Alexander McCall Smith 44 scotland street 6 Books Collection Pack Set RRP: £49.22 (Love Over Scotland, Espresso Tales, 44 Scotland Street, The Importance of Being Seven, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BERTIE, The Unbearable Lightness of Scones)

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The other major storyline is that of five-year-old Bertie, who is controlled by his pretentious and domineering mother Irene - he has Grade Six on the saxophone, speaks fluent Italian, and is extremely knowledgeable about various subjects. After he is expelled from his nursery school, Irene sends him to psychotherapy with Dr Fairbairn, who constantly misinterprets Bertie's simple wish to be a normal five-year-old boy.

Affable Big Lou has taken a shine to a strongman called Fat Bob, who stopped into Big Lou's Coffee Shop one morning. When Fat Bob includes Big Lou's adopted son Finlay in a dinner date, it clinches the attraction. The story was fun and witty and creative, and I loved the twists and I appreciated that the “mystery” was not a huge part of the book/stories. Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna continues to offer aphorisms, some more enigmatic than others: “Two snails do not argue about whose shell is the more attractive.” Angus compares conceptual art to the emperor’s new clothes, there is a marriage proposal, Highland Games are organised for the Drummond Street Gardens and, as always, Angus bestows a poem on the gathered company.

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The Enigma Of Garlic is the sixteenth book in the popular 44 Scotland Street Series by Scottish author, Alexander McCall Smith. The reader is, once again, brought up to date on the lives of our favourite Edinburgh residents. I love this kind of ensemble piece. The chapters are short and change focus among the residents of the building at 44 Scotland Street. Not much happens, and everything happens: love found, lost and found again, awkward encounters, a hidden masterpiece, a secret tunnel, dinner with the boss (and boss’s wife and daughter), rebellion, great neighbors (and bad ones), a precocious child, a new job and therapy sessions. Through it all the reader is treated to the author’s witty observations on this microcosm of Edinburgh society. The instant Irene steps into the apartment she starts criticizing, her first issue being that Nicola moved the bread bin from one table to another. Bertie was composed of goodness, and sometimes goodness means that you take the blame for things you haven’t done. You accept it. You bear it. And he had borne so much in his brief seven years that a little more would not make much difference.” Ok. AMcS. I need a little word with you. I love these books and I have become increasingly fond of several of the characters and three of them Bertie , Big Lou and Cyril the dog aren’t particularly well served in this instalment. And frankly I felt was all a bit rushed.

I suppose we should all remind ourselves of our view. things may get bad and then we say to ourselves remember your view and then everything looks better.”Five-year-old Bertie is a Grade 6 on the saxophone and speaks fluent Italian as a result of his pushy mother, Irene. Bertie gets into trouble and is expelled from East New Town Nursery. His mother forces him into psychotherapy, and his dreams of being a normal five-year-old continue to be thwarted. For if you’re living in a zany world like the rest of us - why not be a little zany Yourself? That doesn’t mean you have to set aside your scruples... Scotland Street is an episodic novel by Alexander McCall Smith, the author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. The story was first published as a serial in The Scotsman, starting 26 January 2004, every weekday, for six months. The book retains the 100+ short chapters of the original. It was partially influenced by Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, a famous serial story. It is the first book in a series of the same name. The series now has 15 books, as of 2021. As always, Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna is her hilariously helpful self by way of being nosy, but in doing so, resolves a huge concern for Big Lou following her wedding. Bruce’s visit to the monastery changes his life even more. Irene is a changed woman. Wait, really? We shall see, I suppose. I only wish we’d had more interaction with Bertie in this novel. The eternal seven-year-old is largely absent here, with only a few peeps into his camping (mis)adventures. What there is of Bertie, though, shows his patience and kindness, and is endearing and makes one love him even more. The relative peace and tranquillity of 44 Scotland Street is about to be disrupted. Irene is to return for a two-month stay, consigning Bertie to a summer camp. Not satisfied with that, she somehow manages to come between the enigmatic nun, Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiori di Montagna, and her friend, the hagiographer, Antonia Collie.

We visit Matthew, his wife and their rambunctious triplets. Matthew now has part interest in Big Lou's Cafe and is encountering resistance in upgrading the menu. James, the young man who cares for the triplets part-time, is worried about his uncle, the Duke of Johannesburg. He fears he has been kidnapped. He and Matthew embark on a mission to save his uncle. Ramsey Dunbarton, retired lawyer whose main claim to fame is his erstwhile performance as the Duke of Plaza-Toro in The Gondoliers Angus Lordie is a traditional portrait artist with an animus against The Turner Prize, which awards conceptual art - such as a video of a chair seen from different angles - rather than art objects. In fact Angus has taught his dog Cyril to lift his leg whenever he hears the words Turner Prize. Is romance blossoming in Big Lou’s café? The aptly named but surprisingly couth Fat Bob is a professional strongman who raises the tax-deductibility of bacon rolls for his occupation. His history prompts discussion about acts of kindness and concern for others.

Domenica MacDonald makes the acquaintance of a new tenant, one of a group of students renting the vacant flat. She knows her husband, Angus Lordie will be heartened by the fact that they are studying the classics. Angus’s dog, Cyril manages (mostly) to resist the repeated temptation of biteable ankles within his reach, and unwittingly indulges in a bit of archaeology.

But Domenica thought: I really would like things to be forever. I would like to be able to sit at this table once a week, perhaps, with these friends. I would like to talk about the things we talk about, the small things, whatever happened in the world. I would like to wake up in the morning and not think that things were getting worse. I would like not to have to listen to the exchange of insults between politicians. I would like to hear of people co-operating with one another and helping others and bringing succour and comfort to the needy and... and I would like not to think that we were still in the seventeenth century, as divided amongst ourselves as they were at that time, pitted against each other, with one vision of the good battling another, and people despising others for their opinions.”

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AMS is a soul author for me. He is someone I trust. I feel I know him. I am safe with him. It doesn't matter what is going on, I know he won't let me down. I could say this about any book he writes, sight unseen. Our visit with these quirky people is once more interrupted by discussing the plans and rivalries of a nudist club. This does not seem relevant since it has no connection to any of our Scotland Street friends' lives. At the gallery, Pat’s new job in Paris presents the ever-kind Matthew with a staffing problem. At Big Lou’s café, as part-owner, he tries to interest Big Lou in varying the menu. But at home, Matthew can only contemplate his good fortune: the love of Elspeth and his triplets, and work of James, the excellent au pair. Thus, he is surprised to find himself twice engaging in house-breaking.