Despite the fact that little happens in the way of plot, this book made me laugh out loud many times, boil with fury and frustration.and also shed many tears both happy and sad. My only explanation is that Alexander McCall Smith is probably the worlds greatest writer right now. Big Lou (I crave bacon rolls!) and Fat Bob's new relationship is delightfully open and honest. Young Bertie's friends are up to their usual antics (and tell poor Bertie how dreadfully cold Aberdeen is, way up "north with its polar bears). Stuart, his father, adores his son and is worried about allowing Bertie to live with his out-of-town (and out-of-life) mother for three months. Bertie's grandparents have their own views. There are vignettes of other characters, too. On the bright side, Sister Maria-Flore dei Fiori de Montagna - the aphorism spouting, social climbing nun - has been appointed to the panel of judges of the Turner Prize. Sister Maria-Fiore, who's a conventional thinker, will never give the prize to an outré modern artist. Last, but not least, the latest book in the 44 Scotland Street series, The Enigma of Garlic, is now available! It’s the most anticipated event of the decade—Big Lou and Fat Bob’s wedding—and everyone is invited! But the relative peace and tranquillity of 44 Scotland Street is about to be disrupted. Domineering Irene is set to return for a two-month stay, Bruce Anderson’s new-found outlook on life is being put by the test as he prepares to leave his creature comforts for the monastic simplicity of Pluscarden Abbey, and young Bertie is being shipped off to a summer camp. Alexander McCall Smith’s delightfully witty, wise and sometimes surreal comedy spirals out in surprising ways in this new installment, but its heart remains where it has always been, at the center of life in Edinburgh’s New Town. While Bertie is precocious (a neighbor finds him reading a book on the life of Kierkegaard), he is sweet-tempered and just wants to be a normal boy. His best friend is Ranald Braveheart Macpherson. He wants to be a Boy Scout, but that group is anathema to his termagant, ultra-leftist, ultra feminist mother Irene. In past books, Irene has painted Bertie’s room pink, had him wear pink pants, attend yoga sessions, learn Italian, play the saxophone, and undergo psychotherapy for no other reason than Bertie is a normal little boy for all his intelligence. (BTW, Irene had an sexual encounter with said psychotherapist during a session at a flotation tank. This resulted in the birth o

In an attempt to revive the male camaraderie of his youth, Bruce gets involved with an old friend's shady real estate venture, which is aimed at bilking a buyer out of tens of thousands of pounds. Bruce seems unconcerned about the immorality of the scheme until an electrifying experience changes his outlook on life. Sono un'ammiratrice della Signora Ramotswe, quindi ho voluto provare questa serie dello stesso McCall Smith, ambientata a Edimburgo. Premetto che McCall Smith conosce bene il Botswana e la Scozia, perchè è nato e vissuto Zimbabwe e ha trascorso molto tempo in Botswana e Scozia. Pat is accepted as a tenant at 44 Scotland Street, where she meets her fellow residents: Bruce, a narcissistic surveyor with whom she somewhat reluctantly falls in love; Domenica MacDonald, an opinionated but fascinating middle-aged widow who is an anthropologist; and Angus, a portrait painter and owner of Cyril, the dog with a fetish for ankles. There are a couple of main characters in here that I am really pulling for. They are under 21, both of them, and they are good souls. And I want good things to happen to/for them. And this is a big part of the reason I keep reading (and now, rereading) these books.Alexander McCall Smith had already created two incredibly diverse series — one with Mma Precious Ramotswe, the intuitive and clever Botswanan detective who debuted in the novel The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and philosopher Isabel Dalhousie of The Sunday Philosophy Club series — when a chance meeting with Armistead Maupin gave us 44 Scotland Street. Speaking with Maupin, the author of Tales of the City, gave Smith the idea of borrowing the idea of the apartment house in San Francisco and transplanting it to Edinburgh’s trendy New Town neighborhood. This being Smith, the result isn’t the least derivative. Let’s pause here and imagine that you or I had to choose the characters for a series novel set in Edinburgh’s New Town. My guess is that we’d aim for a rough sociological mirroring for our fiction. And why not? Meanwhile, Angus Lordie expresses his appreciation of the bespoke Lobb brogues he inherited from his father, while Domenica comments on Belgian indoor shoes and the fashion for knee-ripped jeans and low-slung trousers that expose underwear. She bemoans how independent privately-funded scholars suffer the condescension of academics, and Angus muses on the alter-ego endowed on him by the bureaucracy. I always enjoy the books in this series, and like the fact that the novels - replete with words and phrases from the author's profession as a legal scholar - expand my vocabulary. Recommended for a bit of light reading.

From social media to the finer points of human behavior, this episode of Alexander McCall Smith’s popular 44 Scotland Street series provides an entertaining commentary on a small corner of modern life in Edinburgh where, contrary to received wisdom, the sun nearly always shines.Perhaps Bertie, the precocious five-year-old, will have the normal boyhood life envisioned by his father, Stuart. Bertie wants to attend Watson school, where he would get a chance to play rugby. He yearns for a life of fishing and rugby instead of yoga and Italian lessons orchestrated by his pushy mother. I don't remember when (if ever) was the last time I read a novel published first in a newspaper. Mircea Eliade comes to mind, althout I am not sure if 1 I finished reading that particular thing I am thinking about (no idea which novel btw :D) 2 it got published in *daily* or rather *weekly* instalments... Anyways, 44 Scotland Street is published daily and I was intrigued by the concept. One might think reading this is a utterly waste of time, but I enjoy this particular reading and it goes quite smoothly, which is something I need now. Let's see for how many weeks or months, hehe. It feels at time as if watching some sitcom, so, perfect for what I had in mind. Funny that I read this right after reading Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair is a classic that was written as a newspaper serial. I was just thinking about how nobody writes like that anymore when I opened 44 Scotland Street to read in the introduction that the author was chatting up with Amy Tan (name drop!) about that very thing! So his hometown newspaper said to him, "write a serial", and this was it. Domenica thought: I really would like things to be forever. I would like for us to be able to sit at this table once a week, perhaps, with these friends. I would like to talk about the things we talk about, the small things, whatever happened in the world. I would like to wake up in the morning and not think that things were getting worse. (31) Irene then complains about the contents of the kitchen cabinets and proceeds to needle and demean Stuart. Stuart manages to escape to meet his friend Katie, with whom Stuart hopes to have a romance.....but there may be a spanner in the works.

While Bruce certainly has his flaws, Pat cannot help falling for him. The situation becomes even more complicated when Bruce, a stalwart of the South Edinburgh Conservative Association, gives the painting to the Conservative Association for a fund-raising auction. Matthew and Pat are anxious to recover this painting that they believe is very valuable. It’s the most anticipated event of the decade—Big Lou and Fat Bob’s wedding—and everyone is invited! But the relative peace and tranquillity of 44 Scotland Street is about to be disrupted. Domineering Irene is set to return for a two-month stay, consigning young Bertie to a summer camp. Not content with that, she somehow manages to come between the enigmatic nun, Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna, and her friend, the hagiographer, Antonia Collie. Can we really believe that both Bruce and Irene have reformed into more humble, reasonable human beings? At least Olive is still as odious as ever! But poor Bertie. I hope he stands up to her before too long. At least he has his friend Ranald and the prospect of Glasgow to look forward to. The 44 Scotland Street serial novel follows the lives, affections, shortfalls and laments of a group of residents of 44 Scotland Street, a fictitious building on a real street in Edinburgh. With its numerous occupancy flats, 44 Scotland Street is a corner of Edinburgh’s New Town that arouses lots of interest – a mix of Bohemians, aging haute bourgeoisie, students, and vibrant members of the intelligentsia.For the residents of 44 Scotland Street, life in Edinburgh's intriguing New Town is a thing to be relished. After all, there are new faces to excite Domenica's anthropological imagination, precious moments with his triplets for Matthew to savor, and the prospect of a trip to the promised land of Glasgow for young Bertie. A Promise Of Ankles is the fourteenth book in the 44 Scotland Street serial novel by Scottish author, Alexander McCall Smith, and in it, the lives of the residents of 44 Scotland Street and those of their friends are, once again, updated for the continuing enjoyment of series fans. The audio version is narrated by David Rintoul. Whether caused by small things such as a cup of coffee and a book, or major events such as Stuart’s application for promotion and his wife Irene’s decision to pursue a PhD in Aberdeen, change is coming to Scotland Street. But for three seven-year-old boys–Bertie, Ranald, and Big Lou’s foster son, Finlay—it also means getting a glimpse of perfect happiness. Olive insists Bertie agreed to marry her when they're twenty (he didn't), and Olive now claims to be looking at venues, searching for a band, tasting wedding cakes, etc., much to Bertie's horror. I really hope Big Lou’s marriage holds up — she certainly deserves some happiness — although I have my doubts about her new husband. And I want to scream at Stuart “What the hell are you doing?”