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44 Scotland Street (Paperback)

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3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Like Smith's bestselling Botswana mysteries, this book—comprising 110 sections, originally serialized in the Scotsman, that drolly chronicle the lives of residents in an Edinburgh boarding house—is episodic, amusing and peopled with characters both endearing and benignly problematic. Pat, 21, is on her second "gap year" (her first yearlong break from her studies was such a flop she refuses to discuss it), employed at a minor art gallery and newly settled at the eponymous address, where she admires vain flatmate Bruce and befriends neighbor Domenica. A low-level mystery develops about a possibly valuable painting that Pat discovers, proceeds to lose and then finds in the unlikely possession of Ian Rankin, whose bestselling mysteries celebrate the dark side of Edinburgh just as Smith's explore the (mostly) sunny side. The possibility of romance, the ongoing ups and downs of the large, well-drawn cast of characters, the intricate plot and the way Smith nimbly jumps from situation to situation and POV to POV—he was charged, after all, with keeping his newspaper readers both momentarily satisfied and eager for the next installment—works beautifully in book form. No doubt Smith's fans will clamor for more about 44 Scotland Street, and given the author's celebrated productivity, he'll probably give them what they want. Agent, Robin Straus. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Bookmarks Magazine

Inspired by Armistead Maupin’s serialized San Francisco-based Tales of the City, McCall Smith has successfully incorporated snippets of Bohemian Edinburgh life into 44 Scotland Street. He lends the same insights and sensibilities to these colorful vignettes as he does to his bestselling No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, set in Botswana: an understated intelligence, a deep human compassion, and lighthearted romance and mystery. Likeable and quirky characters, from a pushy mother and bookish neighbor to real-life walk-ons, populate the gentle satire. For those who don’t read The Scotsman, not to worry: there’s a second volume in the works.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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Product Details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Anchor; First Edition. first thus edition (June 14, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1400079446
  • ISBN-13: 978-1400079445
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,660 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Alexander McCall Smith
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Customer Reviews

77 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (77 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars McCall Smith is a marvel!, March 11, 2006
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
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars '44 Scotland Street' an extremely fun and entertaining place to go!, January 15, 2006
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.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A paean full of wry social commentary and endearing characters, June 24, 2005
By Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
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
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Daily Life in Edinburgh
44 Scotland Street (2005) is the first novel in this series. It is set in contemporary Edinburgh, Scotland. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Bill Jordin

4.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable
Robert Ian Mackenzie brings "44 Scotland Street" to life! The novel itself is quite enjoyable - a wry, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but not unkind look at Edinburgh. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Smita Rao

5.0 out of 5 stars invite me over for tea
"This is a very strange dog".. "Cyril drinks"....I wonder what happened to Pat in Australia but that was not covered in this charming collection. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Answer Lady

2.0 out of 5 stars Mildly Interesting
This book was just okay for me. There is a quirky cast of characters who offer a glimpse of life in Edinburgh. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Gr8ful

5.0 out of 5 stars Really enjoyed this series
This book was originally written as a serialized novel, so every chapter must have something to keep the reader interested. Read more
Published 6 months ago by book junkie

5.0 out of 5 stars Edinburgh is His Muse
I loved this book. I loved the main point of view: that of a young girl who's "on her second gap year," who's trying to find her way and ends up working in a gallery for a... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Marianne

1.0 out of 5 stars Too fractured for my taste
When a friend let me borrow the first three books in this series, I thought I was set for a long while. Not so. Read more
Published 9 months ago by N. B. Kennedy

1.0 out of 5 stars Dull and uninvolving
I couldn't even finish this one. Although I love Smith's "Ladies Detective Agency" series, ""44 Scotland Street" has none of the charm and personality of those books... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Barbara B.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully entertaining
Smith is a wonderful writer who can say and describe so much in just the right words. His characters are delightful and real. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Old Bones

5.0 out of 5 stars interconnecting short stories
Fascinating book; it's less a novel than a series of interconnecting short stories. The characters are all well drawn, and at first seem primarily to belong only because of the... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Barbara

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