Customer Reviews

44 Scotland Street

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

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.

44 SCOTLAND STREET first appeared in serialization ala Charles Dickens in 110 daily installments in The Scotsman newspaper. Not a book in the ordinary sense of the word, it also is not a mystery, which is what we have become accustomed to expect from Alexander McCall Smith, creator of Mma Ramotswe in THE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY series. There is a wee puzzler involving a painting in the art gallery where our heroine, Pat, works. Is it or is it not an undiscovered painting by eighteenth century painter Samuel Peploe? And if it is, how should one go about retrieving it from a charity boutique where it mistakenly found its way through somewhat complicated means? This minor plot leads us to the cast of characters with whom Pat lives, works and socializes as she flies from the family nest to move into the titled address.

On the landing at 44 Scotland Street lives the widowed and widely traveled Domenica, who befriends Pat and fills her in on the rest of the residents: the stunningly handsome but callow Bruce, Pat's flat mate, who is convinced he is the world's most charming and desirable male, and the strange family largely run by the precocious five-year-old Bertie, whose mother is determined to turn him into a child prodigy.

With three successful mystery series under his belt, McCall Smith seems to draw from a bottomless well of quirky, wise and philosophical characters to delight his fans. He has charmed us with THE NO. 1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY series and its protagonist, Precious Ramotswe; confounded us with his redoubtable Professor Dr. Von Igelfeld in the PORTUGUESE IRREGULAR VERBS mysteries; and introduced us to the Scottish-American philosopher Isabel Dalhousie in THE SUNDAY PHILOSOPHY CLUB.

McCall Smith's love of place underlies his tales of mystery and moral dilemmas in each of his stories. A deep and abiding love of Africa and its culture bring to life not only the characters but also the unique problems of an emerging third world country, served in an appetizing dish of humor, wisdom and mystique. His adopted yet nearly native country of Scotland is equally treated to insights and purely Scottish ways in the other two series.

44 SCOTLAND STREET is a paean, with tongue in cheek to Edinburgh society --- high, middle and low. McCall Smith clearly loves the extraordinary city and its slightly stuffy denizens, but you don't need a guidebook or a Scotts burr to enjoy his wry social comments and endearing characters.

--- Reviewed by Roz Shea

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 first thing to know about this book is that it was written in seral format for a newspaper in Scotland. The second thing to know is that it doesn't make a lot of sense. The third thing is -- if you can get past the first two, this book is downright hilarious. Don't expect a great work of fiction, but do expect some wry observations on the human condition, as well as some unique characters.

I would have liked to see things wrapped up a bit more at the end (What happened to Bertie? And Lizzie? And Big Lou??), but still -- LOVED THIS. Alexander McCall Smith is an intelligent, entertaining, and quirky writer.

I really liked this book. It was a joy to read. The characters are interesting and unpredictable. Also, it's been a while since I've laughed out loud while reading a book, but I did so with this one.

First Charles Dickens in the nineteenth century - and now Alexander McCall Smith for the twenty first: serialization of novels is not new, and McCall Smith is a more than worthy literary descendant of the great Dickens himself. This novel, while set in Edinburgh, for Scotsman readers, and full of in jokes, is one that can be enjoyed worldwide. Little Bertie already has fans writing to McCall Smith from all over the world asking for him to be liberated from his ghastly mother. All life is here in this novel - you don't have to be Scottish to appreciate its wonderful humour, since we all know people like the wimpish boyfriend, the slightly batty older lady, the snobbish politicians, the pushy over-ambitious mother, and the bright young woman trying to work out what on earth it is she wants to do in life. In other words, while the characters are set in Edinburgh, they could just as well be in New York, Los Angeles, St Louis, or Richmond (Virginia). A more entertaining book you could not find - perfect reading for the summer by the beach, hiking in the Ozarks, or whatever plans for vacations near and far you may have (it will be a great Christmas present, for that matter). Read it, love it, and then buy ten copies for all your family and friends to share it with them. Charles Dickens - you have a rival! Christopher Catherwood (author of CHURCHILL'S FOLLY, Carroll and Graf, 2004)

This novel was first published as daily installments in an Edinburgh newspaper. In turn, the novel is divided into a 100+ very short chapters. Alexander McCall Smith's intended audience was the Edinburgh newspaper readers who had to follow the novel on a daily basis. Consequently, the novel is filled with insider references that Edinburgh readers would appreciate. Afterall, it is always a little bit thrilling to see one's home town mentioned in a story. All these inside references to neighborhoods and local politics are less interesting to a reader living in another country.

I am a loyal fan of Alexander McCall Smith. His Number One Ladies Detective Agency novels are subperb and the Professor Von Igelfeld stories are some of the funniest stories that I have ever read. Unfortunately, McCall Smith does not deliver in this novel. The story line is jagged and many interesting threads are never persued. There are some very humorous moments but all in all the novel is strangely disjointed.

Writing novels in daily or weekly chapters must be one of the most daunting tasks that any novelist can undertake. Unfortunately, only the greatest writers can do this well. Dumas and Dickens come to mind. They were successful because they took on ambitious story lines with very wide scopes of detail and character. McCall Smith fails in this novel because his scope is too narrow and pedestrian. These small intimate Edinburgh stories are not made for daily newspaper deadlines. Unfortunately, he could not realize this novel within the constraints of one newspaper column a day. This would have been a much better novel, if he would have sat down and wrote it like a conventional novel. It was an interesting experiment but he should stick to the format that best works for him.

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.

This is the 7th or 8th of Smiths wonderful story books I have read. What I enjoyed about 44 Scotland Street, as always, was the richness of character, the foibles, fears and strengths of these multiple and varying people who you feel you know on first aquaintance. The psychiatrist and overbearing mother take therapy to a whole new and perverse level! The narcissistic adonis, the bewildered young lady on a gap, the indecissive gallery manager are just a few of the treats in store. The ending of the book does not tie everything together in a neat package but you have enough at this point to do your own closure on the main actors of the book. A fun read.