Author: Alexander
McCall Smith
Title: The Unbearable Lightness of Scones
Description: Smith
writes four series; I read three of them. This book belongs to the 44 Scotland Street series, which follows
the lives of quite a few people who share the same Edinburgh neighborhood.
Plot: As usual,
lots is going on. Michael and Elspeth are on their honeymoon. Bertie is dealing
with a girlfriend he doesn’t want. Domenica plots how to get her Spode teacup
back from her thieving neighbor, while Cyril deals with unwanted fatherhood
(actually, Cyril’s owner Angus has that burden).
Characters: The
characters make Smith’s writing strong—it’s one of his gifts to look upon just
about everyone with affection. (Bertie’s mother may be the exception).
Writing style: Smith
writes this series as a newspaper serial, so there are lots of short chapters,
some cliffhangers, and some jumping around from story to story. It all holds
together, though, and every once in a while, he stops to just give us a
beautiful little meditation on the human condition.
Audience: Everyone.
Trust me on this.
Wrap-up: It’s
probably no secret that Smith is one of my favorite authors in the world. It’s
rare that anything by him would get less than 5/5*.
No comments:
Post a Comment