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2 of 2 copies available
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
May 6, 2005 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781449891923
- File size: 343934 KB
- Duration: 11:56:31
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from April 25, 2005
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
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Alexander McCall Smith modeled this book on the evergreen hit TALES OF THE CITY, by Armistead Maupin, which were published serially in the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE. Smith's appeared in an Edinburgh daily; the title refers to an address in Edinburgh where several of the main characters live. It's a great device, imposing specific challenges to the storyteller, working in little chunks of uniform length, all with intriguing endings. The only thing that could be more fun than reading each installment in the paper is hearing Robert Ian Mackenzie's thoroughly droll and versatile performance. You won't soon forget the Conservative Party's fundraising ball, with only six in attendance, one of whom forgot to wear underpants under his kilt. Mackenzie's touch is flawless. B.G. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine -
March 1, 2006
What one finds at 44 Scotland Street is a rooming house and a microcosm of Edinburgh society. Twenty-year-old Pat rents a room from handsome but vain Bruce for her second gap year. Precocious Bertie, pushed to excel by his overbearing mother, and crusty widow Domenica McDonald lease other spaces. There is also Matthew, the son of the owner of the art gallery where Pat finds employment as a receptionist. When a piece of art gets misappropriated, author Ian Rankin becomes involved in the sleuthing. This is Smith's best since the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, and librarians will want to be sure to start their collection with the first title. Performer Robert Ian Mackenzie aptly portrays these Scots.InFriends, Isabel Dalhousie, general editor of the philosophy periodicalJournal of Applied Ethics, returns in the second installment of the Sunday Philosophy Club series. When her niece Cat goes to a wedding in Italy, Isabel fills in for her at her delicatessen and meets a customer named Ian, who's banned from chocolate, among other things, since his heart transplant. Now Ian is having visions of an unfamiliar face he thinks might be meaningful to the original owner of his new heart. Recommended for collections with loyal Smith fans and only for patient, literate listeners, even with Davina Porter's competent rendering of the personalities.Sandy Glover, Camas P.L., WACopyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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