Espresso Tales: A 44 Scotland Street Novel (2) by Alexander McCall Smith Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Espresso Tales: A 44 Scotland Street Novel (2)
Book Review: A Sequel That Tops 44 Scotland Street!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you haven't yet read 44 Scotland Street, I recommend that you read it first before Espresso Tales. Although Alexander McCall Smith does an excellent job of sneaking in the back story in Espresso Tales, some of the delicious humor won't fully tickle you if you haven't read the origins of the hilarious situations that have been set up for this book.
If you don't know the background of this series, you should be aware that this novel was written on a daily basis as a serial in The Scotsman newspaper. That means that the story is broken up into 105 two to three page segments . . . almost all of which have a cliff hanger element to them. Many of the segments are illustrated with black and white drawings that enlarge the story.
If you haven't read 44 Scotland Street yet, please read no more of this review.
Espresso Tales is a looser story with more extreme situations and humor. I found myself holding my sides laughing so hard that I was in pain in several places.
Here are brief updates on some of the main characters:
Bertie takes matters into his own hands in terms of trying to get free of his overbearing mother. Bertie's father awakens to the idea of helping Bertie enjoy being a little boy of six. What happens to Irene's vision of her perfect son? You'll love the answers. The visit to Glasgow is one of the finest pieces of humorous writing that I've ever read. Enjoy it!
Dr. Fairbairn comes up against his repressed past in a most revealing episode.
Pat decides to go to Edinburgh University, which pleases her father. She also meets an intriguing new man . . . with a most unusual pastime.
Domenica finds a new purpose for her life.
Big Lou has a large surprise in her life.
Matthew's life is turned upside down when he father becomes interested in a younger woman, Janis.
Bruce rouses himself from his depression over losing his job to find a partner and goes into business for himself.
Each story is, of course, much more complicated than that. Alexander McCall Smith is the master of irony and understatement. So the endings are often not quite what you might expect. Be ready for a tsunami of giggles!
Book Review: A Taste Of Edinburgh
Summary: 4 Stars
This book, the second in the "44 Scotland Street" series truly gives the reader's palate a taste of Edinburgh. Taking off from his first book, this one develops to a far greater degree those characters introduced in the premier book. McCall Smith has a way of capturing the Edinburgh environment which describes it as the unique and even quaint place that it is. There is no other place in the world like it.
The feeling of Scottish allegiance plays a large part in the descriptive short chapters that Smith creates. Because the novel is a series of serialized columns, each chapter is short and succinct. But each chapter has its own character, has a point to make and a flavor to project.
The reader will be introduced to deeper understanding of the original characters and their relationship to each other. In addition, Smith mixes his characters and their personalities so that there is nothing boring about the book. Rather, each reader will recognize types of people, yet they will be enhanced broadly by the uniqueness of the Scottish environment in which they reside.
Like all McCall Smith's writings, this book is truly a wonderfully descriptive and interesting portrayal of life in Edinburgh, and in fact, life itself, everywhere. Readers should not miss the opportunity to enjoy this fine piece of work develop by Smith in daily segments. It truly is a joy to read.
Book Review: A great summer read
Summary: 5 Stars
Another great novel by Alexander McCall Smith- super novel that keeps you engrossed and wanting more when you get to the end.Book Review: A most delightful read
Summary: 4 Stars
In "Espresso Tales," the marvelous sequel to "44 Scotland Street," Alexander McCall Smith once again displays his mastery of getting inside his characters' heads, whether they be child or dog, narcissistic macho or crashing bore, a woman feeling the pinch of advancing age or a mother overdoing it in the nurture department. The story I predict you'll fall in love with is that of Bertie, the precocious youngster who can speak Italian and play the saxophone but hasn't yet mastered crossing streets. As the episodes switched from character to character, I pounced on the ones dealing with Bertie to see how he was progressing in thwarting his arch-nemesis, his loving mother, who has ensured his place as class freak in the first grade by making him wear pink (make that "crushed strawberry") dungarees to prove his liberation from gender stereotypes.
The novel is character-driven, but the characters I felt succeeded the least were Pat, the young woman who played the lead role in "44 Scotland Street," who, while sweet, is rather bland, and Ramsey Dunbarton, whose tediousness is so well characterized I tended to skip over his boring monologues when I realized that they didn't further the plot.
But these are small complaints. Even if you haven't had the pleasure of reading "44 Scotland Street," you will enjoy this novel if you love rich depictions of exotic eccentrics; in the end, you will recognize them to be very much like people you know.
Book Review: Another Winner
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the second in a series, and if you liked the first, you'll like this one. As with 44 Scotland Street, I found myself laughing out loud in places. The stories are quirky and funny and full of Alexander McCall Smith's usual wise (and never cliche) observations about humanity. In a few places, you get the feeling that the author is pontificating through the voice of one character, Domenica, but Alexander/Domenica are so on target, one doesn't mind. Bertie, the victim of an overbearing and psychologically-confused mother, gets more play in this series (and a bit of justice, finally) as does Ramsey Dunbarton, whose "memoirs" occupy half-a-dozen chapters. Dunbarton manages to be the most unintentionally hilarious character I've ever encountered in a book. You'd never want to be seated next to him at a dinner party, but from the safe perspective of literature, he's a hoot.
Espresso Tales is an apt title, because I've found this series as addictive as caffeine. One of the few books I've run out and purchased the day it hit the stores.
And it was worth the trip.