Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Toronto : Vintage Canada, 2010.
Description
Fiction. African American Fiction. Literature. Humor (Fiction.) HTML:44 SCOTLAND STREET - Book 5 The residents and neighbors of 44 Scotland Street and the city of Edinburgh come to vivid life in these gently satirical, wonderfully perceptive serial novels, featuring six-year-old Bertie, a remarkably precocious boy�??just ask his mother. Featuring all the quirky characters we have come to know and love, The Unbearable Lightness of Scones, finds Bertie, the precocious six-year-old, still troubled by his rather overbearing mother, Irene, but seeking his escape in the Cub Scouts. Matthew is rising to the challenge of married life with newfound strength and resolve, while Domenica epitomizes the loneliness of the long-distance intellectual. Cyril, the gold-toothed star of the whole show, succumbs to the kind of romantic temptation that no dog can resist and creates a small problem, or rather six of them, for his friend and owner Angus Lordie. With his customary deftness, Alexander McCall Smith once again brings us an absorbing and entertaining tale of some of Scotland's most quirky and beloved characters�??all set in the beautiful, stoic city of Edin… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member lilithcat
The latest in McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street series is as delightful as its predecessors. Much is changing, though. Matthew and Elspeth are wed and both are adjusting to married life. Bruce, the pre-eminent narcissist and egotist, has turned over a new leaf, or has he? Against his mother's
This series is always entertaining, frequently amusing, sometimes thought-provoking, and provides a lovely picture of the city of Edinburgh.
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wishes, Bertie has joined the Boy Scouts! Unfortunately, so has his nemesis, Olive. But at least he has a new therapist. And The Pretender from over the water has returned to Scotland!This series is always entertaining, frequently amusing, sometimes thought-provoking, and provides a lovely picture of the city of Edinburgh.
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LibraryThing member reeread
More doings in Scotland Street - Matthew marries Elspeth and they have an eventful honeymoon in Perth Australia, Angus is given a very valuable painting by Lard O'Connor, Domenica is finding time hanging heavily on her hands and misjudges Antonia, Bruce turns over a new leaf after being treated the
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way he has treated others and Bertie joins cubs with Tofu and Olive and almost escapes the clutches of his weekly psychotherapy. Show Less
LibraryThing member Clara53
Delightful, witty, as usual. We need more books like this!
LibraryThing member Figgles
I've come into this series in the middle, reading this one because it has some incidents set where I live (Perth, WA). The interweaving tales of characters from Edinburgh are delightful, funny, poingnant and very human. I will be reading (and buying) more...
LibraryThing member TigsW
Not quite as good as his previous novels in this series, but delightful nonetheless.
LibraryThing member CatheOlson
This is another in the 44 Scotland St. series. Enjoyable but vaguely disappointing in the end as there is not really any character development other than Bruce. The others are pretty much in the same circumstances, doing the same thing--though there are hints that things may change in the next book.
LibraryThing member MeganMcCarthyDoherty
Another awesome book from AMS. Cozy but not cloyingly so, and page turningly interesting.
LibraryThing member thorold
This instalment of the 44 Scotland Street saga is an enjoyable read, as ever, and one of McCall Smith's best titles. It doesn't really add a great deal to the development of either the story or the characters, though: the appalling Bruce gets his come-uppance yet again, and shows signs of an
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unlikely reform, but that's about it. No really major comic set-pieces. Show Less
LibraryThing member devilish2
Still the same characters (mostly). It's pretty light and fluffy but I love his wry observations of everyday interactions.
LibraryThing member paulmorriss
I enjoyed it immensely, more than the previous one, the first one in this series which I've read. I think it's partly because I'm more familiar with the characters, and also because I was slightly distracted by the blurb in the other book which mentioned a minor plot point which I waited for ages
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to arrive. I think the blurb writer, given the intertwined nature of the stories and the lack of major plot points, seized on something to mention which actually was one of loads of details in the life of a character. Show Less
LibraryThing member Sarah_Holroyd
I probably shouldn't have jumped directly into the middle of this series, but this was the book I acquired. I like Smith's dry humor, and the vivid characters he created, but there really wasn't a story line running through the entire book. It's more like a continuing look at these characters lives
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as they evolve. From a character standpoint I enjoyed it, but I couldn't really find the "story." Show Less
LibraryThing member benpjohnson
Has its moments but overall I found it very average. This is the sort of book your mother will love.
LibraryThing member heidialice
The latest installment in the Scotland Street series, covering the antics and foibles of a motley cast of characters in the overgrown village which is Edinburgh. While nothing ever quite gets wound up, he at least explains in the introduction of this volume that his aim is to describe real life,
McCall Smith keeps a light touch, and continues the tradition of telling small, yet poignant, stories in the ordinary lives of these upper-middle class characters. The developments in "Scones" should be pleasantly surprising for those following the series. An enjoyable, quick read for a rainy Edinburgh day!
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not tell a story in the sense of having a beginning, a middle and an end.McCall Smith keeps a light touch, and continues the tradition of telling small, yet poignant, stories in the ordinary lives of these upper-middle class characters. The developments in "Scones" should be pleasantly surprising for those following the series. An enjoyable, quick read for a rainy Edinburgh day!
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LibraryThing member CasaBooks
Bertie is becoming my favorite character.
Can't wait til Book 6 - hope things get easier for the poor lil' kid by then.
Can't wait til Book 6 - hope things get easier for the poor lil' kid by then.
LibraryThing member bearette24
I thought this was the weakest entry in the Scotland Street series. Lots of rambling, unncessary passages and a pervasive bitterness. His works are usually so light and charming. Fortunately, the next two books in the series represent a return to form.
LibraryThing member Perrywilson
The book is delightful. I’m mainly a reader of gritty mystery or urban fantasy and this is a gentle story of a group of Edinburgh neighbors. Each is given their own story and each story dances around the other to form a tale of love, near death, nationalism, and quirky Jacobites.
It’s different
It’s different
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from what I normally read, but I find his stories charming. You’ll like this if you liked the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency for it’s characters and little surprises. Show Less
LibraryThing member kaulsu
Well, at first I must say I didn't care for this book at all. But gradually the characters grew on me, especially Bertie with Angus's dog a close second. Smith has such a way with language I could almost smell that dog (and that wasn't quite as sweet!). I am not attempted to spell the name since I
I find when books are set in a different country (or even a different part of my own) listening to them adds greatly to my enjoyment...but the downside is I can't see how to spell names, etc.
By the end of the book, I knew I would probably be back for more next year. If Bertie and Olive do tie the knot as planned, I must send a wedding gift!!!
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was listening to an audible recording.I find when books are set in a different country (or even a different part of my own) listening to them adds greatly to my enjoyment...but the downside is I can't see how to spell names, etc.
By the end of the book, I knew I would probably be back for more next year. If Bertie and Olive do tie the knot as planned, I must send a wedding gift!!!
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LibraryThing member AntT
I like this for the same reason I like McCall Smith's other Scottish stories. For anyone who's ever had—or known—a controlling, manipulating mother, Bertie's mummy is perfection.
LibraryThing member AntT
I like this for the same reason I like McCall Smith's other Scottish stories. For anyone who's ever had—or known—a controlling, manipulating mother, Bertie's mummy is perfection.
LibraryThing member SueinCyprus
This is apparently part of a series about 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh - and, as I gradually realised, it might have been better to have read at least one of the others in the series beforehand. I simply could not keep track of all the people in this book, which felt at times more like a few
There’s a thread about a missing blue teacup, another about a valuable long-lost painting, another about someone who breaks up with his girlfriend and is offered a modelling job. And there are many conversations between people who, unfortunately, I found it hard to care about. Or even to distinguish. Perhaps the book was not meant to stand alone - or perhaps the intention is to be snapshots of several people’s lives as they intertwine and overlap. But since I could not grasp who was whom, or what relationship they had with each other, this point was rather lost.
Still, the writing for the most part is enjoyable enough, with some nice irony here and there, and interesting insights into people whose lives - albeit caricatured - are far removed from mine.
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episodes from a soap, rather than a novel. My favourite character was the delightfully precocious six-year-old Bertie who wants nothing more than to join Cub Scouts, while his mother wants him to join only gender-neutral groups and to play with the bossy Olive. There’s a thread about a missing blue teacup, another about a valuable long-lost painting, another about someone who breaks up with his girlfriend and is offered a modelling job. And there are many conversations between people who, unfortunately, I found it hard to care about. Or even to distinguish. Perhaps the book was not meant to stand alone - or perhaps the intention is to be snapshots of several people’s lives as they intertwine and overlap. But since I could not grasp who was whom, or what relationship they had with each other, this point was rather lost.
Still, the writing for the most part is enjoyable enough, with some nice irony here and there, and interesting insights into people whose lives - albeit caricatured - are far removed from mine.
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LibraryThing member lhaines56
Seems like this book was more about Domenica and her life and James and his relationship with Pat.
LibraryThing member Bookish59
Worthwhile read but a bit choppy.
Some of the notable parts include a marriage, a death, a dolphin, an important painting, a potential maturing of a certain man (let's see if that lasts), and a fun bit of high drama between Domenica, Angus and Antonia. And of course, there is always the wonderful
And and at the end a beautiful poem which I absolutely needed NOW.
Some of the notable parts include a marriage, a death, a dolphin, an important painting, a potential maturing of a certain man (let's see if that lasts), and a fun bit of high drama between Domenica, Angus and Antonia. And of course, there is always the wonderful
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Bertie!And and at the end a beautiful poem which I absolutely needed NOW.
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LibraryThing member Condorena
My favorite character is Bertie and I root for him all through the.book.
LibraryThing member etxgardener
The fifth novel if the 44 Scotland Street series finds Bertie longing to join the Cub Scouts, Matthew marrying Bertie's teacher Elsbeth Harmony, Domenica feeling lonely, and Angus dealing with the outcome of his dog Cyril's romantic entanglements (6 puppies). Pat is not in this volume, but Bruce is
McCall Smith has constructed a lovely world full of gentle, good hearted people. In our troubled times, I wish we could actually transport ourselves into this world.
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back in all his narcissistic splendor. He gets engaged to a wealthy woman and thinks his life is made until it all falls apart and he has to reconsider his life.McCall Smith has constructed a lovely world full of gentle, good hearted people. In our troubled times, I wish we could actually transport ourselves into this world.
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Language
Original publication date
2008-08-05
ISBN
0307397092 / 9780307397096