The Bertie Project (44 Scotland Street Series)

Very repetitive, sloppy about time, way too much about Bruce and his hair. Due to a computer glitch(?) every word that ends with 'ze' is misspelled with 'se' instead! Starting on the first page - Turner Prize is 'prise'.

I could begin with the usual brief summary of the plot, but that’s not the point of Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street series, of which this is the eleventh book. The point of this series is to get to know the residents of 44 Scotland Street and to hear their observations on each other and on Scotland and on life. On those grounds, The Bertie Project is a worthy continuation to the series.
And it’s a good thing that the point of the series (and the book) is not the story, because The Bertie Project’s plot has quite a few threads as the various characters try to deal with the difficulties in their lives, some of them quite sad. Bruce has managed to conquer his self-absorption enough to fall in love, but oh, what an object he has chosen in the Australian extreme-sport devotee Clare! Matthew and Elspeth have problems with the au pair who helps care for their triplet sons. And, most central to the book, Stuart rebels against his shrewish wife Irene. Or is she a harridan? Or a termagant? No matter what the best description is, to Stuart’s mother Nicola she spells trouble, especially for Nicola’s beloved seven-year-old grandson Bertie, a little boy who does not often enough get the kindness he deserves from the people in his life.
Indeed, given that the book is entitled The Bertie Project, Bertie himself is not in the book as much as one might expect, although Stuart and Irene’s problems get a lot of play. Also unexpected are several chapters about The Association of Scottish Nudists that appear from nowhere and then lead to nowhere.
More than the other books, The Bertie Project is full of references to Scottish history, culture, language, and current politics that alternately frustrate me and make me want to run to brush up on my Scottish lore!
But it is also replete with the delightful quips, bons mots, and observations that make me keep smiling and highlighting. Some are just amusing, like when Matthew mentions the British Gout Society, “Do you think they have an annual dance, like other societies?...Can you imagine how much fun that would be?” Others are poignant, like Elspeth’s insight: ”She needed forgiveness as much as anybody else---but it had never occurred to her that this forgiveness might come from herself.” And others are more barbed, even as we laugh: “Scottish girls were all very well, but they could be a bit given to looking on the negative side. It was something to do with cultural expectations of being miserable.”
Sometimes I feel almost a little schizophrenia in the tone of the book. McCall Smith’s writing is reliably witty, insightful, intelligent, and makes me smile and nod in agreement. The stories of the 44 Scotland Street characters’ lives, though, often make my heart ache, and it is good that the book closes with a poem of hope from Angus: “I am still here. With you. My power undimmed.” Scotland, and the residents of Scotland Street, survive.
Note: For full enjoyment, readers who have not read any of the others in the series should begin the series with book 1, 44 Scotland Street.
Disclosure: I received a free advance copy of this book from the publisher. That fact did not affect my review.

Bertie's back! The eleventh in the "44 Scotland Street" series and the third with Bertie's name in the title, is "The Bertie Project", by the wonderfully prodigious, Alexander McCall Smith.

I don't quite know for whom I'm writing this review...if you are already a Bertie fan, you won't need me to tell you that you should buy this latest installment in the series. If you are here to see what all the fuss is about, then allow me to entice you to take up this series and become enchanted with the denizens of Scotland Street in Edinburgh. And moreover, fall in love with the gentle kindness of Alexander McCall Smith's writing.

And speaking of Smith's inimitable writing, what thrills me so about his style is that he can touch gently on timely topics and get his point across without the reader ever feeling the "pinch". Topics such as:

- political correctness
- identity politics
- climate change
- fortress mentalities
- manufactured outrage
- cultural taboos
- leadership vacuums
- sanitized humor
- "acceptable" circuses (is this really a thing?!)

Bertie is a precocious seven-year-old. He has a one-year-old brother, Ulysses, whom he suspects might be a psychopath. Bertie is double-cursed; his father, Stuart, is a total weakling and his mother, Irene, is utterly horrible. Aptly descried by her own mother-in-law as a "dreadful virago". Irene has just returned home after many months in a harem in the Middle East (you've got to read the previous book to find out about THAT strange adventure!) The boys and their dad have been quite happy with her away, leading a somewhat normal life. Now she is hell-bent on undoing all of that. (For a writer who is normally very compassionate and forgiving of his characters, Smith does have the reader rooting for a divorce!)

All our favorites are accounted for, especially Bertie's friends/enemies, Tofu, Olive, Pansy, Hiawatha and Larch. There are a few new characters too - for instance, Narcissist Bruce has fallen in love with a nose-licking Australian woman who is a hoot! Elspeth and Matthew's triplets, Rognvald, Tobermory, and Fergus, are almost walking! And something shocking (for Smith) happens with their two Danish au pairs.

Added bonus; no one will put this book down not knowing the definition of "defenestration"!

While reading this book I found my mind wandering aimlessly. But then I thought, the author is wandering aimlessly, why shouldn't I?
This is what I would call a very lazy book; a series of anecdotes about a large number of characters, loosely connected. sometimes funny, often not, and more than anything it seems like the author just tried to see how many funny stories and bad jokes , along with a few mildly funny screeds about the loss of decency in the world, the disappearance of some of the finer things in life (like Matrons...?) and political correctness. Yes, he makes a lot of jokes about political correctness because nobody has thought to do that before.

In the first 28 chapters, I counted seven where the chapter consisted of one character telling another character an anecdote. Sometimes they are a little bit funny, sometimes they are something you've heard before. In one story one of the characters has to keep reaffirming to the story teller that he is indeed paying attention and prove he is. This is very believable because it's a story that almost anybody would be bored by. In fact, I think the author got bored while he was writing it.

In chapter two, after two men share memories about a camp they both went to, one of them tells the other a story about how he came down with gout on a recent weekend. You and to be there.
a few chapters later, a young woman tells her lover about her experiences growing up. Then in the next chapter ("are you still listening?") she tells him a story about a bunch of people getting food poisoning on a camping trip. spoiler alert: They ate berries.
I hope I haven't ruined the book for you now.

A few chapters later, a character is reading a book to another character (a book which has a plot by the way. I mention this only because if you told me the author had never read or heard of a book with a plot I would have believed you) and we hear many details from the book being read.

A few chapters after that, a dinner guest tells his hosts a long predictable story about a bunch of nuns fleecing a con man on an art deal.

Then we return to the same young woman telling her lover another food poisoning story involving some nasty rice. And in the next chapter she tells the same lover an endless story about how she got fired from being a flight attendant. Spoiler alert: She got into a fist fight with a passenger. In business class. I don't want to ruin anymore, but it's a gasser. Well, no. It's not. Actually, of the last 25 stories I've heard about hysterically funny things happening on airplanes, I would rank this one 25th. And it's not even true, so it has no excuse for being so dopey.

And then, perhaps sensing that these long stories might be taking their toll on whatever readers have gotten this far, the author has a nurse tell a story that is really just a very old joke , only with elaboration. Spoiler alert: It's the one about the toddler who eats a twopence coin and three days later delivers two pennies out the other end. It's a lot funnier the way I just told it than it is in the book. The characters , both the teller and the listener, are absolutely gobsmacked by this story, obviously not realizing that it's really just a very old joke. (actually, I think in the original it was a thru pence and the kid only delivered two pennies in change, but I guess Mr. Smith couldn't tell it that way because they don't have threepences anymore. So, kudos for him for not wanting to seem dated).

I am tempted to get into the precociousness of the almost main character Bertie, who appears in the book not nearly enough. He is supposed to be 7, but I suspect that the last 7 year old Mr. Smith had any contact with was probably 13. In any case, he has a certain charm and I feel sorry for him. But he's lucky in that he's off stage during a lot of the anecdotes that fill this book . However, sadly for him, he's attending italian lessons and yoga for tots with his awful mother. This is supposed to be funny too. His mother is a caricature of the overly conscientious modern mother who won't let her kids watch tv and only wants them reading biographies of Gandhi.
Also he has a classmate name Tofu. If that doesn't make you want to run out and buy this book, nothing will.

one more example of the author's laziness is a strange moment where Bertie and his grandmother are on the street. Bertie says something that moves his grandmother and so she "bends over to hug him" and then, while still hugging him (bent over) she "looks over his shoulder" and finds herself "staring straight into the eyes" of a woman who is seated on a passing bus.
I think that in addition to overestimating the sophistication of even the most precocious 7 year old, Mr. Smith is also a bit off on their actual size. Or are the busses in Scotland built extremely low to the ground?

I think this book is not worth the effort mostly because the effort of reading it amounts to a lot more than the effort put into writing it.

I couldn't read this book beyond a few chapters. Irene is back from the Middle East and has turned into a monster who is crushing Bertie and Stuart. Readers are getting no reprieve - McCall Smith has actively smashed to bits any glimmer of hope that Irene would back off and Stuart would stand up to her. Irene has turned from a ridiculous character to a looming villain. McCall Smith - Child abuse is not charming or funny. I hate your characters now.

Love takes many forms in this latest volume of the Scotland Street novels. A boy loves his mother, even though she’s driving him crazy. A mother loves her son, even though she can’t stand his wife. And a husband and father loves… his son, his wife, his lover, his freedom… though he can’t have them all. Very real human tragedies could ensue on these pages, but instead an equally human generosity allows wounded lives to play out against a background of hard choices, and brings them to places that feel, almost surprisingly, like home.

Meanwhile other residents of Scotland Street interject their own struggles, with the man who loves himself falling for, just maybe, the woman he deserves, while the woman who loves her baby triplets really needs an au pair, and art plays its part. It’s all told in easily read chapters, skipping from scene to scene, with simple repetition making each chapter stand alone—as indeed these must since (I’ve heard) the book is originally serialized in a newspaper.

It’s all a tangle of intriguing tales that never quite get tangled and are always told with wit and understanding, leaving me eager to read on.

Disclosure: I’m hooked on the series, so of course I love this book.

Oh Gosh - Irene Pollock has been resuscitated to full unpleasantness after returning from an extended stay in a Gulf State Bedouin tent. No lessons learned by her on how to be a better human being, better spouse or more relaxed mother. The result is that Edinburgh's favorite 7-seven year old, Bertie Pollock, is back on the shrink's couch, shorn of his pocket knife and forced back into Italian lessons. Revolt against the obnoxious and domineering Irene may be in offing, but nothing comes easy.
Meanwhile, Matthew and Elspeth are still struggling with bringing up triplets; the insufferable Bruce has found true love (other than himself) and finds out the price for couplehood includes wearing unacceptably tight jeans'; Angus and Domenica steam along happily until an unfortunate occurrence of defenestration ( explored in loving detail by author McCall-Smith); and the joys of living in Scotland are once again chronicled at length.
As books in this great series go, this is agreeable enough. But the author lingers perhaps a tad long here, holding back on definitive advance on any of the repeated storylines. In general, he's in a serious philosophical mood that doesn't allow for much forward action. Not a criticism, but some might be allowed the thought that he has previously left some of his characters in need of progress toward some resolution of the problems in their lives. Nevertheless, fans of this series will not want to miss this episode.

Persons suffering from sleeplessness should be aware of the "sleepwithme" podcast, where a rambling, somewhat repetitive storyteller relates meandering tales of semi-related events so inconsequential that they are guaranteed to put even the most caffeine-hyped insomniac straight into dreamland. This novel worked that way for me - until about halfway through.

Meet the inhabitants of Scotland Street, Edinborough - anthropologist Domenica MacDonald, portrait-painter Angus Lordie and his gold-toothed dog Cyril, gallery owner Matthew Duncan, his wife Elspeth and their triplets, cafe-owner Big Lou and her foster-child Finlay, 30-something narcissist Bruce Anderson and his current main-squeeze, extreme-sports enthusiast Clara Hodding, and the fraught family of Irene Pollock, her statistician husband Stuart, little Bertie and Ulysses, and Stuart's mother Nicola. The Bertie Project is Irene's goal of bringing up her son to be a postmodern man in our politically-correct age; Bertie wants only to be a boy, the suddenly-single Nicola abets him, and hen-pecked father Stuart is beginning to bridle at Irene's overbearing dominance. Will Stuart stray? Will Bertie wind up becoming another Bruce? Will Angus recover his distaste for postmodern pretensions? Can Elspeth handle three enterprising triplets, a hipster au pair, AND a delightfully innocent husband? Oh, and what's WRONG with the world? Even in a better Scotland.

The story does have a plot, and some of the different threads that meander through the story do come together to form a pattern, just one somewhat tougher than the gentle humor of human foibles and fallacies I was expecting.

“The problem, he though, was that so much humour involved human misfortune of one sort or another, and now that same human misfortune was out of bounds – interdicted by self-appointed guardians of sensitivity. There was somebody to be offended by everything, he thought, which left little room for laughter”

The Bertie Project is the eleventh book in the popular 44 Scotland Street serial novel by Scottish author, Alexander McCall Smith, and in it, the lives of the residents of 44 Scotland Street and those of their friends are, once again, updated for the continuing enjoyment of series fans. So we learn that: Big Lou battles red tape to adopt her foster-son; Irene finds fault in everything Nicola does, while Nicola receives an important letter from her Portuguese husband; a viral illness brings Elspeth and Matthew’s Danish au pair troubles to a head.

In as much as a narcissist actually can fall in love with someone other than himself, Bruce, it seems, has done so. Australian physical trainer, ex Qantas stewardess and devotee of extreme sports Clare Hodding has won his heart. And proceeds to turn him into a hipster and involve him in extreme sports.

An unexpected event changes Angus Lordie’s long-held view on conceptual art and even the Turner Prize. The Chairman and Secretary of the Association of Scottish Nudists discuss the woes they attribute to the splinter group, Nudism Scotland. And when Bertie mentions to his grandmother that he has seen Stuart lunching with an attractive stranger, Nicola wonders if her thoroughly oppressed son will be allowed some happiness.

The star of the show, as always, is poor, beleaguered Bertie: “He did not enjoy his Italian conversazione sessions, but he was too polite to say so. Nor did he enjoy, for that matter, his yoga classes and his psychotherapy, but he had long since come to understand that these were features of the firmament under which he lived, and there was no point in arguing against your personal planets: these were as fixed in the heavens as Edinburgh Castle was on earth”

He may only be seven years old, but his observations are always insightful: “That, it seemed to him, was a persistent problem faced by adults: they simply did not have enough to do. And because there were so many of them, and so few real things to do, they had to invent roles for themselves, and then spend a great deal of time arguing with one another about who should occupy these roles and then, when they were in them, what they should do with them"

Opinions on male inhibition about commenting on the looks of other males, importance of rituals, social reassurance, and rhododendrons are shared, and para mountain biking, a love poem, gout, and defenestration feature in this instalment. There are laugh-out-loud moments, but also some to choke up the most cynical reader. Brilliant as always!

Readers who purchased a hardcover might be just a little annoyed that in each instance where a word contains “ize”, someone’s overzealous use of “find and replace” has resulted it being substituted with “ise”, so we have sises, seised, denisen, Turner Prise etc. The publishers’ Oops on the last page might have been better placed before the first: the typos do distract a little from the story.

I could begin with the usual brief summary of the plot, but that’s not the point of Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street series, of which this is the eleventh book. The point of this series is to get to know the residents of 44 Scotland Street and to hear their observations on each other and on Scotland and on life. On those grounds, The Bertie Project is a worthy continuation to the series.
And it’s a good thing that the point of the series (and the book) is not the story, because The Bertie Project’s plot has quite a few threads as the various characters try to deal with the difficulties in their lives, some of them quite sad. Bruce has managed to conquer his self-absorption enough to fall in love, but oh, what an object he has chosen in the Australian extreme-sport devotee Clare! Matthew and Elspeth have problems with the au pair who helps care for their triplet sons. And, most central to the book, Stuart rebels against his shrewish wife Irene. Or is she a harridan? Or a termagant? No matter what the best description is, to Stuart’s mother Nicola she spells trouble, especially for Nicola’s beloved seven-year-old grandson Bertie, a little boy who does not often enough get the kindness he deserves from the people in his life.
Indeed, given that the book is entitled The Bertie Project, Bertie himself is not in the book as much as one might expect, although Stuart and Irene’s problems get a lot of play. Also unexpected are several chapters about The Association of Scottish Nudists that appear from nowhere and then lead to nowhere.
More than the other books, The Bertie Project is full of references to Scottish history, culture, language, and current politics that alternately frustrate me and make me want to run to brush up on my Scottish lore!
But it is also replete with the delightful quips, bons mots, and observations that make me keep smiling and highlighting. Some are just amusing, like when Matthew mentions the British Gout Society, “Do you think they have an annual dance, like other societies?...Can you imagine how much fun that would be?” Others are poignant, like Elspeth’s insight: ”She needed forgiveness as much as anybody else---but it had never occurred to her that this forgiveness might come from herself.” And others are more barbed, even as we laugh: “Scottish girls were all very well, but they could be a bit given to looking on the negative side. It was something to do with cultural expectations of being miserable.”
Sometimes I feel almost a little schizophrenia in the tone of the book. McCall Smith’s writing is reliably witty, insightful, intelligent, and makes me smile and nod in agreement. The stories of the 44 Scotland Street characters’ lives, though, often make my heart ache, and it is good that the book closes with a poem of hope from Angus: “I am still here. With you. My power undimmed.” Scotland, and the residents of Scotland Street, survive.
Note: For full enjoyment, readers who have not read any of the others in the series should begin the series with book 1, 44 Scotland Street.
Disclosure: I received a free advance copy of this book from the publisher. That fact did not affect my review.

4.5 stars

Bertie is a character that you root for. You want him to succeed, to find some happiness and maybe move to Glasgow, his holy place. Yet you worry that under Irene's relentless thumb that he's going to turn into a mass murderer in his rage. How much can one person endure? Stuart almost finds him limit and his final solution makes you want to weep. Irene is one character that I would just love to slap across the face. How can one person be so self absorbed?

Just ask Bruce who finally find someone to love besides himself and pays quite the price. The Australian he falls in love with is into extreme sports and finally steps into helping Elspeth and Matthew with the triplets. The horror of three 2-year-olds going in different directions was enough to require me to take a nap. The lives at 44 Scotland Street just bubble along.

This is a much more philosophical novel than usual. As he explores the left's political correctness, he brings me to laughter. Bertie goes to school with Tofu, Hiawatha, and Larch. I had to wonder what the parents were thinking which I often do when I read the names of celebrity children like Story, Moon Unit, and Apple. Really? His portrayal of Irene makes you understand why people voted for Trump. It's just a reaction to the left's extremism. Ah, I digress.

This is a delightful addition to the series that gives you a hero to cheer. Run, Bertie, run.

I am thrilled with this #11 book, featuring dear, sweet, innocent Bertie Pollock (age 7); his domineering, pushy mother Irene; Stuart, who is desperately unhappy in his marriage to Irene, but lacks the backbone to stand up to her; and Ulysses, the family's baby. Nicola, Stuart's mother, provides a weekly Saturday morning respite for Bertie to visit his friends, or suggest what he would like to do.

AMC has returned to his sparkling, LOL writing about the various residents, their lives, and inter-relationships. I was relieved and happy that in this book AMC has left out the vast majority of discussions of philosophy, abstract art, light, etc. that made book #10 a big disappointment. Domenica is the main culprit here.

The pace is fast-moving, with lots of twists and surprises in so many of the characters' lives, much of it LOL funny. Even the minor characters and/or groups are entertaining. Almost every sentence is delightful, or in some cases, makes the reader think OH NO, this is going to head in the direction of "it's sure going to hit the fan"! AMC even squeezes in one sentence of Cyril (the dog)/Matthew's ankles, reminding the reader of yet another quirky thread in this amazing series.

Little Olive's friend Patsy seems to have embraced the attempt to torment poor Bertie at school, although the teacher is alert to call them off. Tofu, Larch and Hiawatha (schoolmates) add to the fun.

I can't wait for #12!

I purchase these books because, up to now, they've been fun and well written, with interesting characters and great storytelling ... up to the last few. Way too much deviation into the realm of philosophical opinion. I'd like to know if Stuart dumps Irene and that Bertie gets a normal life but, more than likely, I won't buy any more ... I think I'm done.

Alexander McCall Smith is a very gifted Scottish humorist, and extraordinary talented writer. He is author of THE NO.1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY. I wholeheartedly recommend every book in that series. This series, 44 SCOTLAND STREET, is a bit more outlandish. There are delightful insights on the human condition that astound me. He treats most everything with a tongue-in-cheek attitude which I find refreshing, but he treads in some areas of morality or lack of it that make me uncomfortable. My heart aches for poor Bertie, I want to willingly strangle his control freak mother, and laugh at the absurdity of many characters. I wish I could remove several "unnecessary to the story" pages, but they are there. They are what keep me from giving it a five star rating.

While I love the 44 Scotland Street Series, this one wasn't my favorite, especially when compared to the prior books. We get to catch up with all of our favorite people Bertie and Stuart, Elspeth and Matthew, Angus and Domenica, Bruce the local narcissist, Big Lou and the nudists, but only in a little view. This book was set at a slower pace, with less humor and more philosophy than normal. To me it felt like more of a transition between two books, than a full book. Long suffering Stuart takes a step toward freedom, but then looses his momentum, which was very disappointing for those of us who love Bertie and want to see him far away from Irene and her tyranny. Hopefully this is just the beginning of Stuart growing a backbone and not the end of it!

Although I would perhaps--and perhaps not--have chosen a different ending for the latest in Alexander McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street series-- The Bertie Project, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Bertie is such an endearing character, And Alexander McCall Smith's writing is a joy to read. Besides creating characters that one cares about, as well as portraying a slice of life in Edinburg for those of us not lucky enough to live there, he manages to deftly and with wit speak about myriad topics in modern society. McCall Smith has a gentle and erudite way of writing and this latest in the series was a wonderful addition. Thank you Anchor for the ARC and for allowing me to review the latest in this delightful series!

If you like the books of Alexander McCall Smith, you will like this one.

My husband and I had a split decision on this book, like we almost always do on Alexander McCall Smith. I agree that Smith‘s observations of people and culture are astute. He manages to find the human foibles and attach them to characters in the books in ways that are interesting. This book is picturesque. (Or else it just rambles from location to location, person to person.) The plot runs through it but the action never becomes heated or passionate.

That is probably why I am not one of his fans, though my husband is.

At some points this book becomes compelling. For me, though, it’s too much work.

I loved this addition to the Scotland Street series. The focus is on the usual cast of characters, with Bruce continuing his relationship with the Aussie girl, along with a sprinkling of references to the Turner Prize and the lovable but eccentric Scottish Nudists. Bertie's dad experiences an unexpected turn of events which slowly evolved and did not entirely sort itself out–so we have lots to look forward to in future adventures. This book was slightly different from the previous books in that the Bertie story was not as light-hearted. However, Bertie is as charming as ever.

This is my favorite of Smith's series, and I was not disappointed in this the latest addition.

I agree with another reviewer that there is just not enough of Bertie in this story. There are pages of anecdotes about Edinburgh and its inhabitants, the Association of Scottish Nudists, on and on, as if the author has forgotten that the charm of this series is Bertie himself. To add insult to injury, the "oops" note from the publishers does not in any way compensate for the discomfort of the designation of all the "-ize" endings of words to "-ise".
It was an added distraction, where there were already plenty.

The meandering style with comments on many (and sometimes seemingly unrelated) topics is so well done in this book. Some of the previous commenters said that "no one cares" about obscure authors or topics. Sad for them. Taking in information of all kinds, and the comments of others, then sifting and processing that, is how our personal wisdom develops. Smith is amazing at providing asides that make me think about what I THINK about something.

Why can’t Bertie’s mother be kidnapped again? McCall Smith has created some of my most favorite characters and he’s definitely created the villain I most love to hate. It’s best to read the 44 Scotland Road series from the beginning, so you have an understanding of all the characters. I am looking forward to the next book in the series, hoping that Bertie’s father can learn to stand up for himself.

I enjoyed this latest visit to 44 Scotland Street so very much. Funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking, always entertaining, a wonderful return to a beloved neighborhood. I loved it all but keep remembering the delightful match of the challenge-loving Clair with the toddler triplets, to the relief of parents Matthew and Elspeth!

I love all of Alexander McCall Smith's series but 44 Scotland Street is probably my favorite. If only these people lived near me.It's so satisfying to see Bertie happy (at least until his mother shows up).

I agree with previous statements that despite the title being "The Bertie Project", Bertie is not the main focus of the story, Events surrounding and affecting Bernie are the focus. The book was a delightful, peaceful, and emotional read. I am anxious to read to learn if Stuart makes any changes in his actions and reactions to Irene. I am anxious to see how Nicola changes Bertie's life. Please hurry along the next novel.

With "The Bertie Project" author Alexander McCall Smith has finally returned to narrative that moves at a decent pace. For the first time, there is plenty of the doings of our favorite narcissist Bruce. Bruce seems to be developing a soul. He actually declared himself in the grip of a love that extends beyond his reflection in his mirror. The suspense of what happens between beleaguered henpecked Stuart Pollock and the dominating humorless Irene Pollock was also a page-turning aspect of the novel.

This reader hopes that from now on McCall Smith will confine his philosophical tangents to his "Sunday Philosophy" series. Scotland Street has regained its charm; I'm happy to have visited there.

I much prefer the Botswana-based 1st Ladies Detective Agency. However, just when I find the excessive character assassinations unacceptable, then the author includes a delightful series of passages, that are just wonderful. Hence, I find myself nearly throwing down these books in the first quarter of the book, and then hanging in til the end for those passages that charm. Kind of a low-key roller coaster of a read.