A McCall Smith Marathon

 

 

 

 

Lately I’ve been a serial reader, which in literary terms is binging on a series…hmmm, my husband and I are also know for doing that with television series, watching as many as possible on a weekend evening…perhaps there is a pattern emerging. But it is just so relaxing and satisfying to keep finding out what happens next to these characters that we have come to know so very well. Book series are a great way to hook young children into reading as well! Actually 44 Scotland Street is in fact a real serial read, an episodic novel which has appeared weekly in The Scotsman for years. In fact it is the longest running newspaper serial in the world.

Alexander McCall Smith has a series of series :), which you can check out on his website. He is such a prolific writer I find it hard to keep up–he writes them quicker than I can read them! I’ve been catching up on McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street since Bertie Plays the Blues and reconnecting with all of those benignly problematic and amusing Edinburgh residents who I now feel I would recognize if I met them on the street. And McCall Smith’s novels are not just feel good stories with no substance…moral and ethical dilemmas abound!

For fans who already know the characters, here is a glimpse of the latest. Poor Bertie who has been six for a very long time (several years, in fact) finally turns seven. His over-protective annoying mother wins a ticket to Dubai but ends up being kidnapped by a Bedouin sheikh where she starts a book club in the harem. No one at home seems to miss her very much, in fact granny Nicola is much more fun to have around. Stuart continues to have trouble locating his car after he has parked it and Matthew discovers a secret room in his new house. Bruce is his usual narcissistic self but for once it gets put to good use. Angus Lordie and Domenica get married and Cyril, Angus’ dog, gets his master into trouble by lapping up a bowl of Guinness in the local pub.