Isabel, but all human folly is grist for her consideration. Respect and charity are always her goals. McCall Smith's paragon does have interesting flaws--she is overly considerate and reasonable and therefore unable, at times, to correctly read the baser actions of others. These misunderstandings and her occasional outright cluelessness give the story needed zing and interest. "The Lost Art of Gratitude" is another gentle and sweet installment in a series that you have to hope will hold McCall Smith's interest and enterprise for many years to come.
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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Is Alexander McCall Smith getting bored with the series?, October 10, 2009
The Lost Art of Gratitude is the 6th novel in the "Sunday Philosophy Club" series by Alexander McCall Smith, which center on philosopher and occasional amateur sleuth Isabel Dalhousie. The book picks up only 2-3 months after "The Comfort of Saturdays" - Isabel and Jamie's son Charlie now being 18 months old. If you've read the other books in the series you'll know that they feature an assortment of storylines, most of which seem to take a backseat to Isabel's musings on everyday matters. This book is no different. Minty Auchterlonie asks Isabel to help her with a troublesome problem, Isabel's niece Cat has a new and unsuitable fiance, Brother Fox is injured and needs medical attention and Christopher Dove is scheming to force Isabel to resign as editor of the Review of Applied Ethics. I truly love this series, but I was so disappointed by this book which felt like it was written "by numbers". One of the things that I like most is Isabel's musings on life and ethics. However this time round they felt forced: formulaic rather than intriguing. Also, McCall Smith seemed to have only limited interest in the plotlines. Cat's relationship felt like it was tucked in as an afterthought ("must involve Cat - oh let's give her another problematic boyfriend and we can just wrap it up by Isabel hearing about what happened"). The Minty storyline was given more prominence but then again it felt like he got bored with it in the end. If you've loved this series as I do, you should still read the book - while disappointing, it's not completely dreadful. However I'd wait for the paperback. If you're new to the series, don't start here! Start with The Sunday Philosophy Club (Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries). It's a series best read in order.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ultimately unsatisfying, October 24, 2009
There's a significant word in the title - "Novel". Yes, "novel", not "mystery" as the previous Isabel Dalhousie books have been labelled. So, there is "truth in advertising" because there is certainly no solving of mysteries in this book. Instead we have the gentle story of a few weeks in the charmed life of Isabel Dalhousie and her relatives, friends and enemies, in which nothing much happens. The not-so-nice Profs Dove & Lettuce re-appear but are easily and oh-so conveniently foiled again. The main storyline (or what I assumed was the main storyline) involving Minty the investment banker seems largely unresolved by the end of the book, so much so that I had to re-read it to make sure that I hadn't accidentally missed some important plot development by skipping a page. Perhaps the plan is for the next novel in the series to bring the Minty storyline to some kind of closure, or is the lack of closure somehow the point of the novel? Perhaps "The Lost Art of Gratitude" is an attempt to resposition Isabel Dalhousie series into the serialised format of the 44 Scotland Street series, where we expect to follow the storylines of the characters from book to book. Or perhaps the author has just run out of steam with this group of characters? If you are an Alexander McCall Smith fan and have read all his other books (as I have), by all means read this book for completeness (I am sure nothing I could say would stop you anyway). If you are new to Alexander McCall Smith, then this isn't the book to start with, try Number One Ladies' Detective Agency.
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