1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Light Reading Wryly Spanning Scotland To Dolphins And Smuggling To Cub Scouts, May 26, 2011
This review is from: The Unbearable Lightness of Scones: The New 44 Scotland Street Novel (Paperback)
"The Unbearable Lightness of Scones" is the wonderful fifth entry in Alexander McCall Smith's "44 Scotland Street" novel series. While nothing can rival my affection for McCall Smith's "Portuguese Irregular Verbs" series, this series is a loving and relaxing look at unusual Scottish characters and their sometimes trivial adventures and misadventures. I rarely read fiction, so for me to not only voluntarily read a novel, but to also be enthusiastic about it is a sign that Smith has done something truly remarkable here. The book doesn't feature a single overarching dramatic arc like most novels do, but rather a series of small, oddly interconnected arcs that intersect in peculiar and unpredictable ways (the closest structural analog is a good episode of "Seinfeld," although this is much more refined and European, of course.)
I was particularly drawn to the trials of little Bertie Pollock and his endeavoring to join the Cub Scouts over his insanely leftist politically correct mother, Irene's, objections. Poor Bertie suffers with his saxophone lessons, Italian lessons, and extensive psychotherapy, all as a reward for being an otherwise well-adjusted child. Will his father finally stand up for him against the lunacy?
I was also fond of the subplot involving Matthew and Elspeth's honeymoon in Australia, which sounds like an amazing adventure, and turned out to be more adventure than amazing, culminating unexpectedly in a life or death struggle with a super-smart hero coming to the rescue. McCall Smith's touch here is at its most subtle: the manner in which he leads you to believe one event outcome to be a certainty, and then swoops in with an entirely different direction for the plot to take is masterful. The book has numerous other plot cul-de-sacs, some of which are merely pleasant dead ends, like the mystery surrounding the painting owned by Glaswegian gangster Aloysius Ignatius Xavier "Lard" O'Connor...or are they? You can never be too sure with McCall Smith, as here the portrait in question leads to the conclusion of the novel, delivered poetically by loveable painter Angus Lordie. Will the portrait be key to the next novel? I guess I had better keep reading.
If you would like a bit of light escapist reading that covers a wide-ranging and baffling number of plot elements including puppy rearing, marmalade smuggling, facial moisturizers for men, the early university career of David Hume, and the fate of a very special blue Spode teacup, nobody will be able to satisfy your needs like Alexander McCall Smith. I recommend the book to anyone who needs an amusing diversion.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful 5th Installment, January 1, 2011
What I love about the writing is the depth mixed with humor.
From the pithy:
"Old friends, like old shoes, are comfortable. But old shoes, unlike old friends, tend not to be supportive."
To the meaningful:
"Every small wrong, every minor act of cruelty, every act of petty bullying was symbolic of a greater wrong. And if we ignored these small things, then did it not blunt our outrage over the larger wrongs?"
To the hilarious:
[Angus] "Mind you, I did once, years ago, do a little picture of Margaret Thatcher - bless her - a tiny little miniature. Then I pasted it onto a matchbox...Then I stood the matchbox outside a mouse hole. The mouse had been bothering me - he had gnawed away at some canvas I had. So I used it as a mouse-scarer. It was more humane than a mouse trap, you see. The mouse came out and saw this picture of Margaret Thatcher staring at him and he ran straight back into the hole. It was very effective."
And:
"The early Scottish saints were, Antonia had hinted, ever so slightly bitchy, but in the nicest possible way, of course. Had anything changed?"
To commentary on humanity:
"It wore a different cloth, he thought, and was present now in the desire to prevent people from doing anything risky or thinking unapproved thoughts. Oh yes, he muttered, they're still with us, and they're still ready to carry out the burning of witches, even if we don't call them witches anymore. All that moral outrage, the self-righteousness, that urge to lecture and disapprove - it's all still there."
To the laugh out loud funny:
"[Nick] 'That's all the Latin I remember. Tempus fugit. Time flies.'
'Yes' said Bruce. 'Et cetera'
...[Nick] 'Et what?'
'Et cetera' replied Bruce. 'It's Latin for whatever.'"
To the invention of new words (Angus remembering being kicked out of the boy scouts):
Dewoggled.
Can't wait for number 6 - The Importance of Being Seven - if the title is any hint, perhaps wee Bertie will finally have a birthday! I wonder what happened to the puppies...what Pat is up to...if Big Lou will find love...if Matthew and Elspeth stay happy...and if Angus and Domenica will ever take a new step in their relationship?
Whatever happens, Delightful series.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
