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Another very, very satisfying McCall Smith read--so enjoyable, funny, insightful, gentle, humorous, and just plain relaxing & engaging. I had read the 2nd of this Scotland Street series first--"Expresso Tales"--so it was great getting further background on characters I'd already fallen in love with in the 2nd volume. This is another of McCall Smith's serialized books--they first appeared in a local Scottish newspaper (maybe The Scotsman?). Can't wait to read the next few volumes too! Onward with
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This is the first book that I've read by this author so I don't know if all of his books have a similar writing style. It was a little different but I liked it. This was more like a book of entwined short stories (this could be due to the fact that it's origin was as a serialized story in a Scottish newspaper).
We follow four multi-generational people who live in the building at 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh. There is a young boy, a young woman in her gap year, a narcisstic man, and an enigmat ...more
We follow four multi-generational people who live in the building at 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh. There is a young boy, a young woman in her gap year, a narcisstic man, and an enigmat ...more
I found this book the perfect beach read. It was fun and delightful hijinks ensued and while it doesn't have any deep insights into life or love or anything like that, the characters are richly drawn and had me continually coming back for more about the residents who live in the flats at 44 Scotland Street.
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I have only read one other book by this very prolific author so i really did not know what to expect. He seems to write a couple books every year. Parts of it were slow, and i think a lot of the references and jokes were more suited to the Scottish audience, but when I finished I found myself wondering what would happen in the next book. The word I keep thinking of is charming - charming characters involved with annoying or self centered characters, living on the same street in Edinborough. i pr
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Really loved this book! He spins a great story, with a variety of interesting characters who are well-developed. Great writing too!
Sep 28, 2016
Lisa Rosen
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Not my thing at all, but I see why the author is such a phenomenon. The characters are vividly & sympathetically drawn, & I got the sense of contemporary Edinburgh that I was looking for. I read it while visiting the city, which made it much more interesting. If you like a calm, soothing read with no hint of anything scary or violent, I highly recommend McCall Smith. Now I'm off to suggest his books to my mother, & to find myself a good ghost story.
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44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith
RATING: 4/B
Genre/Pub Date/# of PGs: Fiction/2005, 326 pgs
TIME/PLACE: Present, Edinburgh, Scotland
CHARACTERS: Tenants of 44 Scotland St.
COMMENTS: Serial stories of the personal & professional lives of the tenants of 44 Scotland Street. Amusing bunch.
RATING: 4/B
Genre/Pub Date/# of PGs: Fiction/2005, 326 pgs
TIME/PLACE: Present, Edinburgh, Scotland
CHARACTERS: Tenants of 44 Scotland St.
COMMENTS: Serial stories of the personal & professional lives of the tenants of 44 Scotland Street. Amusing bunch.
Feb 02, 2011
Shannon Wallner
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2012
Deedee
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Apr 05, 2013
Ginger
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Nov 10, 2014
Kirsty
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Dec 09, 2014
Anna
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Sep 08, 2016
Shanna
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Apr 29, 2017
Shadi
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Jan 28, 2021
SandyC
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Dec 15, 2021
Lorri
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Dec 28, 2022
Mihika
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Sep 03, 2024
Tanya
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