44 SCOTLAND STREET
ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH
Compulsory reading for all writers-in-hiding. Purely as a study in characterisation, 44 Scotland Street belongs on your bookshelf. It's beautifully written, and the episodic structure (it was originally serialised in The Scotsman) keeps it fresh all the way to the end - a quality I often missed in the Botswana books.
What I liked most about the residents of 44 Scotland Street wasn't their general weirdness (a la Woody Allen's Sherry, or Kugelmass), but their underlying normalness. Little Bertie just wants to play with his trains. Young Pat, a memorable gap year. Pushy Irene, some distraction from her dull marriage. Diffident Matthew, to be taken seriously. Philosophical Lou, to be loved.
Can't wait to read Espresso Tales.
Lessons learned:
1. Knowing that someone is wrong for you doesn't affect your falling in love with him. (Pat)
2. Your parents are/ were always right. (Pat)
3. Youthful vanity is so satisfying. (Bruce)
4. The systemic absorption of hair gel makes you immune to good sense. (Bruce)
5. Curiosity can only wound you seriously. It's boredom that will kill you. (Domenica)
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1 comment:
hehehe boredom is fatal
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