I love Isabel Dalhousie – one of my favorite characters, and certainly one of Alexander McCall Smith's best creations. In fact, I'd like to be Isabel Dalhousie. She's able to work as the owner and editor of a journal that deals with ethical issues, since she is comfortably well-off while not living ostentatiously (though she has a lovely home with a back garden that is occasionally visited by a wayward fox), has a charming younger husband who is not only handsome, but also a classical musician and a fine cook, an adorable young child and a devoted housekeeper. Quite the good life.
This latest adventure of the philosopher has her drawn into solving an art theft – a valuable painting slated for the Scottish National Gallery has gone missing from an estate, and the owner asks for her help, since he's heard about her unique ability to solve all sorts of mysteries and problems...
Meanwhile, we the readers enjoy the beauty of Edinburgh, savor a cappuccino at Isabel's niece Kat's "delicatessen", which is what we would consider a cross between a gourmet shop and a café, and learn a bit about Scottish art.
It's a pleasant time all around, and as always, McCall Smith uses his incredible knowledge of human nature and his gently ironic prose to entertain and inform us.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Manhattan Mayhem, circa 1909 – The Interpretation of Murder (Freud, #1) by Jed Rubenfeld
Love these historical/psychological crime novels, especially when they are set in New York. Hadn't really thought of them before as a favorite genre...but it's become clear that there's a pattern here!
Rubenfeld brings the great Freud and the younger Carl Jung to New York during a period of great change and growth. It's 1909 and in the last ten years, there are subways, cars, electric lighting and telephone service proliferating in Manhattan. There are also all the ills of a city rapidly expanding in population, including crime, political corruption and a lively economy with women and children now working in great numbers in the clothing factories and other businesses. The immigrant neighborhoods are overcrowded and disease-ridden.
Against this backdrop, there is, of course, a sensational murder. A young woman of the "better" classes is found dead, and another survives, but can remember nothing. A young psychologist, a disciple of Freud, is engaged in trying to reach the memories of the second victim.
There is a great deal of weaving fiction with actual circumstances and characters, but it works in the most compelling way. It will keep the reader engaged with fascinating historic detail as well as the plot. The book is well-researched and fast-paced.
Rubenfeld brings the great Freud and the younger Carl Jung to New York during a period of great change and growth. It's 1909 and in the last ten years, there are subways, cars, electric lighting and telephone service proliferating in Manhattan. There are also all the ills of a city rapidly expanding in population, including crime, political corruption and a lively economy with women and children now working in great numbers in the clothing factories and other businesses. The immigrant neighborhoods are overcrowded and disease-ridden.
Against this backdrop, there is, of course, a sensational murder. A young woman of the "better" classes is found dead, and another survives, but can remember nothing. A young psychologist, a disciple of Freud, is engaged in trying to reach the memories of the second victim.
There is a great deal of weaving fiction with actual circumstances and characters, but it works in the most compelling way. It will keep the reader engaged with fascinating historic detail as well as the plot. The book is well-researched and fast-paced.
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