- ISBN13: 9781400079445
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Welcome to 44 Scotland Street, home to some of Edinburgh’s most colorful characters. There’s Pat, a twenty-year-old who has recently moved into a flat with Bruce, an athletic young man with a keen awareness of his own appearance. Their neighbor, Domenica, is an eccentric and insightful widow. In the flat below are Irene and her appealing son Bertie, who is the victim of his mother’s desire for him to learn the saxophone and italian–all at the tender age of five…. More >>
44 Scotland Street: A 44 Scotland Street Novel
Tags: bertie, colorful characters, domenica, irene, keen awareness, Novel, remainder mark, saxophone, Scotland, scotland street, Street, tender age, young man
#1 by K. Latour on April 17, 2010 - 5:03 am
I was disappointed in this series. I had read the entire series of the Number One Ladies Detective Agency and loved the simple but charming prose. I had also read the entire Irregular Portuguese Verbs series and loved it for the witty arrogance of the main character. I was amazed that these two series had been written by the same author, since they were so diametrically different in their writing style. Therefore it was with great hopes that I bought the Scotland Street series. But I found it so utterly pretentious with characters who throw latin phrases around like colloqualisms and who seem altogether too clever to ever ingratiate themselves to the reader.
Rating: 2 / 5
#2 by T. Hanson on April 17, 2010 - 5:30 am
Based upon my enjoyment of McCall Smith’s “No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” series, I bought all four of the ‘44 Scotland Steet’ books. I don’t care to finish the first book, ‘44 Scotland Street’, and plan to return the other three books. I have never seen such a dreary collection of mal-contented characters gathered in one story, and don’t even care what happens to them all. If I can’t care about at least one of them, then I can’t care about the story’s outcome. The author shows no resemblance whatsoever to the one who wrote about the noble characters and humorous daily life that I came to appreciate while reading the “No. 1..”. series. There is no sizzle, no tension, no appreciation for the author or his characters, no timing. PASS!
Rating: 2 / 5
#3 by Snowy3 on April 17, 2010 - 6:22 am
I started reading ‘The no.1 Ladies Detective Agency’ but could never really get into it. I liked the idea of this book however so decided to give the author another go. Sadly, although the book has some funny moments (Bertie’s tantrums!)it never really gripped me. I love Scotland but am not familar enough with the places and slang terms so felt i missed out on the ‘insider’ comments. The book also has a very poor ending which leaves lots of loose ends and you end up thinking ‘hold on what happened to..?’ and ‘what was the point of?’.
On the whole it is ok and i imagine if you are familar with Edinburgh you would enjoy it more than i did.
Rating: 2 / 5
#4 by Lucy Montgomery on April 17, 2010 - 7:02 am
This novel deserves 5 stars.
I was given 44 Scotland Street as a Christmas gift. I assumed it was a “detective story” given the author’s previous well known work. I was very pleasantly surprised to find the book was like nothing else I have ever read. I have lived in Scotland and have visited Jenner’s department store in Edninburgh, as well as some of the other landmarks mentioned in the book. I can assure readers who have not been to Edinburgh that the descriptions and the characterizations are very real, for example, the rivalry between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Although it may be difficult for non-Scots to fully appreciate certain elements of the book, the characters can be found practically anywhere and in any time. For example, the narcissistic Bruce and the class-conscious Sasha.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone and especially homesick Scots. I can hardly wait for the sequel.
Rating: 1 / 5
#5 by Charles Pooter on April 17, 2010 - 7:45 am
Alexander McCall Smith is a polymath – a professor, lecturer and novelist, he has many balls in the air at any given time. His background in ethics, medicine and world-wide travel give him a wealth of experience to draw upon, and he has a way with words. What he clearly lacks is time.
44 Scotland Street is an entertaining series on the varied occupants of a large old house. McCall Smith took on the daunting task of doing a series of very short stories for serialisation, with the challenge of both brevity and keeping interest (much like Scheherezade in the 1000 and 1 Arabian Nights) You can not fault his characters, or the interesting twists and turns the plot takes with them. What you can fault is the sudden end that is slapped on to the book, with either the overworked author or the disinterested editor to blame. While the threads involving the young girl, the painting and the narcissist are somewhat closed (what about the second painting she buys in the charity shop?!) the very engaging plots involving the young prodigy and his over-bearing mother and the mysterious meeting in the New Hall are patently ignored, left glaringly open, and not even in a teasing way to encourage us to buy a sequel.
McCall Smith needs to do one job and do it thoroughly – the Von Igelfeld Triology being a shining example of a satisfying and complete work, rather than something slapped together to appease his sales-hungry publisher. I’m half-inclined to contact Amnesty International to protest the cruel overworking of an aged author.
Rating: 2 / 5