| Espresso Tales | 
 enlarge | Author: Alexander Mccall Smith
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $2.48
You Save: $11.47 (82%)
New (54) Used (51) Collectible (2) from $2.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  33 reviews
Sales Rank: 19428
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0307275973
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.917
EAN: 9780307275974
ASIN: 0307275973
Publication Date: July 11, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Standard used condition.
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| Customer Reviews:
 More tales of the absurd May 1, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I love a clever, witty, funny book, and this is another great one from Alexander McCall Smith. It was fun to hear the continuing saga of the denizens of 44 Scotland Street, and it's amazing to think that Smith wrote this in installments for the local paper. I particularly enjoyed the story of Bertie and his antics at school, including his new friends Tofu, Merlin, and Hiawatha.
I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first -- the sections about Ramsey Dumbarton were incredibly boring and I ended up skipping them -- but it was still quite entertaining.
 Espresso Tales March 25, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I can't get enough of Mccall Smith. 44 and Espresso are delightful. I didn't agree that there were bits throughout that were boring. I find all the characters entertaining. I look forward to the next.
Book Does Not Travel Well February 17, 2007
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
Espresso Tales was first published as daily installment's in the conservative newspaper, "The Scotsman". The novel follows the daily lives of an ensemble group of middle class Edinburgh neighbors. At its core, Espresso Tales is a novel of Edinburgh written for the people of Edinburgh. The book is filled with the inside references and observations that McCall Smith's neighbors must have delighted in.
Alexander McCall Smith is a great craftsman who specializes in the philosophical problems of ordinary life. However, I think his wise pen is best used when directed towards a lady detective in Botswana or linguistics professors in Germany. There is something about writing about his own backyard which fills McCall Smith with the need to preach to his neighbors. There is always the sense that McCall Smith is preaching to a conservative choir of loyal Scotsman readers.
Espresso Tales is a pleasant read with many charming chapters. Alexander McCall Smith has a winning personality and it is hard not to like his many books. However, if a reader is new to Alexander McCall Smith, this is not the first of his books to read. Start with the Number One Lady Detective Series and then move onto the sublime Portuguese Irregular Verb series.
Chuckles on every page December 29, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Mccall Smith is truly amazing. He has at least four book series going and all contain strikingly original and interesting characters. I happened to like the "Espresso Tales" sequel to "44 Scotland Street" somewhat better than the original. It's got more piquancy and snap and its ironies are sharper and often funnier. The resolutions of Bernie the Kid's painful problems with his yuppie mother and his much hated psychologist are delicious, but there are a host of other comeuppances that Mccall Smith hilariously tosses in here that are wonderful. This is a great airplane read--which is appropriate, since it is said that the author often creates most of these short novels on transatlantic flights of his own.
 Not at all like "The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series November 27, 2006
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Having read and thoroughly enjoyed several books in McCall Smith's "#1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series, I purchased the audio version of "Espresso Tales" to accompany me during frequent long drives, hoping for similar entertainment. I was sorely disappointed.
Although I had not previously read any of the "44-Scotland Street" novels, I expected the intriguing characters, subtle but satisfying humor and engaging plots ubiquitous in the "#1 Ladies Detective Agency" books.
Instead, other than 6-year old Bertie, a clever and delightful boy, I found the characters boring and not unlike the very-ordinary-to-the-point-of-mind-numbing people in Ann Tyler novels. The wonderful bits of dry British wit (e.g., Ramsey's dreary memoirs, the boy named Tofu and the pursuits of his parents, and Bruce's conceit and utter lack of introspection) were sprinkled far too sparsely to keep the novel moving along.
I assumed the title of the novel was indicative of the lift one gets from a cup of espresso, not that the reader would do well to fortify himself/herself with several cups of espresso to get through it! The book would make a great gift for bedtime reading insomniacs, or for readers who appreciate good British literature but don't necessarily read for entertainment.
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