Customer Reviews

The Unbearable Lightness of Scones: A 44 Scotland Street Novel (5)

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Whimsy reaches new heights in McCall-Smith's latest installment of the "44 Scotland Street" series. If you are a fan of this author (I am), you'll enjoy this one as much as its predecessors. From the title to the poetic ending, human foibles, animal wisdom, the precarious condition of childhood, and the charms of Scotland are examined in detail through McCall-Smith's kaleidoscopic lens.

The trials and tributations of six-year old Bertie Pollock continue as he joins the Cub Scouts and his nutcase, yuppy mother seethes on the sidelines. Some darker issues are brewing for the Pollock family and that doubtless will appear in future installments. The narcissistic Bruce Anderson is back in Edinburgh and runs a gauntlet of come-upnesses until personal redemption is found through moisterizer. (Don't ask).

Angus Lordie, painter of portraits, and his faithful and patient dog, Cyril, have star billing in "The Unbearable..." and take on some vexing moral issues. These involve the possible theft of an important painting, the actual theft of a teacup and whether to bite the ankles of a friend. SPOILER--dog lovers may be very disappointed by McCall-Smith's cavalier treatment of a dilemma involving six puppies that Cyril has helped to spawn.

The long and the short of it is that "The Unbearable Lightness of Scones" is a very amusing ramble through the lives of some of McCall-Smith's funniest characters where he wields a rather sharp ironic scalpel at times. Be prepared to laugh out loud and to inflict readings of the funniest lines on the person sitting closest to you at the moment.

Great fun and recommended.

This is volume 5 of a serial novel that began life in the "Scotsman" newspaper. Please don't start reading it until you've read the previous four volumes. They are, in order: "44 Scotland Street," "Espresso Tales," "Love Over Scotland, " and "The World According to Bertie."

Now that I'm speaking only to the choir, I should assure you that all the series regulars are back except for Pat, who, as you'll recall, left Edinburgh in the previous installment to move back home with her family. So what else is new? Here are a few things to whet your reading appetite:

1. A new psychotherapist arrives on the scene and his first reaction to Irene and Bertie is that the poor boy doesn't have a mother, he has a personal trainer. Will the new shrink set Bertie free?
2. Did you know that when Scotsmen get together they talk about the merits of moisturizers? Me neither, but they do here.
3. Somebody dies.
4. Somebody else almost dies but is saved by a nonhuman.
5. A major character fathers sextuplets.
6. A key character undergoes a major transformation.
7. A famous real-life Edinburgh writer gets shot and Bertie knows whodunnit.

Will there be a volume 6? Will Angus Lordie's closing poem lead to something McCall Smith's been hinting at all along? Will the puppies be okay? I don't know. I hope so, as I suspect you will too.

I've read all the other books in this series, but The Unbearable Lightness of Scones just didn't hold up for me. Although even in the previous books, so many of the story lines tend to build excitement and then die away into non-events, this episode seemed to do that even more quickly. But mostly, the storyline with Bertie just has worn me out. He was my favorite character but now his storyline has turned into a case of watching someone be slowly tortured to death. It's not funny any more. Unless Irene begins to get some come-uppance, I just can't keep reading. The book depressed me.

In Edinburgh six years old Bertie Pollock needs to escape the war between his parents over how to raise their kid. He would like to give them pointers but they are too obtuse with adult power to listen to their child. Instead he decides the cub scouts might be the perfect escape especially from his mom as Irene is stifling (not that he wants to go camping in the woods). Neither of his parents are fond of the idea that their darling wants to join the scouts; for that matter neither is Bertie.

Meanwhile Cyril the canine has fallen in lust leaving his pet human artist Angus Lordie with six issues to deal with. Newly married Matthew adapts to life with a live in partner as does his wife Elspeth who has no idea how men behave. Finally lonely Domenica remains isolated with in many ways only his intellectual self and Cyril and his new horde to talk with while mumbling that his dog is scoring better than he ever has. As always a torrent in a teacup confront the occupants at of 44 Scotland Street

This is a terrific slice of Edinburgh as the readers learn more of The World According to Bertie and other residents of 44 Scotland Street. The characters are extremely deep yet cleverly understated. Their wonderful profound stories intertwine into a "Precious" tale as Alexander McCall Smith showcases his Love Over Scotland as much as he has Botswana.

Harriet Klausner

I believe that the 44 scotland street series is Smith's best work and enjoy this format that's a little bit different from the others. For someone who is interupted a lot or with little spare time, the format of a newspaper serial is ideal- short little chapters with a complete thought or action. But basically gone from this book is Pat, the prominent figure in books one and two. As much as I love Cyril and Angus, there needs to a little more variety in the characters.

"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.

Alexander McCall Smith, the popular author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, published a serialized column called "44 Scotland Street" for the Edinburgh Scotsman, which was turned into a book by the same name. It was a tongue-in-cheek peek at Edinburgh society, complete with returning characters whose lives intersect with a group of people who live at the fictional address in Edinburgh's New Town.

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF SCONES is the fifth book in this series, following on the heels of THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BERTIE, which featured the adventures of Bertie Pollock, a precocious six-year-old resident of the fictitious apartment building. Turning the spotlight on some of the other colorful characters is a delightful tale with a few more mysteries and insights into a growing cast of characters.

Bertie and his friends have decided to become Cub Scouts, which (he discovers to his dismay) must now legally accept girls. It was his one chance to escape the attentions of his schoolmate, Olive, who promises to grow up to be as insufferable as Bertie's mother.

Curmudgeonly Angus Lordie, a landscape and portrait painter, and his gold-toothed dog, Cyril, were left at the end of the last book with the product of Cyril's rendezvous in the park with an unnamed female of indeterminate breeding. Five months later, the mother dog's owner angrily rang the doorbell and deposited a box containing the six puppies on Angus's doorstep. Now Angus is left to figure out what to do with his population explosion. This story has not yet reached its denouement.

Sedate art dealer Matthew, newly wed and off with his bride on their honeymoon to Australia, discovers almost too late that adventure may not be a suitable lifestyle for him and his new bride. He also discovers a shocking skeleton in his family closet.

Domenica, Angus's close friend and confidante, is in an ongoing turmoil with an old friend and neighbor over a stolen Spode cup. Their tenuous relationship escalates to nearly insurmountable dimensions as suspicious deliveries begin to arrive at her door. There may also be romance in the air between Domenica and Angus, although two confirmed singles of a certain age might encounter unforeseen and quite possibly insurmountable obstacles.

Bruce, the vainest male in Scotland whose good looks have carried him far but never far enough, is confronted with reality in this installment. Can he become "The Face of Scotland," or will an epiphany of the heart save this narcissistic young fop from his foibles?

Big Lou, the owner of a local pub who has a reputation for bad taste in men, has her patience put to the ultimate test when her current boyfriend, a fervent Jacobite, brings the Pretender to the Throne of Scotland back from France to sleep on her couch until he can reclaim his title.

Gangster Lard O'Connor shows up unexpectedly at Matthew's gallery to have a potentially priceless (and no doubt ill-gained) portrait of poet Robert Burns appraised. This has Matthew, Domenica and Angus in a quandary as to how to handle it, especially when Lard drops dead at Lou's bar.

44 Scotland Street is almost a real address, but not quite. An examination via Google Maps shows the last address to be at Number 43. The people and stories in THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF SCONES could also be true, according to McCall Smith in his Preface. He says that you can see these people any day in the New Town section of Edinburgh, which all lends a feeling of eavesdropping on the residents of this most Scottish city. One must wonder: Do the real denizens of Edinburgh glance covertly over their cocktail glasses at one another across a crowded party or a restaurant and think, I wonder if...?

--- Reviewed by Roz Shea

If you are a fan of Alexander McCall Smith's other books, you'll probably love this. I'm not, and although I found some sweet moments as well as a group of interesting characters, I can't recommend it to someone who wants something of more substance in their reading material than topics like moisturizer. I listened on audio books which helped to pass many hours of commuting. I don't think I could bear to read it. It is harmless, though, and there is a nice glimpse into contemporary Scottish life.

The author is good at creating some memorable characters. Bertie Pollack is a sweetheart who suffers from an unbearably overbearing mother. But it's very hard to believe that a six year old would have the insights that spring from Bertie's mind. Angus, a painter who favors his father's voluminous old green Harris tweed suit over skimpy modern suits, is another winning character. Others are less interesting--Matthew who nearly drowns on his honeymoon has such a lack of personality that one wonders why he takes up space in the novel at all. Domenica and Antonia seem to be interchangeable and neither one is very interesting or agreeable. Then there is Bruce, an extreme egotist who undergoes a radical transformation which is highly unbelievable.

If you overlook these things and are in the mood for a slow moving, talky, not-too-challenging, pleasant meander through McCall Smith's version of Edinburgh, you may enjoy this book.

The Unbearable Lightness of Scones, Alexander McCall Smith's fifth book in his 44 Scotland Street series, once again allows readers to visit his beloved Edinburgh filled with the fictional denizons of an apartment building and their neighbors and friends. Bertie, the six year old boy whose pushy, politically-correct mother fills his days with yoga, Italian and saxophone lessons and appointments with a child psychiatrist continues to make Bertie's life miserable, but there are signs that Bertie's father has begun to take a stand on his son's behalf. Angus the portrait painter and his gold-toothed dog Cyril discover a long-missing Raeburn portrait of Bobbie Burns when Lard O'Connor, the Glasgow gangster visits Edinburgh. Gentle digs about the rivalry between Edinburgh and Glasgow are funny, but not mean. Lard's accent is almost impenetrable as written and recalls Bertie's remark in another book upon hearing a Glasgow cab driver speak that he thought he could master the Glaswegian language because it seemed almost as easy as Italian. Big Lou and her Jacobite boyfriend return with news of the Pretender to the Throne who briefly moves in with them before going on the lam, last seen heading for remote Scottish islands a la Bonnie Prince Charlie. And so it goes, all the colorful characters, with one exception, return which will delight fans of the series. McCall Smith's tongue-in-cheek style, eye for people's common quirks and love for his city and country shine through.

I have been reading the series written by Mccall Smith for quite awhile now for relaxation. I like them so much I even went w/ 2 like-minded friends to a presentation he did at U. C. The stories are good enough to keep you interested but never really upsetting. There is a humorous fondness for human nature that comes through his writing as you follow the characters through their adventures.