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Pianos and Flowers: Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind
From the beloved and best-selling author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, a charming collection of stories about life and romance In these fourteen delightful tales, Alexander McCall Smith imagines the lives and loves behind some of the everyday people featured in pictures from the London Sunday Times photographic archive. A young woman finds unexpected love while perusing Egyptian antiquities. A family is forever fractured when war comes to Penang, in colonial Malaysia. Iron Jelloid tablets help to reveal a young man's inner strength. And twin sisters discover that romance can blossom anywhere—even at the altar.Throughout Pianos and Flowers, McCall Smith employs his indomitable charm to explore the possibilities of love, friendship, and happiness.
181 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 7, 2019
319 people are currently reading
995 people want to read
About the author
Alexander McCall Smith
673 books12.7k followersAlexander 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 is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland. Visit him online at www.alexandermccallsmith.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 322 reviews
January 19, 2021
EXCERPT: This is an extract from the title story, Pianos and Flowers.
She read constantly, almost a novel a day. She devoured Maugham's 'The Casuarina Tree', saying to herself, 'Yes, yes, that's exactly right,' although her friend wrote to her from Penang to say how angry they were that he had abused their hospitality by writing about them. 'That man,' she steamed, 'accepted the hospitality of a whole lot of people - some of whom you and I actually know, Francie - and then writes about them like that! As if adultery and back-biting were the only things we thought about from the moment we get out of bed - rarely our own bed, in Mr Maugham's view - until the time we turn the lights out. If you could hear some of the things they are saying about that man here, and his so-called secretary...'
ABOUT 'PIANOS AND FLOWERS': A delightful compendium of short stories inspired by images in the renowned photographic archive of The Sunday Times.
A picture can paint a thousand words, but what about a vintage photograph?
In 2015 Alexander McCall Smith wrote a book entitled Chance Developments: Unexpected Love Stories, in which he imagined the stories behind five chanced-upon black and white photographs. Who were those people, why were they smiling, what made them sad? He so enjoyed the experience that when The Sunday Times generously offered him access to their early 20th century photograph archive he jumped at the opportunity.
MY THOUGHTS: 14 short stories accompanied by the photos which inspired them. Some are clever, some are witty, some sad, some touching, and I found only one to be mundane.
There's one photo that particularly touched my heart, that of a group of boys, many in sixth or seventh hand shoes.
The stories themselves are varied in subject matter: there are stories of families, friendship, romance, obligation, business and travel. They are stories of every day people going about their lives in the 1800s, their trials and tribulations, the things that make them happy and sad.
A lovely book designed, I think, to be dipped into from time to time rather than be read in one sitting. There is certainly food for thought in more than one of these stories, and I am sure that I will be picking this book up again.
⭐⭐⭐.6
#PianosAndFlowers #NetGalley
THE AUTHOR: 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 is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Pianos and Flowers by Alexander McCall Smith for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
She read constantly, almost a novel a day. She devoured Maugham's 'The Casuarina Tree', saying to herself, 'Yes, yes, that's exactly right,' although her friend wrote to her from Penang to say how angry they were that he had abused their hospitality by writing about them. 'That man,' she steamed, 'accepted the hospitality of a whole lot of people - some of whom you and I actually know, Francie - and then writes about them like that! As if adultery and back-biting were the only things we thought about from the moment we get out of bed - rarely our own bed, in Mr Maugham's view - until the time we turn the lights out. If you could hear some of the things they are saying about that man here, and his so-called secretary...'
ABOUT 'PIANOS AND FLOWERS': A delightful compendium of short stories inspired by images in the renowned photographic archive of The Sunday Times.
A picture can paint a thousand words, but what about a vintage photograph?
In 2015 Alexander McCall Smith wrote a book entitled Chance Developments: Unexpected Love Stories, in which he imagined the stories behind five chanced-upon black and white photographs. Who were those people, why were they smiling, what made them sad? He so enjoyed the experience that when The Sunday Times generously offered him access to their early 20th century photograph archive he jumped at the opportunity.
MY THOUGHTS: 14 short stories accompanied by the photos which inspired them. Some are clever, some are witty, some sad, some touching, and I found only one to be mundane.
There's one photo that particularly touched my heart, that of a group of boys, many in sixth or seventh hand shoes.
The stories themselves are varied in subject matter: there are stories of families, friendship, romance, obligation, business and travel. They are stories of every day people going about their lives in the 1800s, their trials and tribulations, the things that make them happy and sad.
A lovely book designed, I think, to be dipped into from time to time rather than be read in one sitting. There is certainly food for thought in more than one of these stories, and I am sure that I will be picking this book up again.
⭐⭐⭐.6
#PianosAndFlowers #NetGalley
THE AUTHOR: 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 is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Pianos and Flowers by Alexander McCall Smith for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
May 17, 2020
This is a short story collection by Alexander McCall Smith, stories inspired by photographs which he has done previously, here he takes a vintage collection of black and white photos, courtesy of the Sunday Times. Whilst there were many stories that I really enjoyed reading, this is nevertheless a mixed bag of tales of love, friendship, life and romance. So the wide range of disparate stories include a Margaret who is absolutely certain that she will know and recognise the right man for her, a mother who wanted her son to enter a specific profession and the weddings of a pair of twins. The stories are often witty, humourous, subtle, profound, insightful, with many located in Scotland. The problem is that many are too slight, just not long enough to satisfy me. I would recommend this collection, just be prepared for the occasional disappointment in the stories too. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
March 24, 2022
Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander McCall Smith is the author of several popular series including the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, the Isabel Dalhousie books, and 44 Scotland Street stories. I think of his novels as gentle, humorous books that demonstrate the breadth of human nature, from selfish to saintly.
Pianos and Flowers is a compendium of short stories, each tale inspired by a photo from the archives of The Sunday Times newspaper. The pictures prompted Smith to pen anecdotes that range from slices of life to mini-biographies, and the narratives are touching, humorous, and surprising.
The collection is composed of 14 stories, some short and some long. I'll give examples of a few narratives, to provide a feel for the book. 🙂
⦿ Pianos and Flowers
A British brother and three sisters spend their childhood in Malaysia, then go home with mom, leaving dad behind to work. We see the unfortunate fate of British expats in Malaysia during WWII, and observe the youngsters growing up and getting on with their lives. The brother is expected to provide for his single sisters, so of course he'd like them to get married....and tries to help things along.
*****
⦿ Sphinx
A young woman called Margaret meets a nice gentleman, and they discover they both like to visit London's attraction, the Sphinx.
The couple have a strong attraction and plan to meet again, but things go wrong. Margaret subsequently drifts into another relationship that's only lukewarm (for her), and expects to get a proposal. What happens next is a surprise.
****
⦿ Maternal Designs
An architect named Richard is at odds with his mother, who wanted him to go into a different - and more prestigious - line of work. Mom thinks architects just draw pictures, and doesn't understand the structural/engineering elements of construction. This has consequences that are both funny and unfortunate.
*****
⦿ Pogo Sticks and Man with Bicycle
Francis Crick and James Watson are struggling to understand the structure of DNA until boys having fun on pogo sticks provide a clue.
*****
⦿ Duty
Claire and Dotty are identical twins but Claire, being two minutes older, considers herself the boss of the siblings. As young adults Claire acquires a beau, and chivvies Dotty into meeting his friend. Things take an unexpected turn from there.
*****
⦿ Blackmail
Nell and Harry had good jobs until bad behavior got them fired without references. They're now streetsweepers, and like to chat about people they see during the workday. Nell is especially observant and notices a blackmailer who targets men who cheat on their wives. Nell and Harry take action, and it's hilarious.
*****
Other stories deal with two boys who have an attraction to one another; a 'before and after' commercial where a scrawny little fellow is paired with a pretty girl; an anthropologist who studies headhunters; an English professor who likes figures of speech called zeugmas; poor boys who have different experiences growing up; a woman concerned about her anxious husband; and more.
The book is entertaining and fun, highly recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley, Alexander McCall Smith, and Pantheon for a copy of the book.
You can follow my reviews at http://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com/
December 22, 2019
I am in awe of this man's imagination! In this book McCall Smith takes a number of old black and white photos about which he knows absolutely nothing, and then writes a short story about each one. His details are so specific and his writing so convincing it is impossible to believe he is making it all up. But he is and it is brilliant.
Some of the stories are profound, some are sad, all of them are about the absurdities and the coincidences of normal life. My favourite stories were "Sphinx" and "Iron Jelloids" but all of them were good.
I noticed one reviewer describing the author as a wordsmith and that is so, so appropriate. In this particular book he excels himself both with his words and his amazing brain which appears to conjure up such incredible tales out of so little information.
Some of the stories are profound, some are sad, all of them are about the absurdities and the coincidences of normal life. My favourite stories were "Sphinx" and "Iron Jelloids" but all of them were good.
I noticed one reviewer describing the author as a wordsmith and that is so, so appropriate. In this particular book he excels himself both with his words and his amazing brain which appears to conjure up such incredible tales out of so little information.
October 6, 2021
3.5★
“She is smiling, the young woman perched on the cross-bar; she is smiling broadly as they follow the tram lines.
. . .
She did not know what possessed her to accept a ride into work from Professor Mactaggart. She barely knew him, although she had seen him in the library, of course, when he came in to request a book from the special collection, or to trace an obscure reference to the work of some philologist nobody had ever heard of.”
This the picture that is illustrated on the cover of the edition of the book I’ve just read. It’s a cheery, happy photograph, one of the early twentieth century photographs the author chose from ‘The Sunday Times’ archives to tell us a story about.
Photograph that inspired “Zeugma”
I enjoy word play, and it was nice seeing these probably ‘proper’ people having a bit of spontaneous fun. He was headed for the library on his bicycle and stops to offer her a lift, knowing she works there. It’s a long walk, so she accepts. He begins chatting to her.
“‘Bearing in mind that neither of us had really planned this, one might perhaps say: “She was carried into town on a cross-bar and a whim.”
She smiled. And that is the smile we see in the photograph.
But then the Professor continued, “On a cross-bar and a whim.” Do you know what that is?’
She shook her head.
‘It’s a zeugma,’ said the Professor. ‘It’s a well-known figure of speech. The classic example is, "She went straight home, in a flood of tears and a sedan chair." That’s Dickens, no less.
. . . The essence of a zeugma is the contrast between a literal expression and a metaphor.’”
He apologises for boring her, but she’s interested, and so was I. They went on to make up silly metaphors that brightened the day for both of them. I liked their characters, and I didn’t mind that McCall Smith might have been showing off his erudition, since it was all so good-natured.
There’s a baker’s dozen of stories here, and like any selection of bakery goodies, some are very plain bread rolls, some are substantial pies, and some are deliciously perfect treats, if you’ll pardon my metaphorical silliness. My favourite was one of the delicious ones, Blackmail, where two streetsweepers compare notes and conspire to right a wrong.
Photograph of streetsweepers and pedestrians
They happen to meet at a corner to rest on their brooms and chat. They make the best of their lot.
“‘The good thing about this job,’ said Nell, ‘is that you’re right at the bottom of the heap. After this, you can’t exactly fall any lower.’
They wonder what people mean by the phrases they overhear.
“‘I came round the corner one day and there were two women standing on the pavement saying goodbye to one another. And the one said to the other, “Send me a postcard when the baby can say banana.”
Harry chuckled. ‘Well, well …’
‘Joe and I often say that when we take leave of one another. Send me a postcard when the baby can say banana.”
They become observant and Nell points out to Harry a well-dressed man she’s seen meet a young woman “all lovey-dovey” at the café every day. She tells him that today, the man is talking to another fellow who is a café regular – because he’s spying on likely targets for blackmail.
“Harry let out a whistle. ‘You really know your patch,’ he said.
Nell looked proud. ‘I keep my eyes open.’”
So open, in fact, that she knows the blackmailer has spotted the wife with his target today, and is now pouncing to exact a price for his silence.
I will not give the ending away, other than to say it was delicious!
There’s one about an architect whose mother thinks he just draws stuff and she reckons she could do as good a job as he does – with disastrous consequences. Quite funny.
Some stories are tender and thoughtful and some go down too many side tracks to hold my interest, but the good ones are worth the price of admission. McCall Smith has a great imagination so you never know where he’ll take you, but you know you’ll enjoy the trip. (Send me a postcard when the baby can say banana!)
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the review copy from which I’ve quoted and copied a couple of photographs.
“She is smiling, the young woman perched on the cross-bar; she is smiling broadly as they follow the tram lines.
. . .
She did not know what possessed her to accept a ride into work from Professor Mactaggart. She barely knew him, although she had seen him in the library, of course, when he came in to request a book from the special collection, or to trace an obscure reference to the work of some philologist nobody had ever heard of.”
This the picture that is illustrated on the cover of the edition of the book I’ve just read. It’s a cheery, happy photograph, one of the early twentieth century photographs the author chose from ‘The Sunday Times’ archives to tell us a story about.
Photograph that inspired “Zeugma”
I enjoy word play, and it was nice seeing these probably ‘proper’ people having a bit of spontaneous fun. He was headed for the library on his bicycle and stops to offer her a lift, knowing she works there. It’s a long walk, so she accepts. He begins chatting to her.
“‘Bearing in mind that neither of us had really planned this, one might perhaps say: “She was carried into town on a cross-bar and a whim.”
She smiled. And that is the smile we see in the photograph.
But then the Professor continued, “On a cross-bar and a whim.” Do you know what that is?’
She shook her head.
‘It’s a zeugma,’ said the Professor. ‘It’s a well-known figure of speech. The classic example is, "She went straight home, in a flood of tears and a sedan chair." That’s Dickens, no less.
. . . The essence of a zeugma is the contrast between a literal expression and a metaphor.’”
He apologises for boring her, but she’s interested, and so was I. They went on to make up silly metaphors that brightened the day for both of them. I liked their characters, and I didn’t mind that McCall Smith might have been showing off his erudition, since it was all so good-natured.
There’s a baker’s dozen of stories here, and like any selection of bakery goodies, some are very plain bread rolls, some are substantial pies, and some are deliciously perfect treats, if you’ll pardon my metaphorical silliness. My favourite was one of the delicious ones, Blackmail, where two streetsweepers compare notes and conspire to right a wrong.
Photograph of streetsweepers and pedestrians
They happen to meet at a corner to rest on their brooms and chat. They make the best of their lot.
“‘The good thing about this job,’ said Nell, ‘is that you’re right at the bottom of the heap. After this, you can’t exactly fall any lower.’
They wonder what people mean by the phrases they overhear.
“‘I came round the corner one day and there were two women standing on the pavement saying goodbye to one another. And the one said to the other, “Send me a postcard when the baby can say banana.”
Harry chuckled. ‘Well, well …’
‘Joe and I often say that when we take leave of one another. Send me a postcard when the baby can say banana.”
They become observant and Nell points out to Harry a well-dressed man she’s seen meet a young woman “all lovey-dovey” at the café every day. She tells him that today, the man is talking to another fellow who is a café regular – because he’s spying on likely targets for blackmail.
“Harry let out a whistle. ‘You really know your patch,’ he said.
Nell looked proud. ‘I keep my eyes open.’”
So open, in fact, that she knows the blackmailer has spotted the wife with his target today, and is now pouncing to exact a price for his silence.
I will not give the ending away, other than to say it was delicious!
There’s one about an architect whose mother thinks he just draws stuff and she reckons she could do as good a job as he does – with disastrous consequences. Quite funny.
Some stories are tender and thoughtful and some go down too many side tracks to hold my interest, but the good ones are worth the price of admission. McCall Smith has a great imagination so you never know where he’ll take you, but you know you’ll enjoy the trip. (Send me a postcard when the baby can say banana!)
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the review copy from which I’ve quoted and copied a couple of photographs.
December 30, 2020
A charming little book of short stories based on fourteen photographs McCall Smith selected from the Sunday times early 20th century photo archives. He uses his marvellous imagination to bring us snapshots of imagined human lives, sad, happy, poignant and often funny. Totally delightful!
January 7, 2021
The premise for this book: take a photo from The Sunday Times archives and write a story about it. Pick up another photograph and repeat. 14 times. Each story is full of details like education, occupations, and even future or past family information. If I had not read the Author's Note I would have thought Alexander McCall Smith actually was reporting on the photos. Many have a delightful twist at the end. Some of my favorites: Pianos and Flowers, Sphinx, Duty, Iron Jelloids, St. John's Wort, and Blackmail. If you are a fan of Alexander McCall Smith I do think you will appreciate this collection.
Thank you to Pantheon and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Pantheon and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
March 30, 2021
An interesting idea - McCall Smith takes photos from the Times of London's photo archive, all seemingly form the early to mid 20th century, and spins stories about the people in them. Most startlingly is that he spends most of his time on the people's interior lives, what thy were thinking and feeling before, during, and after the photographed moment, which is the one thing you can't at all get from the photos! Each of the protagonists have a rich interior life that often rubs up against the ways major British issues (of colonialism, war, social class, and tight social strictures) rub up against their individuality. McCall Smith does ramble a bit and many of his endings are just too pat, but the glimpses into the character's minds are delightful. Also, this is a very, very British book and if you don't care for Scotland or England you will likely quickly grow tired of it. But I have enough anglophile in me to say on the whole I really enjoyed this.
**Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
**Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
November 14, 2020
My decision to read Pianos and Flowers. Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind by Alexander McCall Smith was motivated largely by curiosity about the author. I most certainly have heard of him and his very successful No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series which so far as I can tell is up to book nineteen. My theory was that this collection of short stories might give me a taste of his writing style and perhaps inspire me to embark on reading some of the many books accredited to him. It turned out to be a good theory as this book showcased his versatility in creating an array of characters and putting his imagination to great use.
Each short story was inspired by a different photograph from the archives of the Sunday Times. These were black and white photos of varying street scenes and though I spent time looking at each photo before starting the associated story I never once went close to guessing the direction his story would take me. I enjoyed the way he would pick up on some element from the photo and develop a whole backstory to go with it. In a similar manner he would deduce the date of each photo then set the scene incorporating historical details and appropriate language. At books end I revisited the photos and was easily able to relate them back to the corresponding story. There were a few stories I enjoyed more than others and my favourite was Blackmail. The associated photo was possibly the least appealing to me yet what he did with his story was very clever. The gist of it was that a blackmailer copped a bit of his own medicine. I wonder if this is the type of storyline he includes in his popular series. Perhaps one day soon I'll find out as I'd like to see what he does with his full length novels.
I enjoyed this concept for a book of short stories and would like to see what he or other authors would come up with if given a set of contemporary photos to work with. My thanks to the author, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Each short story was inspired by a different photograph from the archives of the Sunday Times. These were black and white photos of varying street scenes and though I spent time looking at each photo before starting the associated story I never once went close to guessing the direction his story would take me. I enjoyed the way he would pick up on some element from the photo and develop a whole backstory to go with it. In a similar manner he would deduce the date of each photo then set the scene incorporating historical details and appropriate language. At books end I revisited the photos and was easily able to relate them back to the corresponding story. There were a few stories I enjoyed more than others and my favourite was Blackmail. The associated photo was possibly the least appealing to me yet what he did with his story was very clever. The gist of it was that a blackmailer copped a bit of his own medicine. I wonder if this is the type of storyline he includes in his popular series. Perhaps one day soon I'll find out as I'd like to see what he does with his full length novels.
I enjoyed this concept for a book of short stories and would like to see what he or other authors would come up with if given a set of contemporary photos to work with. My thanks to the author, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 22, 2020
4.5★s
Pianos and Flowers: Brief Encounters Of The Romantic Kind is a collection of short stories by British author, Alexander McCall Smith. He was offered access to the photographic archives of The Sunday Times and chose fourteen photographs about which to write accompanying stories. Six of the stories have been published earlier; the remainder are new.
In his inimitable fashion, McCall Smith selects some element of the photograph around which to build a wonderful story. Sometimes they are amusing, sometimes moving or poignant. Generally, a backstory is provided of both before and after the photograph, mostly not carrying equal weight. And what an imagination this man has!
Pianos and Flowers focuses on a row of figures on a lawn and describes the childhood of four British ex-pat siblings in Penang, and their subsequent return to Britain with their mother while their father remained abroad.
I’d Cry Buckets takes a scene of two young men crossing a burn with a freshly-shot stag laden on horseback and describes their discussion at the cusp of their entry into adult lives: an unnecessary confession is made.
Sphinx is one of the best of these stories, published previously and definitely worth rereading. After working in a Glasgow bank, twenty-six-year-old Margaret moves to London and a better job. It’s the 1930s and her landlady is suggesting she make an effort to find a husband, but Margaret is sure she will know the right man when she meets him. And she does. But things go a little amiss: is she going to end up marrying the not-quite-right man?
Maternal Designs: a besuited man strides away from a partially collapsed building. We are told he is an architect whose mother really wanted him to become a doctor, but eventually embraced his chosen profession, with more enthusiasm than he realised.
The Dwarf Tale-Teller of the Romanian Roms: from a Romny camp scene, McCallSmith conjures up an indignant anthropologist.
Duty draws a tale of motherless twin sisters from a scene of two women, twins who eventually wed – a delightful twist in the tail.
Iron Jelloids: from a photo of a tall woman and a short man on a tram, McCall Smith invokes the photo shoot of an advertisement for an iron supplement with miraculous effects.
Zeugma: a smiling woman seated on the crossbar of a bicycle ridden by a man becomes a linguistics professor giving a librarian a lift to work.
Urchins: a group of urchins on a street are given likely stories of deprivation and violence, but also heroism and moments fun and love.
St John’s Wort: a woman at a well in front of a country cottage becomes the house of a retired tractor mechanic who worries so incessantly about the global threat that it drives him to desperate measures. But a neighbour suggests a remedy.
Blackmail: a foggy street scene has two sweepers discussing their lot and the circumstances that led to their downfall. But one relates certain compensations of their job.
Pogo Sticks and Man with Bicycle: as young men enjoy their pogo sticks, certain professors, on the cusp of a momentous discovery, observe.
La Plage: a winter-clad couple strolls by a beach. While his wife gossips about family matters, the husband muses on bad investments and bathing machines and one’s path in life.
While by no means are these all stories of romantic encounters, many are delightful, and some are laugh-out-loud funny. McCall Smith’s literary version of people-watching is a treat.
Pianos and Flowers: Brief Encounters Of The Romantic Kind is a collection of short stories by British author, Alexander McCall Smith. He was offered access to the photographic archives of The Sunday Times and chose fourteen photographs about which to write accompanying stories. Six of the stories have been published earlier; the remainder are new.
In his inimitable fashion, McCall Smith selects some element of the photograph around which to build a wonderful story. Sometimes they are amusing, sometimes moving or poignant. Generally, a backstory is provided of both before and after the photograph, mostly not carrying equal weight. And what an imagination this man has!
Pianos and Flowers focuses on a row of figures on a lawn and describes the childhood of four British ex-pat siblings in Penang, and their subsequent return to Britain with their mother while their father remained abroad.
I’d Cry Buckets takes a scene of two young men crossing a burn with a freshly-shot stag laden on horseback and describes their discussion at the cusp of their entry into adult lives: an unnecessary confession is made.
Sphinx is one of the best of these stories, published previously and definitely worth rereading. After working in a Glasgow bank, twenty-six-year-old Margaret moves to London and a better job. It’s the 1930s and her landlady is suggesting she make an effort to find a husband, but Margaret is sure she will know the right man when she meets him. And she does. But things go a little amiss: is she going to end up marrying the not-quite-right man?
Maternal Designs: a besuited man strides away from a partially collapsed building. We are told he is an architect whose mother really wanted him to become a doctor, but eventually embraced his chosen profession, with more enthusiasm than he realised.
The Dwarf Tale-Teller of the Romanian Roms: from a Romny camp scene, McCallSmith conjures up an indignant anthropologist.
Duty draws a tale of motherless twin sisters from a scene of two women, twins who eventually wed – a delightful twist in the tail.
Iron Jelloids: from a photo of a tall woman and a short man on a tram, McCall Smith invokes the photo shoot of an advertisement for an iron supplement with miraculous effects.
Zeugma: a smiling woman seated on the crossbar of a bicycle ridden by a man becomes a linguistics professor giving a librarian a lift to work.
Urchins: a group of urchins on a street are given likely stories of deprivation and violence, but also heroism and moments fun and love.
St John’s Wort: a woman at a well in front of a country cottage becomes the house of a retired tractor mechanic who worries so incessantly about the global threat that it drives him to desperate measures. But a neighbour suggests a remedy.
Blackmail: a foggy street scene has two sweepers discussing their lot and the circumstances that led to their downfall. But one relates certain compensations of their job.
Pogo Sticks and Man with Bicycle: as young men enjoy their pogo sticks, certain professors, on the cusp of a momentous discovery, observe.
La Plage: a winter-clad couple strolls by a beach. While his wife gossips about family matters, the husband muses on bad investments and bathing machines and one’s path in life.
While by no means are these all stories of romantic encounters, many are delightful, and some are laugh-out-loud funny. McCall Smith’s literary version of people-watching is a treat.
August 4, 2023
Here is something from the author that is different in its own way.
A photograph is presented. You take a look at it, and then you write a short story around it.
The Sunday Times wanted the author to write a few short stories for the newspaper. So, instead of just writing, he asked if he could look through their extensive photographic archives to create stories based on what he imagined the pictures could be.
And thus, 14 stories are here in this little book to read in-between other novels.
It was a pleasant reading delight experience.
Going back in time, with his imagination, and wondering who these people could be and having fun with his imagined stories. Take the journey with him.
A photograph is presented. You take a look at it, and then you write a short story around it.
The Sunday Times wanted the author to write a few short stories for the newspaper. So, instead of just writing, he asked if he could look through their extensive photographic archives to create stories based on what he imagined the pictures could be.
And thus, 14 stories are here in this little book to read in-between other novels.
It was a pleasant reading delight experience.
Going back in time, with his imagination, and wondering who these people could be and having fun with his imagined stories. Take the journey with him.
December 26, 2020
This was not my favorite book by McCall Smith. I am not a big short story fan to begin with and that's what this was. He originally wrote the stories for a newspaper and I think they would be good in that format. He looked at some old pictures and then made up a story of what was going on with the people in the story.
I think it would be great to read in the newspaper but in book form it just got boring. I will stick to his books from now on and avoid the short stories. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
I think it would be great to read in the newspaper but in book form it just got boring. I will stick to his books from now on and avoid the short stories. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
December 21, 2019
3.5
Smith has a gift for bringing the mundane to life and here he has taken some old photographs and woven stories around them - stories of everyday people, with their small and large victories and griefs. They're studies of understatement and subtlety, but some are more successful than others. At their best, they approach profound emotions with a delicacy and matter-of-factness that I found really moving, but there were quite a lot of long stretches of prose that to me felt quite flat and underwhelming. In the end, the moments of quiet enchantment made up for the long patches of prose containing mundane details, but at times it was a bit of a struggle.
Smith has a gift for bringing the mundane to life and here he has taken some old photographs and woven stories around them - stories of everyday people, with their small and large victories and griefs. They're studies of understatement and subtlety, but some are more successful than others. At their best, they approach profound emotions with a delicacy and matter-of-factness that I found really moving, but there were quite a lot of long stretches of prose that to me felt quite flat and underwhelming. In the end, the moments of quiet enchantment made up for the long patches of prose containing mundane details, but at times it was a bit of a struggle.
September 20, 2021
I am not one who reads a lot of anthologies or short stories, but this appealed to me. It was an interesting group of stories written by imagining the stories behind the people in a photograph. As with any anthology, some were better than others. This book contains 14 stories a various types. There was humour, drama, romance, friendship, family and business. I think the story I liked the best is the one I still think about. There was a picture of seven boys and it is sad, melancholy and a bit tragic. This is a collection of stories about everyday people and their everyday lives. It is not going to be for everyone, but is was definitely an interesting collection that I read off and on over a few weeks. A great premise. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating and opinions shared are my own.
January 19, 2021
The Sunday Times asked author Alexander McCall Smith to write some short stories for the paper. He proposed that he would look through the newspaper’s photo archive, choose photos, and create stories for the people in the picture. Pianos and Flowers: Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind is a delightful collection of photo-based stories. Some had been published previously in The Sunday Times, while others were written for this book.
As McCall Smith writes on his website: When you are with somebody you love the smallest, smallest things can be so important, so amusing because love transforms the world, everything.
Some writers would choose dramatic photos that lent themselves well for a sensationalistic approach. Others may have chosen photos of well-known people and shown a day-in-the-life moment. Fortunately, McCall Smith stuck with his strengths, choosing photos of non-remarkable people in seemingly non-remarkable situations and bringing characters to life. His other works have used rich adjectives to bring his characters and environment to life, and he does not disappoint here. Smith shows the same deftness describing these unknown figures as he did bringing Precious Ramotswe to life in his Ladies’ Detective Agency series.
Each of his stories offers a view of relationships. In stories like the titular Pianos and Flowers, he looks at the characters’ relationships over the course of a lifetime. Iron Jelloids is one of the stories that focuses on one day that led to a dramatic change in the lives of the characters. Maternal Design and Students look at family relationships and how they can impact career choices, while The Dwarf Tale-Teller of the Romanian Rom looks at the difficult choice between romance and careers. Not all of the stories have happy endings, but each has a satisfying ending.
Pianos and Flowers is a great choice for fans of Alexander McCall Smith. Anyone who enjoys reading short stories would enjoy this collection. It would be great for readers to carry with them to have a quick read. It is also easy to binge on multiple essays in one setting. Even though each story is inspired by different photographs, they are all infused with Alexander McCall Smith’s character-driven writing style. He publishes a story on his website each month for those who enjoy Pianos and Flowers and want to read more of his shorter works. I hope that Alexander McCall Smith continues to create and share such enjoyable collections.
As McCall Smith writes on his website: When you are with somebody you love the smallest, smallest things can be so important, so amusing because love transforms the world, everything.
Some writers would choose dramatic photos that lent themselves well for a sensationalistic approach. Others may have chosen photos of well-known people and shown a day-in-the-life moment. Fortunately, McCall Smith stuck with his strengths, choosing photos of non-remarkable people in seemingly non-remarkable situations and bringing characters to life. His other works have used rich adjectives to bring his characters and environment to life, and he does not disappoint here. Smith shows the same deftness describing these unknown figures as he did bringing Precious Ramotswe to life in his Ladies’ Detective Agency series.
Each of his stories offers a view of relationships. In stories like the titular Pianos and Flowers, he looks at the characters’ relationships over the course of a lifetime. Iron Jelloids is one of the stories that focuses on one day that led to a dramatic change in the lives of the characters. Maternal Design and Students look at family relationships and how they can impact career choices, while The Dwarf Tale-Teller of the Romanian Rom looks at the difficult choice between romance and careers. Not all of the stories have happy endings, but each has a satisfying ending.
Pianos and Flowers is a great choice for fans of Alexander McCall Smith. Anyone who enjoys reading short stories would enjoy this collection. It would be great for readers to carry with them to have a quick read. It is also easy to binge on multiple essays in one setting. Even though each story is inspired by different photographs, they are all infused with Alexander McCall Smith’s character-driven writing style. He publishes a story on his website each month for those who enjoy Pianos and Flowers and want to read more of his shorter works. I hope that Alexander McCall Smith continues to create and share such enjoyable collections.
July 20, 2020
This was a unique book in that it imagined back stories for unidentified people captured in old photographs. I enjoyed some of the stories and found them creative and sometimes amusing (though sometimes they were depressing instead), but I didn't think these stories showcased Alexander McCall Smith's style in the best way. In creating an almost birth-to-grave story for a character that you literally only have a snapshot of, there's very little opportunity to really relate to any of the characters or develop an interest in them.
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for this digital review copy!
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for this digital review copy!
December 16, 2020
Some of these were delightful [maybe 3 or 4], some where just plain depressing and almost all of them were way too short. The ones that I really loved were absolutely too short and left me wanting way more than I was given and ultimately [after several of them leaving me that way], that become more disappointing than something to enjoy. Overall, I am not sorry that I read this, but I would have loved several longer short stories more than just the breadcrumbs I got.
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group/Pantheon for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group/Pantheon for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 13, 2021
Well, heck. I have so loved this author’s most famous #1 Ladies Detective series, and more recently have loved his new, satirical series starring Mr. Varg. When I saw this stand-alone collection of short stories—a genre I enjoy—I leapt at the chance to read and review it. My thanks go to Net Galley and Doubleday, but this one fell flat for me.
The collection is scaffolded by vintage photographs from The Sunday Times. Smith provides one of these photos at the start of every story, and then writes something (fictional) about the people and events displayed. I am initially deflated by these, thinking it might be a good fit for some readers, but for me more of a cure for insomnia, because Zzzzzz, when I find the italicized portion, which is intended to be a you-are-there insert. Why, why, why does every Caucasian reader under the sun think that the best way to add some World War II spice to a story, is to interject some of the racist slurs used widely at that time against Japanese people? True, it was a much more mainstream practice back then for white people to use nasty, racist terms to describe anybody and everybody that wasn’t Caucasian; you weren’t entirely safe if you were from Eastern or Southern Europe, so predominant was this tendency. Yet every author understands that if your book is to see wide circulation, you’d better not go tossing anti-Black references in as casual conversational terms. But ah—the Japanese! Now, that’s different. The Japanese don’t fight back all that much, so probably it means they don’t care. (Pause while I retch for a moment or two.)
This cheap-and-easy bit of vile, racist pop culture took this collection down from three stars to two. However, I can assure the reader that had it initially been a four or five star read, it would nevertheless have dropped to an unfriendly rating when I ran across such ugly language.
I am so done with that.
This thing is for sale if you really want it.
The collection is scaffolded by vintage photographs from The Sunday Times. Smith provides one of these photos at the start of every story, and then writes something (fictional) about the people and events displayed. I am initially deflated by these, thinking it might be a good fit for some readers, but for me more of a cure for insomnia, because Zzzzzz, when I find the italicized portion, which is intended to be a you-are-there insert. Why, why, why does every Caucasian reader under the sun think that the best way to add some World War II spice to a story, is to interject some of the racist slurs used widely at that time against Japanese people? True, it was a much more mainstream practice back then for white people to use nasty, racist terms to describe anybody and everybody that wasn’t Caucasian; you weren’t entirely safe if you were from Eastern or Southern Europe, so predominant was this tendency. Yet every author understands that if your book is to see wide circulation, you’d better not go tossing anti-Black references in as casual conversational terms. But ah—the Japanese! Now, that’s different. The Japanese don’t fight back all that much, so probably it means they don’t care. (Pause while I retch for a moment or two.)
This cheap-and-easy bit of vile, racist pop culture took this collection down from three stars to two. However, I can assure the reader that had it initially been a four or five star read, it would nevertheless have dropped to an unfriendly rating when I ran across such ugly language.
I am so done with that.
This thing is for sale if you really want it.
November 15, 2021
Pianos and Flowers is a collection of fourteen captivating tales all inspired by photos from the Times of London archive. It is a mix of tales about love, friendship, life, travel and romance. Some are profound, others are insightful though all are interesting and engaging to varying degrees. My favourite stories were "The Dwarf Tale-Teller of the Romanian Rom" and "Blackmail" but all of them were good. Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Pantheon via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Pantheon via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
October 3, 2021
Alexander McCall Smith is my go-to comfort book writer. Pianos and Flowers: Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind is a short story collection and each story is inspired by an old photograph. This is the second book created this way by the author. The previous collection, Chance Developments: Unexpected Love Stories, contains 4 excellent stories. The new collection has a lot more but weaker stories, some of which are only character studies or mini biographies of the characters.
Yet, I still enjoy reading his careful observation of human nature. The small love gestures, the unsaid, chance encounters, and dreams interrupted by war. My favorites: I’d Cry Buckets; Pianos and Flowers; Maternal Designs.
There may be nothing happening in your life, nothing at all. Sometimes, life is just meaningless, and some people’s lives are more meaningless than others'.
Yet, I still enjoy reading his careful observation of human nature. The small love gestures, the unsaid, chance encounters, and dreams interrupted by war. My favorites: I’d Cry Buckets; Pianos and Flowers; Maternal Designs.
There may be nothing happening in your life, nothing at all. Sometimes, life is just meaningless, and some people’s lives are more meaningless than others'.
August 16, 2020
“In the lives of most of us, the list of unsaid things was, he thought, a long one.” Pianos and Flowers, Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind by Alexander McCall Smith
3.5 stars. A collection of short stories, romantic but not all love stories really, by this author who gave us the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency novels.
And what’s great about this collection is that the stories are written by the author, based on random photographs from the archives of The Sunday Times. Old photographs, when you look it.
It’s a great exercise for any writer really and the stories are interesting. I have a few favorites and none that I disliked. And all were quite nice and light to read. It makes me want to revisit the author’s works again.
Thank you Pantheon Books and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book. I really enjoyed it.
3.5 stars. A collection of short stories, romantic but not all love stories really, by this author who gave us the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency novels.
And what’s great about this collection is that the stories are written by the author, based on random photographs from the archives of The Sunday Times. Old photographs, when you look it.
It’s a great exercise for any writer really and the stories are interesting. I have a few favorites and none that I disliked. And all were quite nice and light to read. It makes me want to revisit the author’s works again.
Thank you Pantheon Books and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book. I really enjoyed it.
March 5, 2021
I’ve always wanted to read a book by Alexander McCall Smith but never really got to it, until now. And I’m happy to say I found this collection an absolute joy! I admire his skills for deftly turning plain-looking, black and white photographs that were from the archives of the Sunday Times, into little gems of very believable, beautiful, charming stories.
As with many anthologies, some you’d enjoy more than the rest. In Pianos and Flowers, some of my favorites were:
Pianos and Flowers, for one obvious reason, it was set in my home country, Malaysia, albeit only briefly. Set in the 1930s and 1940s, it centered around a family who spent part of their time in an island in Malaysia, called Penang, but later moved back to England, while the father stayed behind. We’d get a glimpse of the lives of Malaysians and Singaporeans too during the Japanese Occupation.
Sphinx was about Margaret, a 26-year-old woman whose new job in London led her to a meeting with a stranger sitting in a café. After coffee, he invited her for a stroll down to the river where he showed her the spot he frequented – the sculptures of the Sphinx which he loved. Somehow, she knew this man was the man she had been waiting for. After promising he’d write to her, they parted ways. She waited for his mail that never came. Will they ever meet again?
Iron Jelloids was like a beauty and the beast sort of love story, only the ‘beast’ was a mild, mousey man whom people saw would never find a woman who would love him, until one day when he saved a woman’s life; all thanks to Iron Jelloids, an iron tonic he consumed.
Maternal Designs was about a mother whose son was an architect. The mother trying to give suggestions about his career choices and to talk him out to being a builder, his dream career. Their argument back and forth was funny, entertaining and heartwarming. What was more, it had an unexpected ending!
In Zeugma, a professor gave a ride to one of his students, a beautiful Miss Thwaites, on his way to work, on his bicycle. They bonded over the English language, as he explained to her the meaning of zeugma. Their love for language hinted a possibility of a unique friendship ahead.
St John’s Wart was about a paranoid man who insisted that he and his wife moved to somewhere remote where it would be safer. The wife conveyed her worries about her husband to her neighbor, who suggested a solution which, much to the wife’s delight, worked.
Blackmail revolved around two street sweepers, one more senior in the job and age than the other. She informed him that her days weren’t spent just sweeping and cleaning the streets but also eavesdropping on conversations and people-watching, and one man who was a regular at a café, caught the newbie’s attention. A normal day at work, then led to quite an unexpected turn. This was such a fun read!
La Plage was a funny, amusing story about a woman just rattling off her thoughts to her husband, about her mother, her brother and his wife, then back again, without realizing he wasn’t really paying attention, and was lost in his own thoughts.
I am absolutely in love with this book (and the cover!) and so glad I got to read it, and can see myself re-reading it. Definitely a fantastic collection of 14 short stories! Dive in and take a short trip to London, Malaysia, China, even to Germany, spanning different centuries with Mr. Smith during your quarantine. I think you’d have a blast!
Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.
For more reviews, do hop over to my blog: hookedonbookz.com
As with many anthologies, some you’d enjoy more than the rest. In Pianos and Flowers, some of my favorites were:
Pianos and Flowers, for one obvious reason, it was set in my home country, Malaysia, albeit only briefly. Set in the 1930s and 1940s, it centered around a family who spent part of their time in an island in Malaysia, called Penang, but later moved back to England, while the father stayed behind. We’d get a glimpse of the lives of Malaysians and Singaporeans too during the Japanese Occupation.
Sphinx was about Margaret, a 26-year-old woman whose new job in London led her to a meeting with a stranger sitting in a café. After coffee, he invited her for a stroll down to the river where he showed her the spot he frequented – the sculptures of the Sphinx which he loved. Somehow, she knew this man was the man she had been waiting for. After promising he’d write to her, they parted ways. She waited for his mail that never came. Will they ever meet again?
Iron Jelloids was like a beauty and the beast sort of love story, only the ‘beast’ was a mild, mousey man whom people saw would never find a woman who would love him, until one day when he saved a woman’s life; all thanks to Iron Jelloids, an iron tonic he consumed.
Maternal Designs was about a mother whose son was an architect. The mother trying to give suggestions about his career choices and to talk him out to being a builder, his dream career. Their argument back and forth was funny, entertaining and heartwarming. What was more, it had an unexpected ending!
In Zeugma, a professor gave a ride to one of his students, a beautiful Miss Thwaites, on his way to work, on his bicycle. They bonded over the English language, as he explained to her the meaning of zeugma. Their love for language hinted a possibility of a unique friendship ahead.
St John’s Wart was about a paranoid man who insisted that he and his wife moved to somewhere remote where it would be safer. The wife conveyed her worries about her husband to her neighbor, who suggested a solution which, much to the wife’s delight, worked.
Blackmail revolved around two street sweepers, one more senior in the job and age than the other. She informed him that her days weren’t spent just sweeping and cleaning the streets but also eavesdropping on conversations and people-watching, and one man who was a regular at a café, caught the newbie’s attention. A normal day at work, then led to quite an unexpected turn. This was such a fun read!
La Plage was a funny, amusing story about a woman just rattling off her thoughts to her husband, about her mother, her brother and his wife, then back again, without realizing he wasn’t really paying attention, and was lost in his own thoughts.
I am absolutely in love with this book (and the cover!) and so glad I got to read it, and can see myself re-reading it. Definitely a fantastic collection of 14 short stories! Dive in and take a short trip to London, Malaysia, China, even to Germany, spanning different centuries with Mr. Smith during your quarantine. I think you’d have a blast!
Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.
For more reviews, do hop over to my blog: hookedonbookz.com
September 24, 2021
Years ago, in my wayward youth, while working at a university in the records office, technology was changing rapidly. Computers were arriving! Data was being processed quickly! We didn't need all the paper documentation! And so, one week we had an interesting project. Every student up to that time had been assigned an index card with their name and pertinent information; from the beginning of keeping these records through the 1960's, each index card also included a small picture of the student.
Working in a records office can be boring at times, and sorting through these old records could have been really boring. Except for the photos. We took the photos off the cards and, in our spare time of course, made up stories about them. We matched likely looking prospects romantically and decided what their lives had been like. This only lasted a few days, but I have remembered the fun of it for these past 30 years.
And so, stumbling upon Pianos and Flowers: Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind was a real treat in a couple of ways. It reminded me of the joys of imagining "what if" with old forgotten photographs, and, as usual with Alexander McCall Smith, it was a treat to read.
Working in a records office can be boring at times, and sorting through these old records could have been really boring. Except for the photos. We took the photos off the cards and, in our spare time of course, made up stories about them. We matched likely looking prospects romantically and decided what their lives had been like. This only lasted a few days, but I have remembered the fun of it for these past 30 years.
And so, stumbling upon Pianos and Flowers: Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind was a real treat in a couple of ways. It reminded me of the joys of imagining "what if" with old forgotten photographs, and, as usual with Alexander McCall Smith, it was a treat to read.
April 7, 2021
Thank you to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of Alexander McCall Smith’s short story collection, Pianos and Flowers: Brief Encounters of the Romantic Kind, in exchange for an honest review.
I’m a huge fan of Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and I was thrilled to have the chance to review his latest short story collection. In Piano and Flowers, Smith uses vintage photographs ( shown at the start of each story) as an inspiration for his fictional tales. The concept is interesting and a majority of the stories went a completely different direction than I anticipated.
I enjoyed the story about a woman living and working in London, who has an instant connection with a man that she meets. She gives him her address and when he fails to contact her, she leaves notes at an Egyptian statue that he mentioned as a spot he loves to visit. Time passes and she becomes engaged to a stable, yet far less exciting man, yet she never loses hope for the brief encounter that sparked so much passion. This beautiful story has a tone of longing and hope.
The other stand-out story involves a friendship between two boys that carries them through World War Two and adulthood. The opening of the story shows the boys at a hunting lodge that belongs to the family of the wealthier of the boys. We see the expectations that are placed on this child, yet the boy is very sensitive and uncertain. He is able to share this intimate aspect of his personality with his friend, the only person with whom he can truly let his guard down. It’s quite touching.
Overall, I was disappointed with the collection. A majority of the stories failed to hold my interest. I was considering why and I think it may have to do with the very thing that makes me love The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and its protagonist, Mma Ramotswe, which is a certain touch of sweetness that borders on unrealistic. Sure, Mama Ramotswe handles difficult cases and personal issues that are not trite, yet her stories usually end on an upbeat note, leaving readers happy. In Pianos and Flowers, Smith wraps up several of his stories in a similar manner, and in the short story format it felt rushed or too neatly resolved.
If you’re a fan of Smith’s you will want to read Pianos and Flowers, however, if you are new to his work, I would encourage you to start with one of his series. He is an excellent storyteller and master of creating memorable characters. I usually finish his stories feeling delighted, but I’m sad to report that Pianos and Flowers was not his best work.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
I’m a huge fan of Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and I was thrilled to have the chance to review his latest short story collection. In Piano and Flowers, Smith uses vintage photographs ( shown at the start of each story) as an inspiration for his fictional tales. The concept is interesting and a majority of the stories went a completely different direction than I anticipated.
I enjoyed the story about a woman living and working in London, who has an instant connection with a man that she meets. She gives him her address and when he fails to contact her, she leaves notes at an Egyptian statue that he mentioned as a spot he loves to visit. Time passes and she becomes engaged to a stable, yet far less exciting man, yet she never loses hope for the brief encounter that sparked so much passion. This beautiful story has a tone of longing and hope.
The other stand-out story involves a friendship between two boys that carries them through World War Two and adulthood. The opening of the story shows the boys at a hunting lodge that belongs to the family of the wealthier of the boys. We see the expectations that are placed on this child, yet the boy is very sensitive and uncertain. He is able to share this intimate aspect of his personality with his friend, the only person with whom he can truly let his guard down. It’s quite touching.
Overall, I was disappointed with the collection. A majority of the stories failed to hold my interest. I was considering why and I think it may have to do with the very thing that makes me love The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and its protagonist, Mma Ramotswe, which is a certain touch of sweetness that borders on unrealistic. Sure, Mama Ramotswe handles difficult cases and personal issues that are not trite, yet her stories usually end on an upbeat note, leaving readers happy. In Pianos and Flowers, Smith wraps up several of his stories in a similar manner, and in the short story format it felt rushed or too neatly resolved.
If you’re a fan of Smith’s you will want to read Pianos and Flowers, however, if you are new to his work, I would encourage you to start with one of his series. He is an excellent storyteller and master of creating memorable characters. I usually finish his stories feeling delighted, but I’m sad to report that Pianos and Flowers was not his best work.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
December 1, 2020
"Knowing something can be hard. Sometimes it's best not to know."
I thought the idea for these stories, to take old and/or forgotten and random photos and make stories from them, was fascinating. I liked thinking that just looking at the image created the short story with it. But the first story was a bit rough, it felt like more a screen play than story. The second, and subsequent stories seemed like the author found their stride and explored romantic relationships, family and different time eras and dramas. It was fun to jump in and out of each one and to then be greeted with another photo and to wonder what it would be about. It's a good little mix of short stories and I enjoyed it.
An e-ARC was provided to me by the author and publishing via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
I thought the idea for these stories, to take old and/or forgotten and random photos and make stories from them, was fascinating. I liked thinking that just looking at the image created the short story with it. But the first story was a bit rough, it felt like more a screen play than story. The second, and subsequent stories seemed like the author found their stride and explored romantic relationships, family and different time eras and dramas. It was fun to jump in and out of each one and to then be greeted with another photo and to wonder what it would be about. It's a good little mix of short stories and I enjoyed it.
An e-ARC was provided to me by the author and publishing via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
December 28, 2021
The 14 short stories in this collection were inspired by old photos from newspaper archives. The relevant picture is printed at the start of each story and all of the stories have some link to romance, though the link is sometimes almost tangential.
Alexander McCall Smith is a master at bringing the ordinary to life, and there is some of his gentle humour and poignancy along the way. Some of the things he comes up with in relation to the photos is very creative, with nods to the Cuban Missile Crisis and the discovery of the DNA double helix, among others.
Like most collections, I liked some stories more than others, but it was an enjoyable book overall. Perfect for times when you want a light read to dip in and out of.
Alexander McCall Smith is a master at bringing the ordinary to life, and there is some of his gentle humour and poignancy along the way. Some of the things he comes up with in relation to the photos is very creative, with nods to the Cuban Missile Crisis and the discovery of the DNA double helix, among others.
Like most collections, I liked some stories more than others, but it was an enjoyable book overall. Perfect for times when you want a light read to dip in and out of.
March 6, 2022
When the author was tasked to write some short stories for "The Sunday Times", he chose photographs from their archive as his inspiration. This collection of stories is the result of that endeavor. I gave three stars because I liked some stories better than others. Some seemed very timely and their content really spoke to me. It has made me think I should do some creative writing for my own pleasure based on family photographs that I unearthed while doing my genealogical research. As the author said, "We do not know, of course, who the people in these photographs were, nor what they were up to. They were almost certainly not doing what I say they are, but that is the joy of looking at photographs in this way . . . ". Maybe take a look at some of your own old photos and discover what you see there?
May 7, 2020
Thank you NetGalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. And THANK YOU, Mr. McCall Smith for allowing me into your imagination. This is a book of short stories which are each inspired by old grainy black and white photos. The image comes alive through the author’s descriptions of the people, their backgrounds, their dreams, etc. it was a joy to read!
June 30, 2023
The stories themselves were interesting, but not overly amazing. The concept, creating stories behind random old photographs, I really enjoyed. I liked the way he told the stories, kind of jumping around and giving you all of the deleted scenes and bonus features and getting off track…similar to how I tell a story. I would definitely recommend the book.
April 4, 2021
How his mind created such stories from seemingly innocuous photos gives a glimpse into his creative mind. Masterful
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