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 People I'd like to meet doing interesting things October 30, 2007
51 out of 52 found this review helpful
Responses to this series divide so sharply that it's tempting merely to write that "people who like this sort of thing will like this", but that would do a tremendous disservice to those who haven't yet discovered this series.
Chapters ran first as a serial in a newspaper in Scotland, about 1000 words a day ending, often as not, in little or larger cliffhangers. The characters continue from the first two volumes -- these are volumes, more than novels -- and they continue to engage each other or find themselves in improbable, quirky episodes. So the first thing is that if you didn't like serialized comics or cartoons, you will probably be happier not trying to get into this.
In addition, Alexander McCall Smith often includes a little mystery that culminates in a twist. Although the endings are sensible, not fantastical, these are not problems to be solved as a result of logical clues having been dropped along the way. If red herrings annoy you instead of amusing you, this is not a book you will enjoy.
There are a few causes taken up. One in particular, letting little boys be little boys instead of trying to churn out androgynous little prodigies, I happen strongly to agree with, but Smith does not make the point with a light or subtle touch. Those strongly disposed against this notion might take offense, which would certainly interfere with their enjoyment.
Why do I take so much trouble warning off those who will not like this book? Because I think that those who want something fun, imaginative, provocative (mostly in a gentle way), and redolent of place (Edinburgh and well beyond in this volume) will have a blast picking this up. If reviews of other titles in this series are an indication, plenty of readers will follow me criticizing the book as not sharing the strengths of other Smith books (okay, those books didn't run first in a daily newspaper) and as more of a daydream than a gritty tale of a modern city (in other words, although these are chronicles like Dickens', they are not epic).
This isn't Dickens and it isn't anything that would be recognized now as great literature. But did I say it was fun, imaginative, gently provocative, and infused with a sense of place and character? I guess I did. I loved it.
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