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62nd out of 264 books
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44 Scotland Street (44 Scotland Street #1)
by
Alexander McCall Smith (Goodreads Author)
Welcome to 44 Scotland Street, home to some of Edinburgh's most colorful characters. There's Pat, a twenty-year-old who has recently moved into a flat with Bruce, an athletic young man with a keen awareness of his own appearance. Their neighbor, Domenica, is an eccentric and insightful widow. In the flat below are Irene and her appealing son Bertie, who is the victim of hi...more
Paperback, 325 pages
Published
December 6th 2005
by Anchor
(first published June 14th 2005)
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Sixty pages into this book, I stopped and looked at the back of it. What was it about again? Did the same thing sixty pages later.
When I finally closed the back cover, I realized that this is a book about nothing. It's Seinfeld in Edinburgh.
McCall Smith did this serial novel for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. Each chapter is short -- about 9 inches of copy for a daily newspaper run.
And what he's created is this wonderful and funny character study. Like ...more
When I finally closed the back cover, I realized that this is a book about nothing. It's Seinfeld in Edinburgh.
McCall Smith did this serial novel for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. Each chapter is short -- about 9 inches of copy for a daily newspaper run.
And what he's created is this wonderful and funny character study. Like ...more
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Donna
rated it
Recommends it for:
Lovers of art, literature, and the British Isles
Shelves:
literary-novels
I've just finished this book, and I'm absolutely enchanted with it. The title of the last chapter sums it up: "Gain, Loss, Friendship, Love." What more could one ask?
44 Scotland Street is a gentle book, like murmured conversation about fascinating things. The characters are more real than many people I've met in the flesh. After the last page is read, you feel that they continue on without you, as in life.
Literary fiction is like art, I suppose: you either love ...more
44 Scotland Street is a gentle book, like murmured conversation about fascinating things. The characters are more real than many people I've met in the flesh. After the last page is read, you feel that they continue on without you, as in life.
Literary fiction is like art, I suppose: you either love ...more
There is something about McCall's Smith's writing that brings a smile to my face. Having read all of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books and adored them, I was hoping to find this series appealing as well and I certainly do. Meeting these Scottish characters is like sitting down to share a cup of coffee with a group of friends. Normally, the tangents some of these characters take would feel irrelevant and make me feel rather impatient, but I was willing to ramble anywhere in the city and cov...more
This was my first taste of Alexander McCall Smith's writing and I was not disappointed. Based on a set of character either residing in, or involved in some with with those residing in a building of flats in Scotland, the books follows them through various aspects of their lives. Beautifully written, the characters were deep, interesting, and fun to follow through the trials and tribulations of their lives. And McCall Smith is one of the best writers I've had the joy of reading in quite some t...more
Alexander McCall Smith, after chatting with Armistead Maupin at a party at Amy Tan's house about serialized novels, undertook to write what is essentially an Edinburgh version of Tales of the City. 44 Scotland Street doesn't have Maupin's very sly wit, sense of zeitgeist and ability to define what is iconic in a place and time, but it's certainly a successful, if light, story of the various young and old tenants of an Edinburgh apartment house and the people in their expanding circles, and nimbl...more
This is the first of a series (I'm not sure I'll bother listing the rest here) that first appeared, just like a Dickens novel, in a newspaper. Some find the writing episodic, but I have no problem with that. Makes it easy to pick up and put down in small bites.
A saxaphone savant (if not exactly his idea; he's all of about five), a 20-something narcissist obsessed with hair products and uncertain about the undergarment for a kilt, a later-middle aged anthropologist whose widowhood......more
A saxaphone savant (if not exactly his idea; he's all of about five), a 20-something narcissist obsessed with hair products and uncertain about the undergarment for a kilt, a later-middle aged anthropologist whose widowhood......more
Lorna
added it
The shape and pace of 44 Scotland Street reflect its origins as a novel in daily instalments for a Scottish newspaper. The subject is a favourite of McCall Smith, the minutiae of the daily lives of the inhabitants of Edinburgh - this time, the residents of a block of flats in the city.
Pat is the latest resident of the block, who shares a flat with the narcissistic Bruce. There's the widow Domenica, and five year old Bertie and his frightful mother Irene. We meet their friends, relatives and ...more
Pat is the latest resident of the block, who shares a flat with the narcissistic Bruce. There's the widow Domenica, and five year old Bertie and his frightful mother Irene. We meet their friends, relatives and ...more
Alexander McCall Smith's books are total craaaaaaack. Seriously. They're like cotton candy with endpapers. Smith explains in the introduction that this series came about when he met Armistead Maupin, author of the Tales of the City books, at a party in San Francisco; he lamented the demise of the serial novel, and then was challenged to write his own. Since I really enjoyed the Tales of the City books [side rant:] or at least the first three; after that, Maupin apparently concluded that any fema...more
I’ve only recently become acquainted with Alexander McCall Smith by way of his light detective series based in Botswana and featuring The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Now I’ve met the distinctive characters who are residents of the Edinburgh apartment building at 44 Scotland Street. McCall Smith was inspired by the serialized work of Armistead Maupin, whose “Tales of the City” captured an era in San Francisco. This collection likewise appeared in a newspaper, The Scotsman; hence the reader...more
I have long loved the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books, there is something gentle and pleasant about them, and had at the back of my mind to some day get around to reading Alexander McCall Smith's other offerings. Particularly 44 Scotland Street because it was written as a serial for The Scotsman newspaper. A serial for a newspaper? In this day and age? Intriguing.
Well a winter flu coupled with a winter storm had me home bound for the better part of a week and when I was well ...more
Well a winter flu coupled with a winter storm had me home bound for the better part of a week and when I was well ...more
"44 Scotland Street' is an address in Edinburgh, Scotland that has multiple interesting tenants. In a book, similar to "Tales of the City" by Armistead Maupin, the lives of the tenants is told to us in short chapter style as it was published in the newspaper 'The Scotland' as a serial.
Besides the enjoyment of being able to read as much or little as you wish at a time, the individual tales hold you captive in their ability to make you want to know what happens next.
...more
Besides the enjoyment of being able to read as much or little as you wish at a time, the individual tales hold you captive in their ability to make you want to know what happens next.
...more
I wish I'd known before purchasing this for my kindle that it was originally published as a daily!! newspaper serial. Being prolific obviously comes easily to McCall, and he accepted this challenge with no second thoughts (comparing himself to Dickens!) whose novels were also originally published as serials, but Mccall does a disservice to the reader. Too many characters with too many stories, some of which never become resolved. And most of these characters are one dimensional. I was especially...more
Well, my daughter said, the night I couldn't sleep...."don't read THAT book (the Obama one) you'll never go to sleep...read this one." So I started '44 Scotland Street'. The book was started as a newspaper serial, so it is a lot of short chapters that always lead you to go on to the next one. The character development is wonderful. You really get to know them all in short order and you get to like or dislike them all in short order. It takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland on Scotland...more
Utterly charming-- Tales of the City in Edinburgh, told with great affection for Edinburgh and for the frailties of human nature.
The cast of characters is dizzying: Bruce the handsome-and-knows-it young man, Pat the ingenue who answers his ad for a roommate, Matt the hapless gallery owner who hires Pat; Big Lou, the auto-didact who bought a bookstore books and all, converted it to a coffee shop and read all the books in the meantime; Domenica the 60-something neighbor who takes Pat under ...more
The cast of characters is dizzying: Bruce the handsome-and-knows-it young man, Pat the ingenue who answers his ad for a roommate, Matt the hapless gallery owner who hires Pat; Big Lou, the auto-didact who bought a bookstore books and all, converted it to a coffee shop and read all the books in the meantime; Domenica the 60-something neighbor who takes Pat under ...more
I seem to be on an Edinburgh kick, having read this followed by "One Good Turn." Not sure I'm eager to visit, though Alexander McCall Smith can certainly bring out more of the charm than Kate Atkinson can. Still, being set in a colder clime seems to affect the characters and the story - these don't seem as warm and sunny as those of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency." The characters here are quirky, and McCall Smith seems to have fun mocking certain types, especially thos...more
"Will Lyons had agreed to meet Bruce at the request of his friend Ed Black. Ed knew a colleague of Bruce's through Roddy Martine, w...more
This was a really different book to read. It was originally published as a newspaper column so each chapter is only about 2 pages long. In the preface, the author describes the challenges of writing a story in this method which I thought was interesting. He could't go back and rewrite anything and each "column" had to be interesting, move the story forward and leave the reader wanting more. Very different from a regular novel.
The story is about Pat, a twenty year old li...more
The story is about Pat, a twenty year old li...more
If the rest of this series continues at the same level as the opener, Scotland might just have its own version of Ireland's Maeve Binchy.
44 Scotland Street follows around a group of characters in their everyday lives and shows the good, the bad, and the ugly. The writing falls somewhere between the overly somber early Binchy and the overly optimistic late Binchy and has yet to prove its staying power, though I suspect that will not be an issue in the long run.
Here is the...more
44 Scotland Street follows around a group of characters in their everyday lives and shows the good, the bad, and the ugly. The writing falls somewhere between the overly somber early Binchy and the overly optimistic late Binchy and has yet to prove its staying power, though I suspect that will not be an issue in the long run.
Here is the...more
Name dropping - blech. If I had an inkling of Scottish politics or knew Edinburgh intimately, this book MIGHT be more palatable - but just barely. None of the characters are particularly sympathetic, and the plot meanders through slapstick, awkwardly forced comedic moments interspersed with knowing, wink-wink references to real-life Edinburgh characters. The fact that the novel was written episodically in the local newspaper doesn't help continuity or flow. It's like there was no editorial proc...more
This is light and enjoyable reading at its best. Written in response to a challenge set forth to Alexander McCall Smith, it echoes novels from the turn of the century when they were written in serialisation and appeared in various newspapers and magazines.
The cast of characters is varied, so there will be a character for everyone's taste (both positive and negative). The story starts straightaway- there is no lead-in- and we immediately get a sense of what to expect from the char...more
The cast of characters is varied, so there will be a character for everyone's taste (both positive and negative). The story starts straightaway- there is no lead-in- and we immediately get a sense of what to expect from the char...more
This is a book set in a neighborhood in modern day Edinburgh. In it are varied neighborhood characters such as the narcistic young man, the girl taking a year off from university, a wise older lady, a non-assertive young gallery owner, and many more. In spite of the differences in place and culture, it reminds me a little of Garrison Keeler's Lake Woebegon as the chracters go about their daily lives, making mistakes, finding friends, having ordinary events somehow turn out extraordinay. Even ...more
I have read this book before but enjoyed again the rich characters in it. Each of the people exists in a rooming house passing each other in the hall and yet not really knowing about each other's lives. My favorite character is the little boy prodigy, Bertie, or at least his mother thinks so. He is 5 and playing the saxophone and learning to read and speak Italian. His overly involved mother has painted his bedroom pink so he will not be bound by the cultural stereotypes and would rather see...more
Opening 44 Scotland Street is like paging through a pop-up book, with characters, situations, and a descriptions of Edinburgh that pops right off the page. It is simply a fun, fun book to read, especially if you have spent any time in Europe. McCall Smith is a master of character development, with realistic dialogue and emotional descriptions that help the reader feel that he has escaped into Scotland. A great book to read between heavy non-fiction books.
This book, by Alexander McCall Smith, turned out to be much better than those of 'No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency' series.
This books was first published as a serialized novel in the newspaper 'The Scotsman'. This ensure the story is eventful as eventfulness is essential to engage interest in a serial. Also, you have to leave the reader looking forward for more in the next chapter.
This is an out and out Scottish novel - characters live in 44 Scotland Street. Pat is a twenty yea...more
This books was first published as a serialized novel in the newspaper 'The Scotsman'. This ensure the story is eventful as eventfulness is essential to engage interest in a serial. Also, you have to leave the reader looking forward for more in the next chapter.
This is an out and out Scottish novel - characters live in 44 Scotland Street. Pat is a twenty yea...more
How is it that one author's characters turn out to be cardboard cutouts (I'm thinking of a book I reviewed just a few days ago) while another author's creations live and breathe marvelously, seemingly without any more effort?
It's not the number of words. It's not down to the amount of description. No, I can't put my finger on it, but it's the difference between a story that has a pulse and one that lies there, cold and inert.
Alexander McCall Smith has the gift of being...more
It's not the number of words. It's not down to the amount of description. No, I can't put my finger on it, but it's the difference between a story that has a pulse and one that lies there, cold and inert.
Alexander McCall Smith has the gift of being...more
I am reading these out of sequence, having begun with The World According to Bertie (#4), and followed that with Love Over Scotland (#3). Of course, I will be reading Espresso Tales (#2) on the plane ride back from Victoria, where I am hiding out this summer. (I hide out here every summer.)
44 Scotland Street is the first in this series of books created out of installments in The Scotsman. As such, it is an introduction to most of the people we will be following, which is probably ...more
44 Scotland Street is the first in this series of books created out of installments in The Scotsman. As such, it is an introduction to most of the people we will be following, which is probably ...more
I didn't know anything about this book when I started reading it. In the preface, it says that each chapter was printed in a newspaper in Scotland one day at a time and sometimes the author was only a few days ahead of the story! That was so impressive to me. It made me realize that each chapter would have to be interesting because otherwise people would not want to read it in the newspaper day after day. Each chapter is only about 2.5 pages long. This made it so easy for me to read a little at ...more
Yet another series by McCall Smith to love. This particular book tells the interweaving stories of the people who live at 44 Scotland Street, from the narcissistic Bruce to the super-controlling mom Irene and her genius (and adorable) five-year-old son Bertie, who, at his mom's insistence, is learning Italian, doing yoga, and going to therapy . . . I liked most of the story threads and I'm particularly fond of Pat and Bertie. Although nothing hugely significant happens in this first volume, I en...more
I’d read a number of his Lady’s Detective Agency books, which I loved at first and then thought they petered out, but McCall has a deft hand with a story. He is satirical without being mean, and he always has a central character, usually a woman, in this case 20 year old Pat on her second gap year in Edinburgh. There a lovely stories about people living near Pat’s flat at 44 Scotland Street. Bruce her narcissist roommate. The wise Domenica who lives across the hall. The crazy Irene below wh...more
I loved this first book in McCall Smith's "Scotland Street" series--I don't know why I didn't start it sooner, since I love his "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" books and wait very impatiently for each new one to appear. Having this series to catch up on will help fill that time until I can have more Mma Ramotswe adventures.
This series has the same gentleness one finds in the Mma Ramotswe books; there is an unusual calmness and thoughtfulness to McCall Smith's writ...more
This series has the same gentleness one finds in the Mma Ramotswe books; there is an unusual calmness and thoughtfulness to McCall Smith's writ...more
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Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what...more
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