| 44 Scotland Street | 
 enlarge | Author: Alexander Mccall Smith
Publisher: Polygon
Category: Book
List Price: $31.00
Buy Used: $16.85
You Save: $14.15 (46%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  67 reviews
Sales Rank: 344381
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 325
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 1904598161
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781904598169
ASIN: 1904598161
Publication Date: January 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: FIRST EDITION! GREAT SHAPE! Hardcover with dust jacket. No missing / torn pages, highlighting, notes, or other markings. FREE USPS delivery confirmation!
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Product Description
One of McCall Smith's particular talents is his ability to portray archetypes without resorting to stereotype or cliche. Thus we immediately recognise the Edinburgh chartered surveyor, stalwart of the Conservative Association, who dreams of membership to Muirfield golf club. We have the pushy Stockbridge mother, and her prodigiously talented five-year-old son, who is making good progress with the saxophone and with his Italian. Then there is Domenica Macdonald who, rather like Miss Jean Brodie, is that type of Edinburgh lady who sees herself as a citizen of a broader intellectual world. In McCall Smith's hands such characters retain charm and novelty, simultaneously arousing both mirth and empathy. 44 Scotland Street is vintage McCall Smith, tackling issues of trust and honesty, snobbery and hypocrisy, love and loss, but all with great lightness of touch. Clever, elegant and funny, this is a novel that provides huge entertainment but which is underpinned by the moral dilemmas of everyday life and the characters' struggles to resolve them.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 62 more reviews...
 a dull story about dreary malcontents November 22, 2008
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!
A little different book November 18, 2008
44 Scotland Street
This was a different kind of story from the ones I have read by this author, but it was interesting and fun, once I got into the personalities of the various interwoven characters.
It ended with open possibilities, so that I am sure there will be a sequel to the story. I shall look for it to come out.
McCall is no Maupin October 30, 2008
First, I am a faithful reader of McCall's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. So, I bought this book after reading that McCall serialized this novel in the style of Maupin's "Tales of the City." ["Tales of the City" is filled with lively, colourful characters -- one of which is the city of San Francisco -- a truly delightful book.]
Edinburgh is another such place, a fantastic city filled with interesting people. I'm sorry to say that not one of these characters made it into "44 Scotland Street." If one were to judge Edinburgh and the people therein by this book, you'd believe the city were filled with mundane folks.
I didn't hate the book but I couldn't recommend that anyone waste their time reading it, either.
 Loved this book -- Isabel Dalhousie, begone! September 13, 2008
I'm not really sure why I even picked this book up (or the other books in the series, all of which are just as fun as this one). I couldn't get interested in the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series, and I loathed Isabel Dalhousie, the smug, boring heroine of the Sunday Philosophy Club "mysteries".
But this book is really a delight. The pacing of 44 Scotland Street is very deft and the characters are an interesting mix. I enjoyed reading about each one of them, the good and the bad, the weak and the strong.
*EDINBURGH has an indelible place in my Heart . . .* June 24, 2008
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
In this series by Alexander McCall Smith, there is not as much philosophy as plain unadulterated (tho' calculated) fun. Because "44" runs as a newspaper serial, it must be served up in daily doses that carry one over to the next day's episode. In its book form readers may gallop ahead to the next hurdle (champing at the bit, to continue in a horsy vein).
You will find your outlook of Edinburgh, the city and soul, broadened: A memorable top floor flat is shared by newcomer Pat and two absentee tenants & the wildly narcissistic Bruce. The occupants of other flats in the building also play important roles, as do a few real live citizens of the city. Pat is a college student "on sabbatical" or "gap year". An interesting part of the package is Pat's psychiatrist father who doles out great advice ~ from another part of town.
Each character seems to be weighted with extremes of personality & that is where the fun lies for me. "What a hoot" my Edinburgh friends would say, although they may not need to turn to McCall Smith's books to provide them with droll characters, ironic turns of phrase, poetic quotations, etc. They doubtless have a good supply of their own "indelible" moments.
"Pulling the legs" of many readers, the author had a good time with a story about investigating a tunnel under 44 Scotland Street. His wonderful multi-dimensional character, Domenica, leads a few friends & comes to a place where the group listens to a dinner discussion just above their heads. Voices of well-known (Edinburghers*) Establishment figures are recognized & sly remarks made for the reader to cogitate upon. (actually, only in Indiana would citizens of an "Edinburg/h" be called that).
The book naturally leaves readers 'hanging' in the fashion of serials. Very happily there are already three more volumes to help satisfy our curiosity & hunger for further escapades involving these strangers who now occupy a secure place in the labyrinths of memory. Lovely, storied Edinburgh, its "angled streets" pull at our heartstrings.
Illustrations by Iain McIntosh as mentioned in the author's Preface, are
clever, humorous and total perfection: I yearn for a door-knocker of his design; ditto, kitchen faucets!
I will try to add an IMAGE of the Iain McIntosh website above . . . Edinburgh, Friendship, and "tears of rain" . . . memories old & new, for all that I express grateful thanks to Alexander McCall Smith, my favorite 'long-distance runner'.
*commentary-with-a-small-c* by mchaiku
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