Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 15
 A light, digestible and very satisfying read February 18, 2010
Kelly (UK)
I've just finished reading this book and found it as enjoyable as all the previous books in this series. It is well written with some exquisite passages - particularly those in which the heroine enjoys those simple moments when nature delights her. I like the way the everyday - and not so everyday dilemmas are wrestled with, the complexity of human behaviour and the chill of an Edinburgh summer evening. Alexander Mc Call Smith delivers a very digestible novel on a par with the delectable food he describes
 What a disappointment January 4, 2010
Alison (UK)
I have read most of Alexander McCall Smith and this is by far the worst. The novel is full of inconsequential, unrelated incidents, which appear from nowhere and then disappear again. There is no story line and an obsession with the diet of Charlie, the toddler. The book reads as if it has been edited so much that most of the it has been taken out.
 An interesting premise for a work of fiction December 21, 2009
D. Briggs (UK)
This is the first book I've read from Mccall's 'philosophy' series, I regret starting with this one first because it soon became evident it was a follow-on from the rest. This said, it wasn't too difficult to get the general idea. I really appreciated the way Mccall mixed philosophical musings with fiction and I am now reading the first in the series, 'The sunday philosophy club'. I, personally, have an interest in philosophy, yet I think anyone could relate to Mccall's thoughts because it's delivered in a non-academic context. In parts I thought the storyline might have been a bit stronger and the ending was a lttle disappointing, however, this book generally made for an interesting read.
Isabel Dalhousie strikes again November 20, 2009
Contullich
Can't fault this book - a great addition to the series. Long may they continue!
 beautiful nothingness November 9, 2009
Alexa (Midlothian United Kingdom)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I enjoyed the way this book was written; I admire Mr. McCall Smoth's detailed observation of human behaviour. I found Isabel Dalhousie a sympathetic and believable character; I appreciated the descriptive passages, which beautifully evoke Edinburgh - a city with which I am familiar.
However, when I finished the book, I felt cheated. Nothing had really happened. Nothing new, or insightful about human nature, had been revealed. Reading this book was not an arduous experience, but I felt it was a waste of time. I kept admring how well it was written and waited patiently for the point to be revealed but there was none.
I see that I have been reading a book from the middle of a series. Maybe I would feel differently if these were well-loved, familiar figures to me; but they were not, and ultimately I could not really care about them. I would certainly recommend that no one reads this as their first introduction to Isabal Dalhousie.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 15
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