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The Lost Art of Gratitude: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries)
 
 
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The Lost Art of Gratitude: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Alexander Mccall Smith (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

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Book Description

September 22, 2009 Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries
The sensational sixth installment in the best-selling chronicles of the irrepressibly curious Isabel Dalhousie.

Isabel’s son, Charlie, is now of an age—eighteen months—to have a social life, and so off they go to a birthday party, where, much to Isabel’s surprise, she encounters an old adversary, Minty Auchterlonie, now a high-flying financier. Minty had seemed to Isabel a woman of ruthless ambition, but the question of her integrity had never been answered. Now, when Minty takes Isabel into her confidence about a personal matter, Isabel finds herself going another round: Is Minty to be trusted? Or is she the perpetrator of an enormous financial fraud? And what should Isabel make of the rumors of shady financial transactions at Minty's investment bank?

Not that this is the only dilemma facing Isabel: she also crosses swords again with her nemesis, Professor Dove, in an argument over plagiarism. Of course her niece, Cat, has a new, problematic man (a tightrope walker!) in her life. And there remains the open question of marriage to Jamie—doting father of Charlie.

As always, there is no end to the delight in accompanying Isabel as she makes her way toward the heart of every problem: philosophizing, sleuthing, and downright snooping in her inimitable—and inimitably charming—fashion.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Smith's quietly triumphant sixth novel to feature Scottish philosopher Isabel Dalhousie (after 2008's The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday) shows that Isabel and the author's other, better-known female sleuth—Precious Ramotswe of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series—are sisters under the skin, despite obvious differences. Minty Auchterlonie, who once alerted Isabel to some insider trading, fears someone is out to get her. The tax authorities have suddenly investigated Minty, and an unknown party has sent her a funeral wreath. When Isabel looks into these provocative acts, she draws on lessons learned from the journal she edits, the Review of Applied Ethics, to arrive at the complex truth behind them. Meanwhile, the father of Isabel's young son proposes marriage, and a defeated academic rival accuses her of knowingly publishing plagiarism. Smith's trademark humor and telling observations about people heighten the appeal. (Sept. 22)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Praise for the Isabel Dalhousie Series:
“[A] memorable cast of characters…. McCall Smith’s assessments of fellow humans are piercing and profound… . [His] depictions of Edinburgh are vivid and seamless…. His fans … are sure to embrace these moral peregrinations among the plaid.”
San Francisco Chronicle

“Scotland is a village … just as exotic and compelling, in its way, as Botswana. When authors as clever as McCall Smith pursue such parallel tracks, readers are doubly well-served.”
The Wall Street Journal


From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Pantheon (September 22, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0375425144
  • ISBN-13: 978-0375425141
  • Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1 x 8.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #345,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alexander McCall Smith was born in what is now Zimbabwe and taught law at the University of Botswana. He is now Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He has written more than fifty books, including a number of specialist titles, but is best known for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which has achieved bestseller status on four continents. In 2004 he was awarded British Book Awards Author of the Year and Booksellers Association Author of the Year. He lives in Scotland, where in his spare time he is a bassoonist in the RTO (Really Terrible Orchestra).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
65 of 67 people found the following review helpful
An enviable life October 4, 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
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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30 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Ultimately unsatisfying October 24, 2009
Format:Hardcover
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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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fun Read, But Not My Favorite McCall Series
This author has not one, but two, series in which he writes through the eyes of a woman. Personally, he jokes that it is a derivative of his being a Scot - you know those guys who... Read more
Published 14 days ago by Miami Bob
Had misgivings but absolutely loved it!
My misgivings came from the title. I could not reconcile the "series/mystery" aspect with the title "the lost art of gratitude" or the comments left by other readers! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Celine Derudder
A Delightful Read
As with all his other books detailing the world of Edinburgh and Isabel Dalhousie, Alexander McCall-Smith has hit another home run (sorry for a Yank's reference to baseball) with... Read more
Published 4 months ago by James A. Westpfahl
What's not to love?!
The stories AMS tells are quintessential morality plays at every level. In every book he writes the characters and their stories are the window dressings to tell the story of how... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Georgine L. Stob
Ungratefull for the twisted and unresolved case
While the book is written in the same style as the others of this series, it seems that our author has made our heroine somehow selfsatisfied with a life where she has everything... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Ria
How to integrate ethics in day to day life
While most of us do the best we can, it is sometimes without much thought. Dalhousie shows in a simple but effective method how to think... Read more
Published 15 months ago by R. V. Hollingshead
The Lost Art of Gratitude
As always, Alexander McCall Smith did not disappoint. Loved all the Ladies Number One Detective Agency books, and this one rates right up there!!
Published 15 months ago by Constance L. Omitt
delightful characters & super vocabulary builder
McCall Smith's use of language is so refreshing. His characters are interesting, & you'll enjoy spending time with them. This series is fabulous!
Published 15 months ago by Holly Porterfield
Mr Jane Austen
Have enjoyed all the Alexander McCall Smith "Isabel Dalhousie" mysteries...he does write as delightfully as Jane Austen did...would have bought this book just for the title!!!
Published 18 months ago by Joanna M. Kinsley
A blast from the past
The sixth story in the Isabel Dalhousie series of cozy mysteries brings back a character from the first book in the series (THE SUNDAY PHILOSOPHY CLUB). Read more
Published 19 months ago by Jeanne Tassotto
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