The Enigma of Garlic

The enigma of garlic by Alexander McCall Smith is the sixteenth installment in the 44 Scotland Street series.  Reading these books is like catching up again with old friends to discover what has happened in their lives since our last meeting.

The big news is that cafe owner Big Lou has married Fat Bob but is he being unfaithful to her? Her friends are determined to discover the answer. Then Bruce's personality has changed since being hit by lightning when walking down the street. He has decided to enter a monastery. But will this be a permanent change? Irene has announced that she is moving back to Edinburgh for two months. How will this affect Stuart, Bertie and Stuart 's mother, Nicola? Irene has also decided that Bertie will go to a camp during the holidays. Unfortunately Olive and Pansy are going to the same camp. Nicola has set up an online profile on a dating site for her son. What could go wrong?

These are  just some of the senarios revealed in The enigma of garlic as the reader observes the lives of Angus and Domenica, Matthew and Elspeth, Antonio and Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montana, Stuart and Bertie, Big Lou and all the other friends as they explore and discuss philosophical issues and life's important and not so important issues.

Love in the time of Bertie

I started reading books in the 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith many years ago and it is always good to drop in and visit the residents at that address and catch up with what they and their friends have been up to. Love in the time of Bertie is the fifteenth book in the series.

The books are set in Edinburgh and most of the characters live in apartments at 44 Scotland Street or are friends of the residents. In each book we learn of the events and ideas that are currently concerning the residents and how they decide to deal with them. Although often the stories are a continuation of what has occurred in previous books this is a series that you can delve in and out of and still enjoy the experience. The author includes several story lines in each book, providing two or three short chapters on a story before moving onto another story. Each book therefore consists of a series of interwoven narratives.

In this book Domenica Macdonald and Angus Lordie go to dinner with Matthew and Elspeth, Angus re-evaluates his ideas about art and Domenica befriends a student from downstairs; Big Lou meets Fat Bob; Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori de Montagna and Antonia Collie plan to buy a new apartment; while Bruce Anderson is approached to become involved in a spurious business deal and is struck by lightning. 

Bertie's story becomes more complicated as Irene, his mother who moved to Aberdeen, has decided that Bertie needs to spend three months with her. Stuart, Bertie's father, and Nicola, his grandmother, are forced to comply with the demand and reluctantly send Bertie to his mother. To say that Bertie is  unhappy with this proposal would be an understatement. Bertie and his friend, Ranald Braveheart MacPherson, plan to find a solution.

Focusing on relationships, love and community spirit and written with humour and wry observation of human life, Alexander McCall Smith provides us with another enjoyable slice of life at 44 Scotland Street.

The Peppermint Tea Chronicles

Another look into the lives of the inhabitants of 44 Scotland Street and the surrounding area in this thirteenth book in the series by Alexander McCall Smith.

Since the last installment Bruce Anderson has decided that perhaps he should settle down but with whom? Big Lou considers selling her shop and the Duke of Johannesburg decides to build a seaplane. Matthew, Elspeth and the twins, Pat, Angus and Domenica also feature in this collection of episodes. But, as usual, it is Bertie who is the standout character as he revels in his new found independence when his mother leaves home to study at Aberdeen University providing her husband and two sons the freedom to live their own lives. Bertie and Ranald Braveheart Macpherson go on a series of adventures while Stewart renews an old friendship over peppermint tea.

The Bertie Project

Irene has returned home and so the Bertie Project can continue. Seven year old Bertie, however, enjoyed his months of freedom with just his father and his grandmother looking after him. Irene therefore discovers that she has lost some of her control. Stuart has also discovered the joys of not being totally under the control of his wife. But will the changes in Scotland Street last?
The story of Bertie and his family, intermingled with stories of other characters associated with Scotland Street, continue to provide entertaining reading. This is the eleventh title in the 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith.

The revolving door of life

Alexander McCall Smith continues the stories in the 44 Scotland Street series in The Revolving Door of Life.  The stories are the continuation of the events, large and small, about the lives of characters who live, or who have lived, in this part of Scotland Street.

Although Matthew and Elspeth, with their triplets, have left Scotland Street to move into their new home outside Edinburgh, Matthew still works at his art gallery in the city. The house was purchased from a gentlemen calling himself the Duke of Johannesburg, a character who makes appearances throughout this collection of stories. Angus Lordie and Domenica Macdonald, now married, have settled into Domenica's flat in Scotland Street and are adjusting to their new life together.

The story of central interest in this collection revolves around Bertie, now seven, and his new found freedom when his mother is detained in a Bedouin harem - you will have to read the book. Nicola, Bertie's grandmother moves to Scotland Street to look after Bertie and Ulysses and determines that her grandson should have a less structured life.

The other major theme concerns Pat's father, Dr MacGregor. Pat is concerned that her father's new friend is only interested in his money so Pat and Matthew devise a plan to test whether this is the case.

Ethics and the need to do the right thing tend to be major considerations for some of the characters as they often agonise about their plans and possible actions however a solution is usually eventually found.

As this book is number 10 in the series, this volume is another collection of often amusing stories recounting the minutiae of the lives of a collection of characters we have come to know, all part of the revolving door of life.

Bertie's guide to life with mothers

Another instalment in the 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith as told primarily through the eyes of six (about to turn seven) year old , Bertie.  This collection of short stories continues the description of the lives of a collection of people who have had an association with an apartment block in Edinburgh including Angus Lordie,  Domenica and Cyril who are visited by Antonia and Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna, Matthew and Elspeth who are looking for larger accommodation to house their triplets, and Big Lou who wants to make a change in her life. The majority of the book however deals with the problems faced by Bertie. As his mother continues to control his life Bertie dreams of turning 18 when he will be able to leave home and live in Glasgow. However when his mother takes the opportunity to attend a literary festival in Dubai, Bertie discovers some freedom as his father allows him to plan his own birthday party and also attend the cub camp. These short, amusing observations of life in the city continue to be a joy to read.

Sunshine on Scotland Street

Further accounts of the daily life of the inhabitants of 44 Scotland Street and surrounding area. The compilation of stories begins with Angus Lordie's preparations (or lack thereof) for his wedding to Domenica. The one thing he did organise was the guardianship of his dog, Cyril, which he entrusted to six year old Bertie for the three weeks of the honeymoon however the three weeks turns out to be an adventurous time for Cyril until his master's return. Matthew and Elspeth continue to look after their triplets with the help of Anna though Matthew questions his chosen career while Bertie and his father, Stuart, contemplate how to live with the domineering Irene. Bruce returns to the the area and meets a challenge he never anticipated. Alexander McCall Smith once again entertains as he reveals the often mundane events in the lives of his characters but in so doing causes the reader to consider every day issues living in the twenty-first century.

Bertie plays the blues

The seventh book in the 44 Scotland Street series. Alexander McCall Smith continues to recount the events in the lives of his now familiar characters - Bertie and his family, Domenica, Angus Lordie and Antonia, Mathew and Elspeth as well as Pat who works in the gallery and Big Lou, the owner of the local cafe.

In this volume six and a half year old Bertie decides to apply for adoption to escape the strict regime laid out for him by his mother, his father also rebels and joins the masons, Domenica and Angus finally decide on a wedding date, Mathew and Elspeth come to grips with being the parents of triplets while Pat and Big Lou explore options to form new relationships.

Edinburgh is the setting for this collection of character studies touched with humour and portraying a selection of inner city life and attitudes.