| The Careful Use of Compliments: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Alexander Mccall Smith
Publisher: Pantheon
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
Buy Used: $2.90
You Save: $19.05 (87%)
New (43) Used (47) Collectible (3) from $2.90
Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 5348
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.8 x 1
ISBN: 037542301X
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780375423017
ASIN: 037542301X
Publication Date: August 7, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: EX-LIBRARY; used item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned for refund. Buy with confidence - your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics!
|
| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 27 | | NEXT » |
 The philosopher mom July 10, 2008
The latest book in the "Sunday Philosophy Club" series takes a deeper look at protagonist Isabel Dalhousie as a person with intense attachments to her new baby and her musician lover but who is still struggling to approach life with the objectivity of a philosopher. Isabel finds that this is not always an easy act to balance. While some of the most enjoyable parts of this continuing story revolve around Isabel's personal life, author McCall-Smith has thrown in an interesting mystery (softcore) and a little intrigue that gives the book some snap and energy.
The reader can easily get the impression from this series and the Mma Ramotswe books, that McCall-Smith may be using the two female protagonists as alter egos to get at some basic ethical issues that bug him and plague most of human kind. Isabel Dalhousie's mulling of daily moral issues is the basic structure on which all else in the books hang. I find this enjoyable for the most part, though I can understand why other readers could see it as off the point at times.
Overall, this book and its predecessors are the purest form of mental comfort food. I feel great for days after reading these books and always look forward to the next one in the series.
She's not your typical mom May 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In response to an earlier review, I didn't feel cheated by the absence of description about how Isabel carried and gave birth to Charlie. I don't think she's the kind of woman who gets into matters of motherhood the way most women do. She lives in her head and has to learn to live more in the physical world, which a baby will force her to do, sooner or later. The novel is fun, like the earlier ones, but not quite as well put together in my opinion. Toward the end I felt as if the author was in a hurry to get it finished. On the whole, I think his Ladies Detective Agency novels feel more polished. But I love them all.
The Careful Use of Compliments April 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm always curious and somewhat puzzled....how does a man think he can write as if he were a woman? But, I have to say, Alexander McCall Smith makes it believable. His main character is in many ways genderless, and not totally feminine sounding, but the story is excellent, the writing style enjoyable to read, and I'm crazy about all things Scottish, so it was a pleasure. Having been in Edinburgh, it was fun to be able to feel I was walking along with the protagonist about the city. I think I'd like to read more in this series.
 Agree - Isabel has jumped the shark February 28, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I agree with the earlier posted who said Isabel has jumped the shark with the birth of Charlie. However, I think the Charlie storyline could have been very interesting, if McCall-Smith had any idea what it's like to be a mother of a newborn baby, which is impossible.
The ridiculous way that Isabel continues to pine for and obsess about Jamie is almost comical in this book. Sorry, but most new moms only have eyes for their babies, for at least the first 6 months or so. Hormones play a big role in that unconditional love thing, you know. But in this book, she barely gives Charlie a passing thought; we never see her being in the least bit tender with him, etc. Even in one scene where she looks out the window (or whatever) and sees Jamie holding Charlie, she's only thinking about wonderful Jamie. Sorry, this is not believable at all.
 Bored and disappointed February 19, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
Isabel Dalhousie is surely the most self-absorbed,pedantic,prudish shrewish busybody I have ever had the misfortune to come up against. She obviously considers her opinions to be the only ones that count, and doesn't trust anyone to have a legitmate thought in their heads. Even the father of her child is given the sharp side of her tongue every time he speaks. What he ever saw in her is a mystery. I have read many stories set in Edinburgh, a city I love, but these tales are spoiled by this impossible woman. Surely the women of Edinburgh have progressed far enough to let the person they love know how they feel without dissecting every emotion until there is nothing left. Not recommended.
|
|
|
