Well written, intellegent voage through the lives of some of the residents of Scotland Street. I can't put my finger on it, but it just seems a bit off the mark as to how people actually live. ( )

Third Scotland Street volume. Read September 2008 ( )

This is the third in the 44 Scotland Street series, and I found it the most enjoyable yet.

Part of its joy is that I now feel I know most of the characters so well, that they seem like old friends. For this reason I would recommend reading the previous instalments in this series before this one, although I'm sure the book will still be a good read for anyone who has not.

In this episode in Edinburgh life Pat starts university, and immediately gets entangled with a somewhat dubious character named Wolf, while Matthew (still holding a torch for her) wonders what to do with his millions. Domenica swans off to study Pirates
in the Malacca straits, leaving Angus Lordie pining. He goes onto to experience more than this loss, adding tinges of sadness to the generally relaxed and unthreatening story. His bond with Cyril is touching (even for me, and I am naturally prejudiced against dogs!) and the letter he writes to Domenica and then tears up - to mention its subject would give too much away - is very moving and quite beautiful.

Meanwhile Eddie, Big Lou's erstwhile fiancé is up to his old tricks and her friends have to call in Glasgow gangster-type Lard O'Connor to resolve the situation. Bertie continues to quietly rebel against Irene, who has not changed one bit despite Stuart's newfound assertiveness in the last book (in fact Stuart has reverted somewhat to his old ways). She forces him to audition for the Edinburgh Teenage Orchestra, despite his being only 6,which a point of acute embarrassment for him!

Bertie is without a doubt the best thing in the book. His adventures with the orchestra (which despite his best efforts he cannot avoid joining) are hilarious. Bertie, without Irene in tow, is a force to be reckoned with and Paris doesn't know what has hit it! The sections written from his POV are delightful as well as funny and I just can't get enough of him. His observations when he speaks to Antonia (A new character introduced in this book - an aspiring historical novelist) near the end are priceless, and as Antonia observes, as interesting anthropologically as anything Domenica has discovered about her pirates.

The narrative somehow manages to be both relaxing and exciting at the same time – I wish I knew how he does it. The episodic format - which comes from the story's original serialization in the Scotsman, helps with the pace and does not disrupt the flow of the story at all. There are constant little cliff-hangers at the end of many of the sections which have the effect of keeping you waiting for the next chunk of each character's story, and unable to put the book down. Events in the lives of these characters are not world changing, but they seem very important nonetheless, although there is never any real menace or threat even from Eddie or the aptly named Wolf.

If anything, McCall Smith's style most resembles a chatty but brilliantly observed letter relating events in the lives of family members or acquaintances, who are much loved but rarely seen. His characters feel like friends and their story is ongoing, not something that can be resolved neatly as you would expect in the average novel. I am already looking forward to reading the next instalment! ( )

cool street

Each 44 Scotland St book I read is better than the last. The action is interesting, but it's the inner thoughts of the characters and McCall Smith's own asides that make it special. He uses the novel to smuggle in interesting facts and homely philosophies - the latter you suspect to be his own as they have the same live and let live attitude mixed in with an old fashioned manner so familiar from the No. 1 Ladies series.
I doubt this is for eveyone, too friendly and not enough 'jeopardy' as is apparently required by TV commissioners, but a great read full of sly humour. ( )

Fantastic, shame that we didn't follow Bruce to London, but other than that the adventures and misadventures of the residents and ex-residents of 44 Scotland Street are entertaining and engrossing. ( )

Couldn't finish it, because Alexander McCall Smith is not that kind of author that draws me into the story. His pen, his hand, was always visible in his writing--the mark of a second-rate writer. Would not recommend. ( )

At first, though, I was uncertain if I would like it. McCall Smith has a quiet writer’s voice. Whereas other authors may have said Irene was a self-absorbed, narcissistic mother who lived her life vicariously through her six-year-old son Bertie, McCall Smith does this by simply having Irene constantly saying, “Melanie Klein says” this or that, as if to let the other person know they are a stupid twit and should stop talking (including her own husband, Bertie’s father). Irene is an absolute helicopter mom, and McCall reveals this about her through Bertie, who thinks, “nobody [is] always there, except perhaps [my] mother.” McCall Smith’s writing is subtle, and instead of compelling the reader forward, he floats you along on the currents of the story.

While being a 3rd book of a series, Love Over Scotland is perfectly capable of being a stand alone novel. It may have helped in the beginning had I had the background, however the characters show themselves and develop quite well on their own in this book.

The book is altogether fun, with a message of loving and accepting each other and that you can greatly increase the happiness in the world by giving someone a gift. The book is written from an omniscent third person POV, but not exactly the omnipresent. You kind of flit from mind to mind, listening to the thoughts of each participant briefly, including peeks into Cyril the dog’s thought processes.

My favorite characters were definitely Bertie, Angus and Cyril, and Matthew, and I was rather fond of Big Lou, too.

Click for full review: http://thekoolaidmom.wordpress.com/20... ( )

Love comes in many shapes and forms in this book. Is it a sign of the paucity of English in describing emotional states that we have only the one word for them all or do they really have something in common?

AMS really makes us care about these characters and their well-being. Even though I knew nothing really dreadful was going to happen my heart was in my mouth with suspense at times, and Angus's unsent letter to Dominica telling her of another character's death was very moving -- and so true to Angus, Dominica, and the deceased, and people in general as well. ( )

The 3 book series was enjoyable for the most part, great style and imaginative plot sequences. Humorous look at life of a very mixed group of characters. ( )

This is possibly the best 44 Scotland Street story yet. Bertie's adventures in Paris were fantastic! I also loved Angus Lordie's poem at the end, which I thought was really beautiful. ( )

Reading McCall Smith is such a delight. His description of characters and their relationship is fun, funny and touching. This is a much longer book than his other ones, over 350 pages. I did no take him as such an experienced writer until I read this.

Book number 3 in the 44 Scotland St series, and possibly the pick of the series so far, with characters and sub-plots that seem much more developed than in the preceding book, Espresso Tales. In this intallment the story is not confined to Edinburgh but takes us on brief but memorable journeys abroad with Bertie (to Paris with an orchestra) and with Domenica (on an anthropology field trip in the Malacca Straits). Another highly recommended comfort-read from Mr McCall Smith! ( )

I enjoyed this more than I had expected. Smith clearly defines his characters and manages to moralize in a welcome manner. Too many authors seem to have no moral backbone. ( )

These characters become even more interesting as they become more familiar. I just can't wait until Bertie really shows up his mother for the fool she is. ( )

Alexander McCall Smith is a writer that I don't hear that much about in the book blogging world. I'm not sure why, but I think it may have something to do with the fact that he writes the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I've read a couple of those (there are 8 now) and enjoyed them. I know there are some who feel that prolific mystery writers shouldn't be taken seriously. That's a shame. Those people are missing out on some really good books. Smith is a wonderful writer. He has an amazing wit, which often has me laughing out loud. He also does more than this one series. He writes The Sunday Philosophy Club series, which is set in Edinburgh. This series is actually my favorite. And then there's the Portugese Irregular Verbs series, numerous children's books, collections of African folk tales, a reworking of a Celtic myth for the Cannongate Myths series and academic texts. As you can see, he's a very interesting person. I'll let him tell you about himself. This is from his official website:

McCall Smith was born in what is now Zimbabwe and was educated there and in Scotland. He became a law professor in Scotland, and it was in this role that he first returned to Africa to work in Botswana, where he helped to set up a new law school at the University of Botswana. For many years he was Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh, and has been a visiting professor at a number of other universities elsewhere, including ones in Italy and the United States. He is now a Professor Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh.

In addition to his university work, McCall Smith was for four years the vice-chairman of the Human Genetics Commission of the UK, the chairman of the British Medical Journal Ethics Committee, and a member of the International Bioethics Commission of UNESCO. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library Award; the United Kingdom's Author of The Year Award in 2004 and Sweden's Martin Beck award. In 2007 he was made a CBE for his services to literature in the Queen's New Year Honors List.

Alexander McCall Smith currently lives in Edinburgh with his wife Elizabeth (an Edinburgh doctor), and their two daughters Lucy and Emily. His hobbies include playing wind instruments, and he is the co-founder of an amateur orchestra called "The Really Terrible Orchestra" in which he plays the bassoon and his wife plays the horn.
O.K., finally let me tell you a little about the book I just finished, Love Over Scotland. This is the third installment of the 44 Scotland series, which began as a serial in The Scotsman newspaper. This book continues to look at the lives of the main characters of 44 Scotland Street. There's Domenica MacDonald, an anthropologist who has just left for the Malacca Straits to study modern-day pirates. Then, there's Irene and Stuart Pollock and their precocious six-year old Bertie. In addition, there's Pat, Matthew, and Angus Lordie, along with his dog, Cyril. Smith follows the everyday lives of these characters and gives us a glimpse into the life of Edinburgh and the surrounding areas. I have to admit that I wasn't as thrilled with this book as the first two in the series, but it was still really good. If you haven't yet discovered this author, please give him a try. He has much to offer no matter what you're in the mood for. ( )

I love this series. I am transported by all of it. ( )

tbr

It’s hard to write something original in my review of the third in the Scotland Street series as Alexander McCall Smith delivers consistently to expectation. Reading this series is like continuing with something that you know so well and have grown fond of. We are reacquainted with familiar characters and there is the usual dollop of drama, compassion and humour. Personally though, Bertie is still the character that stands out – the stories concerning him draw in a lot of other characters to the point that he could almost sustain a novel devoted to him alone. I love the way that we see his perception of his 6 year old alongside that of the adults around him – it makes very amusing reading. (read October 2006) ( )