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.