What do you think?
Rate this book
Isabel Dalhousie #12
The Quiet Side of Passion
Isabel becomes involved in a delicate paternity case in the twelfth installment of the beloved Isabel Dalhousie Series.
Isabel finds herself befriended by Patricia, a single mother whose son, Basil, goes to school with Isabel's son. Isabel discovers that Basil is the product of an affair Patricia had with a well-known Edinburgh organist, also named Basil, who was, rumor has it, initially reluctant to contribute financially to the child's upkeep. Though Isabel doesn't really like Patricia, she tries to be civil and supportive, but when she sees Patricia in the company of an unscrupulous man who peddles fake antiquities, her suspicions are aroused and she begins to investigate the paternity of Basil Jr.
When Isabel takes her suspicions to Basil Sr., she finds that, although paying child support is taking a severe financial toll on him, he likes the idea of being the boy's father and, in fact, wishes he could have more of a relationship with Basil Jr. Patricia, however, has no interest in Basil Sr. taking a more hands-on role in Basil Jr.'s parenting, even as she continues to accept his financial support. Should Isabel help someone who doesn't want to be helped?
As Isabel navigates this ethically-complex situation, she is also dealing with her niece, Cat, who has taken up with a tattoo artist. Isabel considers herself open-minded, but has Cat pushed it too far this time? As ever, Isabel must use her kindness and keen intelligence to determine the right course of action.
Isabel finds herself befriended by Patricia, a single mother whose son, Basil, goes to school with Isabel's son. Isabel discovers that Basil is the product of an affair Patricia had with a well-known Edinburgh organist, also named Basil, who was, rumor has it, initially reluctant to contribute financially to the child's upkeep. Though Isabel doesn't really like Patricia, she tries to be civil and supportive, but when she sees Patricia in the company of an unscrupulous man who peddles fake antiquities, her suspicions are aroused and she begins to investigate the paternity of Basil Jr.
When Isabel takes her suspicions to Basil Sr., she finds that, although paying child support is taking a severe financial toll on him, he likes the idea of being the boy's father and, in fact, wishes he could have more of a relationship with Basil Jr. Patricia, however, has no interest in Basil Sr. taking a more hands-on role in Basil Jr.'s parenting, even as she continues to accept his financial support. Should Isabel help someone who doesn't want to be helped?
As Isabel navigates this ethically-complex situation, she is also dealing with her niece, Cat, who has taken up with a tattoo artist. Isabel considers herself open-minded, but has Cat pushed it too far this time? As ever, Isabel must use her kindness and keen intelligence to determine the right course of action.
287 pages, Hardcover
First published June 7, 2018
About the author
Alexander McCall Smith
551 books12.3k followersAlexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland. Visit him online at www.alexandermccallsmith.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 422 reviews
July 20, 2018
Whenever I see a new book out by Alexander McCall Smith I drop everything else and read it as soon as I can lay hands on a copy. So far I have never been disappointed, not one bit!
The Quiet Side of Passion is book 12 in this series and for anyone like me who started at book one it is like a visit to old friends. We catch up on Isabel and her wonderful Jamie and check that their marriage is doing just fine thank you. We find out that Magnus is walking already and loves his food and that Charlie is four now and making lots of friends at nursery school. Everything is fine except that Isabel is finding life too busy and they are considering getting help, an assistant for Isabel in her editing work and someone to clean the house. And so all their problems begin.
Of course it would not be an Isabel Dalhousie book without her becoming embroiled in a mystery of some kind. Her attempts at sleuthing in this one nearly end very badly for her and involve a visit to the police station. For a time it looks as though she has dabbled into something much nastier than she expected but of course, in the manner of all this author's books, all comes good and the world is right again.
Thank heavens Mr. McCall Smith is so prolific in his writing because I can never get enough of Isabel, Bertie or Mma Ramotswe.
The Quiet Side of Passion is book 12 in this series and for anyone like me who started at book one it is like a visit to old friends. We catch up on Isabel and her wonderful Jamie and check that their marriage is doing just fine thank you. We find out that Magnus is walking already and loves his food and that Charlie is four now and making lots of friends at nursery school. Everything is fine except that Isabel is finding life too busy and they are considering getting help, an assistant for Isabel in her editing work and someone to clean the house. And so all their problems begin.
Of course it would not be an Isabel Dalhousie book without her becoming embroiled in a mystery of some kind. Her attempts at sleuthing in this one nearly end very badly for her and involve a visit to the police station. For a time it looks as though she has dabbled into something much nastier than she expected but of course, in the manner of all this author's books, all comes good and the world is right again.
Thank heavens Mr. McCall Smith is so prolific in his writing because I can never get enough of Isabel, Bertie or Mma Ramotswe.
August 20, 2018
Isabel Dalhousie is intelligent, highly educated, and a philosopher who admittedly overthinks everything. Why, then, is she so lacking in basic common sense and intelligence as a mother? What mother would hire someone sight unseen to live in their home and care for their two young children? What mother wouldn't check references? What mother, when confronted with incontrovertible evidence of wrongdoing, would fail to report the egregious behavior to the agency who placed the au pair with her? And what mother would "fix" the problem by saying that she planned to tell the au pair that things weren't working out, but here...I'll purchase a plane ticket back to Italy for you?
I'm sorry, but for such an overthinker, Isabel isn't using the common sense that God gave her.
I gave her a generous pass when she felt so "overburdened" that despite her extreme wealth, a house husband, a housekeeper, nursery school for one child, and a self-created part-time job that she can devote as much or as little time to as she pleases, she felt so overburdened that she had to hire two additional staff to lighten her heavy load...but I can no longer willingly suspend my disbelief.
Please tell me I am not alone in how I feel about self-entitled, holier-than-thou Isabel.
I'm sorry, but for such an overthinker, Isabel isn't using the common sense that God gave her.
I gave her a generous pass when she felt so "overburdened" that despite her extreme wealth, a house husband, a housekeeper, nursery school for one child, and a self-created part-time job that she can devote as much or as little time to as she pleases, she felt so overburdened that she had to hire two additional staff to lighten her heavy load...but I can no longer willingly suspend my disbelief.
Please tell me I am not alone in how I feel about self-entitled, holier-than-thou Isabel.
June 6, 2018
This is my very favorite Isabel Dalhousie novel of all. Usually Isabel dithers a little too much for my taste. She is a philosopher and can debate the smallest things forever. She can debate whether saying Good Morning or Hello is the better greeting for what seems like hours. But in this one, Isabel becomes much more outspoken and, dare I say it, human.
Of course she and her wonderful husband, Jamie, have their hands full. With two small boys, Charlie and Magnus, a full-time job of editing a philosophy magazine, helping her self absorbed niece at her deli, supporting Jamie's career as a bassoonist and a house that hasn't been cleaned in quite some time, Isabel has reached the end of her rope. Her niece, Cat, calls at the last minute to help at the deli and Isabel grudgingly lays her work aside and goes. She gets a lady customer who is furious that Isabel is not cutting the ham thinly enough and it affects the taste. Isabel snaps and argues with the customer who huffs out and Isabel trails after her to apologize bur cannot quite do it because she's really not sorry. It is hysterical.
So Jamie prevails on her to hire some help. She goes to a meeting at the University with the pompous Prof. Robert Lettuce who wants her to speak at a series of lectures done in his name. She meets a young, beautiful graduate student, Claire, and hires her to be her journal assistant. The encounters with Prof. Lettuce, there are several, are hilarious. It turn outs that he writes under the pseudonym of Kale. She also hires an au pair from Italy and th the house is suddenly full and Isabel can actually get some of her work done
She meets the mother of one her son's friends and this leads her down a path of choices having to be made. This includes her tailing somebody down a dark Edinburgh alley to an unpleasant experience.
All in all, this is one seriously funny book that is enjoyable from start to finish. It's a great way to spend a nice summer's day.
Of course she and her wonderful husband, Jamie, have their hands full. With two small boys, Charlie and Magnus, a full-time job of editing a philosophy magazine, helping her self absorbed niece at her deli, supporting Jamie's career as a bassoonist and a house that hasn't been cleaned in quite some time, Isabel has reached the end of her rope. Her niece, Cat, calls at the last minute to help at the deli and Isabel grudgingly lays her work aside and goes. She gets a lady customer who is furious that Isabel is not cutting the ham thinly enough and it affects the taste. Isabel snaps and argues with the customer who huffs out and Isabel trails after her to apologize bur cannot quite do it because she's really not sorry. It is hysterical.
So Jamie prevails on her to hire some help. She goes to a meeting at the University with the pompous Prof. Robert Lettuce who wants her to speak at a series of lectures done in his name. She meets a young, beautiful graduate student, Claire, and hires her to be her journal assistant. The encounters with Prof. Lettuce, there are several, are hilarious. It turn outs that he writes under the pseudonym of Kale. She also hires an au pair from Italy and th the house is suddenly full and Isabel can actually get some of her work done
She meets the mother of one her son's friends and this leads her down a path of choices having to be made. This includes her tailing somebody down a dark Edinburgh alley to an unpleasant experience.
All in all, this is one seriously funny book that is enjoyable from start to finish. It's a great way to spend a nice summer's day.
August 7, 2018
This is one of my favorite book series, although it is not, by far, the most popular series by Alexander McCall Smith. I love Isabel Dalhousie, PhD, philosopher, and thinker. Because so much has developed in Isabel's life since the beginning of the series, I will leave out details that are spoilers. This is a series that should be read from the beginning in order to fully enjoy each and every book.
Isabel edits and publishes The Journal of Applied Ethics. She has inherited the family home in a solidly middle-class part of Edinburgh, Merchiston. Her character is such is that she thinks deeply about many things, and in the style of McCall Smith's characters in other series, some of these things are quite quotidian. There are readers who don't like Isabel's tendency to think and think about everything, but after all, she is a philosopher. She involves herself in other people's lives and problems which is both her best characteristic and her most infuriating.
Characters familiar from other novels are present including her niece Cat, owner of a delicatessen, and the maddening Professor Lettuce. I love McCall Smith's description of people and characteristics that are so annoying not only in the context of these novels, but who appear in the lives of many readers. They sometimes get their comeuppance, which is very satisfying. In this novel, the author adds some wonderful details. There is an Irish character who speaks bitterly of the legacy of the Irish workhouses and laundries where many women suffered up into the 1990s. My favorite detail was Isabel remembering, after hearing thrushes in her garden, a visit to the Ulster Museum where she saw the huge portrait of the poet Seamus Heaney by Edward McGuire http://www.dukestreetgallery.ie/store... . The connection is that there are a number of thrushes in the portrait. I have seen this portrait twice. It was lent to the 2014 Commemorative Conference on Seamus Heaney at Queen's University in 2014. My second viewing was a quick visit to the Ulster Museum in 2016, thirty minutes before closing time. McCall Smith even sneaks in a reference to the Confederate statues controversy in the US, as Isabel considers a submitted manuscript on the topic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/...
I read every one of these novels as soon as they are published because I love Isabel Dalhousie, and her life. There are wonderful details of Edinburgh, a city I love (even more in the off season when you don't have to battle huge crowds).
Isabel edits and publishes The Journal of Applied Ethics. She has inherited the family home in a solidly middle-class part of Edinburgh, Merchiston. Her character is such is that she thinks deeply about many things, and in the style of McCall Smith's characters in other series, some of these things are quite quotidian. There are readers who don't like Isabel's tendency to think and think about everything, but after all, she is a philosopher. She involves herself in other people's lives and problems which is both her best characteristic and her most infuriating.
Characters familiar from other novels are present including her niece Cat, owner of a delicatessen, and the maddening Professor Lettuce. I love McCall Smith's description of people and characteristics that are so annoying not only in the context of these novels, but who appear in the lives of many readers. They sometimes get their comeuppance, which is very satisfying. In this novel, the author adds some wonderful details. There is an Irish character who speaks bitterly of the legacy of the Irish workhouses and laundries where many women suffered up into the 1990s. My favorite detail was Isabel remembering, after hearing thrushes in her garden, a visit to the Ulster Museum where she saw the huge portrait of the poet Seamus Heaney by Edward McGuire http://www.dukestreetgallery.ie/store... . The connection is that there are a number of thrushes in the portrait. I have seen this portrait twice. It was lent to the 2014 Commemorative Conference on Seamus Heaney at Queen's University in 2014. My second viewing was a quick visit to the Ulster Museum in 2016, thirty minutes before closing time. McCall Smith even sneaks in a reference to the Confederate statues controversy in the US, as Isabel considers a submitted manuscript on the topic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/...
I read every one of these novels as soon as they are published because I love Isabel Dalhousie, and her life. There are wonderful details of Edinburgh, a city I love (even more in the off season when you don't have to battle huge crowds).
August 28, 2022
“Cat’s life, then, was not an example of the examined life of which philosophers have long written; Isabel’s life, by contrast, was a life lived under a moral microscope.”
The Quiet Side of Passion is the twelfth book in the Isabel Dalhousie series by popular British author, Alexander McCall Smith. The audio version is narrated by Karlyn Stephen. Isabel Dalhousie, philosopher, wife to Jamie, mother to Charlie and Magnus, helpful aunt to the ever-demanding (and often selfish) Cat, and editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, is feeling the pressure. The demands on her time are many, and with each additional one, she is feeling the strain on her inner resources.
At the University in response to a rather arrogant summons from her long-time nemesis, Professor Lettuce, an accidental meeting presents a possible solution to one aspect of her busy life. Jamie has two suggestions for further improvements, and before long, Isabel is feeling the benefits of her lightened load. But these initially-hard-working young women (Antonia the au pair, Claire the assistant) soon prove to complicate matters even more, actually causing more problems than they solve.
On top of all this, some gossip that Jamie shares with her, together with a chance sighting in a restaurant, see Isabel mounting an unwise pursuit in a dangerous area. As usual, Jamie knows he cannot deter her, knowing her so well: “’Obstinate, interventionist, nosy, yet…yet one who does the right thing – where lesser mortals…’ and here he pointed at himself, ‘where lesser mortals fear to tread’”; but Isabel is troubled by how the matter is eventually resolved.
Daily events set off Isabel’s musings, presenting ever more potential topics for future issues of the Review: robots and mercy, loyalty and betrayal, (raw milk) cheese and freedom, the morals of music. Topics of discussion include snobbishness, gossip, Atilla the Hun, tattoos, and hunting. And Professor Lettuce’s capacity for effrontery never ceases to astonish. As always, a delightful read.
The Quiet Side of Passion is the twelfth book in the Isabel Dalhousie series by popular British author, Alexander McCall Smith. The audio version is narrated by Karlyn Stephen. Isabel Dalhousie, philosopher, wife to Jamie, mother to Charlie and Magnus, helpful aunt to the ever-demanding (and often selfish) Cat, and editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, is feeling the pressure. The demands on her time are many, and with each additional one, she is feeling the strain on her inner resources.
At the University in response to a rather arrogant summons from her long-time nemesis, Professor Lettuce, an accidental meeting presents a possible solution to one aspect of her busy life. Jamie has two suggestions for further improvements, and before long, Isabel is feeling the benefits of her lightened load. But these initially-hard-working young women (Antonia the au pair, Claire the assistant) soon prove to complicate matters even more, actually causing more problems than they solve.
On top of all this, some gossip that Jamie shares with her, together with a chance sighting in a restaurant, see Isabel mounting an unwise pursuit in a dangerous area. As usual, Jamie knows he cannot deter her, knowing her so well: “’Obstinate, interventionist, nosy, yet…yet one who does the right thing – where lesser mortals…’ and here he pointed at himself, ‘where lesser mortals fear to tread’”; but Isabel is troubled by how the matter is eventually resolved.
Daily events set off Isabel’s musings, presenting ever more potential topics for future issues of the Review: robots and mercy, loyalty and betrayal, (raw milk) cheese and freedom, the morals of music. Topics of discussion include snobbishness, gossip, Atilla the Hun, tattoos, and hunting. And Professor Lettuce’s capacity for effrontery never ceases to astonish. As always, a delightful read.
August 23, 2018
“Cat’s life, then, was not an example of the examined life of which philosophers have long written; Isabel’s life, by contrast, was a life lived under a moral microscope.”
The Quiet Side of Passion is the twelfth book in the Isabel Dalhousie series by popular British author, Alexander McCall Smith. Isabel Dalhousie, philosopher, wife to Jamie, mother to Charlie and Magnus, helpful aunt to the ever-demanding (and often selfish) Cat, and editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, is feeling the pressure. The demands on her time are many, and with each additional one, she is feeling the strain on her inner resources.
At the University in response to a rather arrogant summons from her long-time nemesis, Professor Lettuce, an accidental meeting presents a possible solution to one aspect of her busy life. Jamie has two suggestions for further improvements, and before long, Isabel is feeling the benefits of her lightened load. But these initially-hard-working young women (Antonia the au pair, Claire the assistant) soon prove to complicate matters even more, actually causing more problems than they solve.
On top of all this, some gossip that Jamie shares with her, together with a chance sighting in a restaurant, see Isabel mounting an unwise pursuit in a dangerous area. As usual, Jamie knows he cannot deter her, knowing her so well: “’Obstinate, interventionist, nosy, yet…yet one who does the right thing – where lesser mortals…’ and here he pointed at himself, ‘where lesser mortals fear to tread’”; but Isabel is troubled by how the matter is eventually resolved.
Daily events set off Isabel’s musings, presenting ever more potential topics for future issues of the Review: robots and mercy, loyalty and betrayal, (raw milk) cheese and freedom, the morals of music. Topics of discussion include snobbishness, gossip, Atilla the Hun, tattoos, and hunting. And Professor Lettuce’s capacity for effrontery never ceases to astonish. As always, a delightful read.
The Quiet Side of Passion is the twelfth book in the Isabel Dalhousie series by popular British author, Alexander McCall Smith. Isabel Dalhousie, philosopher, wife to Jamie, mother to Charlie and Magnus, helpful aunt to the ever-demanding (and often selfish) Cat, and editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, is feeling the pressure. The demands on her time are many, and with each additional one, she is feeling the strain on her inner resources.
At the University in response to a rather arrogant summons from her long-time nemesis, Professor Lettuce, an accidental meeting presents a possible solution to one aspect of her busy life. Jamie has two suggestions for further improvements, and before long, Isabel is feeling the benefits of her lightened load. But these initially-hard-working young women (Antonia the au pair, Claire the assistant) soon prove to complicate matters even more, actually causing more problems than they solve.
On top of all this, some gossip that Jamie shares with her, together with a chance sighting in a restaurant, see Isabel mounting an unwise pursuit in a dangerous area. As usual, Jamie knows he cannot deter her, knowing her so well: “’Obstinate, interventionist, nosy, yet…yet one who does the right thing – where lesser mortals…’ and here he pointed at himself, ‘where lesser mortals fear to tread’”; but Isabel is troubled by how the matter is eventually resolved.
Daily events set off Isabel’s musings, presenting ever more potential topics for future issues of the Review: robots and mercy, loyalty and betrayal, (raw milk) cheese and freedom, the morals of music. Topics of discussion include snobbishness, gossip, Atilla the Hun, tattoos, and hunting. And Professor Lettuce’s capacity for effrontery never ceases to astonish. As always, a delightful read.
August 10, 2018
I do enjoy reading these, they are not as engaging as the Mma Ramotswe ones, altogether more genteel and insubstantial, but even so, he is stretching the bounds of credibility in the latest one. Isabel Dalhousie doesn't do much, edit a journal, help out in Cat's deli, and stick her nose into people's business, but even such leisurely pursuits seem to overwhelm her, and despite a housekeeper and a house husband, decides she needs more help, and promptly, and I mean almost instantly, hires not just an assistant to help with the boring bits of her journal but also an au pair! She then inserts herself into the life of a single mother, drops her, and in the process rips her life to pieces, but it's all fine because she helps out a poor man being manipulated by the single mother in the process. Everybody in genteel Morningside comes out on top though.
I've actually realised, writing this, that it's left a bit of a nasty taste... So I'm removing a star.
I've actually realised, writing this, that it's left a bit of a nasty taste... So I'm removing a star.
September 2, 2018
Why do I continue reading this series when I find Isabel Dalhousie so flat-out annoying at times, prone to making impetuous choices and given to going off on tangents, meddling in the affairs of others, and overthinking even the obvious? Umm, have I looked in a mirror lately? Of course, no small part of the appeal is the idyllic life in Edinburgh, complete with a fox in the garden, a nice crisp glass of New Zealand white, and all the exotic cheeses one could ever imagine. And writing like this: "Isabel could not help but conjure up a picture of a group of Scots sitting quietly in a circle, enjoying themselves, knitting, perhaps, or reading improving literature, or possibly just silently reflecting on what a good time they were having. She imagined the conversation. 'Nice weather we're having.' 'Oh yes, but we'll pay for it later, we'll pay for it.'" My people!
June 20, 2018
Beautifully written as always. Isabel was more annoying than normal.
August 17, 2018
I enjoy the Isabel Dalhousie series. It is one of those book readers either love or hate. I am one that loves the series. Smith has created an interesting twisting plot. Each book in this series provides a discussion of a moral problem/dilemma. The characters are all old friends now. When each new book comes out, I feel as if I’ve dropped by Isabel’s for a cup of tea and a time to catch up.
Alexander McCall Smith is a master storyteller. He is a prolific writer and all his series seem to be quite different. I cannot wait until my next visit with Isabel. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from audible. The book is nine hours. Davina Porter does a superb job narrating the book. Porter is on of my favorite narrators. Porter has an elegant voice. Porter is a multi-award-winning narrator.
Alexander McCall Smith is a master storyteller. He is a prolific writer and all his series seem to be quite different. I cannot wait until my next visit with Isabel. I read this as an audiobook downloaded from audible. The book is nine hours. Davina Porter does a superb job narrating the book. Porter is on of my favorite narrators. Porter has an elegant voice. Porter is a multi-award-winning narrator.
July 6, 2018
I love Isabel Dalhousie -- she reminds me of me.
August 26, 2019
I always enjoy spending some time in Edinburgh and inside philosopher Isabel Dalhousie's mind. This book (Number 12 in the series) took a new and interesting turn. I loved it that Isabel makes some serious mistakes and misjudgements in this episode. As with Hermione Granger when she finally starts breaking a few rules in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Isabel is much the better for her fallibility. Her encounter with a sort of Leonine Doppelgänger, who is as pushy and interfering as Isabel but in a completely different yet effective style, was both funny and thought-provoking. In another plot thread the fun comes thanks to the apparently not always limp Professor Lettuce who also has an alter ego, Professor Kale, and sprouts his way into Isabel's study via a graft with a nubile young post graduate.
I must admit I'm looking forward to more from The Felines. Will it be Cat and Lion fighting in the back ally with savage ear biting, snarling and fur flying? Or will all end in a few books later with a happy new Leonine Pride located hopefully somewhere far, far away on a Savannah with no cell or internet connection?
I plan to grab the next Isabel Dalhousie as soon as it hits the shelf.
I must admit I'm looking forward to more from The Felines. Will it be Cat and Lion fighting in the back ally with savage ear biting, snarling and fur flying? Or will all end in a few books later with a happy new Leonine Pride located hopefully somewhere far, far away on a Savannah with no cell or internet connection?
I plan to grab the next Isabel Dalhousie as soon as it hits the shelf.
June 20, 2019
"They held one another gently, as we should all hold those whom we love, as we should all hold the world."
July 17, 2019
3.5 stars. This isn't my favorite AMS series, but I enjoy it enough to continue. I believe I'm caught up to the present tho. This series is a good one to fall asleep to, if you enjoy falling asleep listening to a book, as I do. It won't keep you awake with heart-stopping excitement, but it'll give you a smile and something to think about as you drift off. 💙
June 25, 2018
I love the Isabel Dalhousie series. I remember when I first started reading them (after loving, of course, No. 1 Ladies' series), I assumed there would be more of a whiff of mystery throughout Isabel's quiet, philosophically musing adventures in the everyday.
There haven't been. But it hasn't mattered. I read the books for the deceptively accessible and extremely competent voice (not to mention McCall Smith's indelibly dry humour), for the colourful cast of characters: Cat and her range of no-good boyfriends, opinionated Grace, Prof. Lettuce and the other academics in Isabel's circles and, of course, Isabel and Jamie. I love stepping into the mental world of Isabel and, of course, Jamie is the perfect whetstone for her mind and brilliantly unending stream of consciousness.
Finally, because I love the time I have spent in Edinburgh, I love how the city is as much a character as its populous. McCall Smith's poetry is in his love for excavating the crevices, nooks and crannies of this jewel of a place.
But the mystery?
Well, in Quiet Side of Passion, there was a bit of a mystery-- and not just of the typical Isabel Ponders Human Nature and Ethics sort. Another mother at the school where Isabel's son Charlie attends has a few unsavoury rumours following her. Indeed, if ever Isabel has had a moment of incognito stealth, it is when she is following someone through the dark roads of Leith.
And oh is it delicious! Isabel hires a grad student! Professor Lettuce ( insufferable man!) is paired by the elusive Prof Kale !
and there's lines like this:
"Jamie put down Julia Child again. It was difficult to plan a recipe at the same time as talking about the sorts of issues that Isabel chose to discuss."
Sincere thanks to Netgalley for the review copy.
There haven't been. But it hasn't mattered. I read the books for the deceptively accessible and extremely competent voice (not to mention McCall Smith's indelibly dry humour), for the colourful cast of characters: Cat and her range of no-good boyfriends, opinionated Grace, Prof. Lettuce and the other academics in Isabel's circles and, of course, Isabel and Jamie. I love stepping into the mental world of Isabel and, of course, Jamie is the perfect whetstone for her mind and brilliantly unending stream of consciousness.
Finally, because I love the time I have spent in Edinburgh, I love how the city is as much a character as its populous. McCall Smith's poetry is in his love for excavating the crevices, nooks and crannies of this jewel of a place.
But the mystery?
Well, in Quiet Side of Passion, there was a bit of a mystery-- and not just of the typical Isabel Ponders Human Nature and Ethics sort. Another mother at the school where Isabel's son Charlie attends has a few unsavoury rumours following her. Indeed, if ever Isabel has had a moment of incognito stealth, it is when she is following someone through the dark roads of Leith.
And oh is it delicious! Isabel hires a grad student! Professor Lettuce ( insufferable man!) is paired by the elusive Prof Kale !
and there's lines like this:
"Jamie put down Julia Child again. It was difficult to plan a recipe at the same time as talking about the sorts of issues that Isabel chose to discuss."
Sincere thanks to Netgalley for the review copy.
August 6, 2018
Just a tad disappointed. This book and the previous one in the series have not been quite as enjoyable for me as the earlier ones in the series. These are very gentle books, and just kind of meander through Isabel’s life in Edinburgh , which is very relaxing. I like the characters, and the way that moral dilemmas are dealt with in the course of everyday life, but lately it seems that Isabel has lost her judgment, and is getting caught up in too many unnecessary situations. Rather than a moral compass, she has been more of a dithering busybody. And, I’m very tired of the Lettuce character. I wouldn’t have minded if that whole subplot was eliminated.
November 22, 2020
I am always between being irritated and adoring when reading about Isabel Dalhosie, the philosopher. She seems awfully nosy about other people's business to the extent that I find not normal, no matter how well she justifies herself with duty to intervene and other moral imperatives.
In this novel she leaned relatively strongly to the irritating side, prying on the parental status of one of her son's playschool mates as well as speculating on several other relationships in her vicinity. On top of that, what bothered me was her out-of-character naivete when employing people to help her. Would an intelligent woman really hire an au pair from an agency without a single interview?
The language of McCall Smith continues to be beautiful in the choice of words and the rhythm of sentences, but that does not quite compensate for the deficiencies in the logic and behaviour of Ms Dalhousie. I hope she gets her act together in the next novel.
In this novel she leaned relatively strongly to the irritating side, prying on the parental status of one of her son's playschool mates as well as speculating on several other relationships in her vicinity. On top of that, what bothered me was her out-of-character naivete when employing people to help her. Would an intelligent woman really hire an au pair from an agency without a single interview?
The language of McCall Smith continues to be beautiful in the choice of words and the rhythm of sentences, but that does not quite compensate for the deficiencies in the logic and behaviour of Ms Dalhousie. I hope she gets her act together in the next novel.
September 3, 2018
Philosopher Isabel Dalhousie — that’s literal, not metaphorical as she is the editor of the Review of Applied Ethics — faces a quandary: With her work, her two young children and a sideline helping others, including her self-absorbed niece Cat, Isabel simply can’t get everything done. But Isabel comes up with the solution: an au pair from Italy and an assistant from the university to help out with children and the journal. But how will these two strangers fit into Isabel’s household?
To say any further would be to ruin the joy of reading the novel, but I will reveal that the villainous Professor Robert Lettuce reappears to plot further perfidy. I forget how much I enjoy spending time with Isabel, her family and friends until I get the chance once a year to spend a wonderful time with her. Recommended.
To say any further would be to ruin the joy of reading the novel, but I will reveal that the villainous Professor Robert Lettuce reappears to plot further perfidy. I forget how much I enjoy spending time with Isabel, her family and friends until I get the chance once a year to spend a wonderful time with her. Recommended.
December 12, 2018
Isabel Dalhousie in her usual setting, philosophizing, etc. McCall Smith gives his usual thoughtful ponderings. Interesting in a slow-paced, vague sort of way.
December 8, 2020
Another enjoyable read in this series. You have to like the recurring characters to like the series. Isabel is a philosopher, and is prone to going off in thought even in the middle of a conversation. She also "intervenes" in the lives of others when she believes something needs to be fixed. This time, it is the question of whether an acquaintance is rightfully supporting a child the mother claims is his. Isabel meets the mother at her older son's (Charlie's) nursery school and feels something is off. Two other plot developments: Isabel seems to have too much on her plate and decides to bring in help, and the results are somewhat typical but fun. Cat (Isabel's niece and former girlfriend of Isabel's husband Jamie) has gotten together with yet another man, and we learn about how Isabel feels about him and about how he might fit into the family. The delightfully grumpy Grace is back, along with younger son Magnus and wonderful husband Jamie.
July 28, 2018
A blissful summer in Edinburgh with Isabel Dalhousie
In this, the twelfth instalment of the Sunday Philosophy Club/Isabel Dalhousie novels, we find our heroine struggling under the weight of her duties. She now has two young children; a philosophy review to arrange before a looming deadline; a demanding niece who depends on her to help out at her delicatessen, and a large house to run.
She and Jamie, her musician husband, decide she needs help. She recruits Claire, a teaching assistant, to help her with the review. She also asks an agency to find her an au pair to help around the house and with the boys. Claire is a willing assistant and the agency send Antonia, a young Italian who wants to improve her English.
At first, all seems well, but then things start to go downhill and Isabel finds she has to spend as much time sorting out the various problems as she did before the pair arrived to “help”.
She also meets Patricia, the mother of one of Charlie’s nursery friends and finds herself embroiled in even more problems. This time they are of a more serious nature.
Reading an Isabel Dalhousie novel is like sitting down with an old friend and letting them take you through their adventures, such as Alexander McCall Smith’s way of writing. Jamie, as ever, is the dutiful husband; quite unaware of how attractive he is to women, he has eyes only for Isabel.
The book can easily be read as a stand-alone but, to enjoy the Dalhousie saga in its entirety it really is worthwhile starting at the beginning and enveloping yourself in a genteel stroll through Edinburgh life as seen through this remarkable lady.
Mr Bumblebee
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
In this, the twelfth instalment of the Sunday Philosophy Club/Isabel Dalhousie novels, we find our heroine struggling under the weight of her duties. She now has two young children; a philosophy review to arrange before a looming deadline; a demanding niece who depends on her to help out at her delicatessen, and a large house to run.
She and Jamie, her musician husband, decide she needs help. She recruits Claire, a teaching assistant, to help her with the review. She also asks an agency to find her an au pair to help around the house and with the boys. Claire is a willing assistant and the agency send Antonia, a young Italian who wants to improve her English.
At first, all seems well, but then things start to go downhill and Isabel finds she has to spend as much time sorting out the various problems as she did before the pair arrived to “help”.
She also meets Patricia, the mother of one of Charlie’s nursery friends and finds herself embroiled in even more problems. This time they are of a more serious nature.
Reading an Isabel Dalhousie novel is like sitting down with an old friend and letting them take you through their adventures, such as Alexander McCall Smith’s way of writing. Jamie, as ever, is the dutiful husband; quite unaware of how attractive he is to women, he has eyes only for Isabel.
The book can easily be read as a stand-alone but, to enjoy the Dalhousie saga in its entirety it really is worthwhile starting at the beginning and enveloping yourself in a genteel stroll through Edinburgh life as seen through this remarkable lady.
Mr Bumblebee
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
August 11, 2018
Writing: 5 Characters: 4 Plot: 3
New words (to me):
• akrasia: the state of mind in which someone acts against their better judgment through weakness of will.
• tricoteuse: a woman who sits and knits (used especially in reference to a number of women who did this, during the French Revolution, while attending public executions).
• rumbustious: boisterous or unruly
• lactucian : the essence of lettucehood, from Latin lactuca (lettuce) — this is a word made up by our protagonist — but it is a good one!))
Another installment of the Edinburgh based Isabel Dalhousie series. Isabel is the editor (and owner) of the Journal of Applied Ethics (as well as the wife and mother). Her life is “lived under a moral microscope” and we are treated to her inner philosophical musings as well as her external adventures.
These “adventures” come from noticing things that aren’t as they should be and getting involved in bringing them to rights. In this book, she meets another character with the same tendency who is able to put it into words: “I can’t stand not being able to do something about things that I think need to be sorted.” I identify with this in a big way!
I love McCall Smith’s writing — his use of language is impressive. I have read most of his 59 (!) books and I still have to use the dictionary for new words with each one. The Dalhousie books explore the moral landscape in which we all dwell but of which we are mostly unaware. As examples, in this book she thinks about loyalty and betrayal, the morality of human-robot relationships, and whether or not music has a moral flavor. The “action” in this installment concerns Isabel’s attempt to get some assistance in the form of an Italian au pair (for the children) and a Philosophy PhD student (for the journal). She also uncovers a potential untruth on the part of a fellow nursery school mum with rather large ramifications.
Thoroughly enjoyable BUT this is the first book of the series in which I found myself slightly irritated by Isabel’s allowing herself to be taken advantage of so easily out of “kindness” and making constant excuses for other people’s poor or selfish behavior. While it all works out in the end she really should know a little better by now!
New words (to me):
• akrasia: the state of mind in which someone acts against their better judgment through weakness of will.
• tricoteuse: a woman who sits and knits (used especially in reference to a number of women who did this, during the French Revolution, while attending public executions).
• rumbustious: boisterous or unruly
• lactucian : the essence of lettucehood, from Latin lactuca (lettuce) — this is a word made up by our protagonist — but it is a good one!))
Another installment of the Edinburgh based Isabel Dalhousie series. Isabel is the editor (and owner) of the Journal of Applied Ethics (as well as the wife and mother). Her life is “lived under a moral microscope” and we are treated to her inner philosophical musings as well as her external adventures.
These “adventures” come from noticing things that aren’t as they should be and getting involved in bringing them to rights. In this book, she meets another character with the same tendency who is able to put it into words: “I can’t stand not being able to do something about things that I think need to be sorted.” I identify with this in a big way!
I love McCall Smith’s writing — his use of language is impressive. I have read most of his 59 (!) books and I still have to use the dictionary for new words with each one. The Dalhousie books explore the moral landscape in which we all dwell but of which we are mostly unaware. As examples, in this book she thinks about loyalty and betrayal, the morality of human-robot relationships, and whether or not music has a moral flavor. The “action” in this installment concerns Isabel’s attempt to get some assistance in the form of an Italian au pair (for the children) and a Philosophy PhD student (for the journal). She also uncovers a potential untruth on the part of a fellow nursery school mum with rather large ramifications.
Thoroughly enjoyable BUT this is the first book of the series in which I found myself slightly irritated by Isabel’s allowing herself to be taken advantage of so easily out of “kindness” and making constant excuses for other people’s poor or selfish behavior. While it all works out in the end she really should know a little better by now!
August 14, 2018
First, let me say that I have read almost everything (excluding some of his children's books), that Alexander McCall Smith has written. I think he is a tremendous writer that can look at the foibles of human behavior and make his audience see the obvious, in a different light. But I am finding that I am enjoying his Isabel Dalhousie series less, as it progresses. What was once a charming philosophical look into the many everyday dilemmas we are faced with has become tedious, as Dalhousie intervenes in the life of others in the name of moral proximity. What was once introspective has become interfering.
There are still flashes of brilliant insight within McCall Smiths efforts and for that I am grateful. I particularly liked his take on higher educations torchbearers (the very dislikeable Dr. Lettuce), as it is a portrayal of college professors that I agree with. I will continue to read McCall Smith but, for me, this was only an OK read.
There are still flashes of brilliant insight within McCall Smiths efforts and for that I am grateful. I particularly liked his take on higher educations torchbearers (the very dislikeable Dr. Lettuce), as it is a portrayal of college professors that I agree with. I will continue to read McCall Smith but, for me, this was only an OK read.
June 18, 2018
I got this book for free through Penguin's First to Read program. I enjoyed it in the end but it was very slow going and I found it hard to get through the first two thirds of it. I know McCall Smith is very well liked but I think his style just might not be for me. I found the constant musing over every minute decision to be tedious and thought the main character Isabel was a bit of a pretentious busy body. Once the plot got moving and the musing lessened, I did enjoy it a bit more. I am still curious about the whole side plot with Claire and Professor Lettuce, wish that had been investigated more.
August 8, 2018
My favorite Dalhousie book is the one I am reading!! As usual, I loved this story. I felt it had just the right balance between Isabel’s family life and her involvement with a problem. It was very nice to find that Isabel found herself at fault! She rushed into hiring two helpers without setting rules and boundaries. She tried to set matters straight without a proper introduction to the topic. Luckily, it all comes good in the end.
August 21, 2018
Tend to enjoy Alexander McCall Smith but this one was more poorly plotted than most of his work. The Dalhousie series seems to exist more to put in McCall-Smith's philosophical musings than to tell a coherent story, but I increasingly find Dalhousie to be unbelievable as a character. I've frequently wondered why the characters in the No ! Ladies' Detective Series should be so vivid and characters in his Edinburgh books to be much less well-realized. I suppose our greater familiarity with the Edinburgh settings could be a reason
July 11, 2018
Really enjoyed this latest installment. I can so relate to Isabel in that she wants to think she thinks the best of everyone, but she's human and can jump to conclusions which may or may not prove true.
I often nod my head in agreement or laugh out loud at the keen observations on human nature and society Alexander McCall Smith is able to convey in his delightful stories and I could not put this one down.
I often nod my head in agreement or laugh out loud at the keen observations on human nature and society Alexander McCall Smith is able to convey in his delightful stories and I could not put this one down.
September 12, 2018
I usually quite like this series but this particular title was rather disappointing. At its center is Isabel’s behavior and here it is tedious in the extreme. On one hand she inappropriately interferes in the lives of others and on the other she plays the doormat to nearly everyone from her housekeeper, her assistant, her au pair, her niece and work colleagues. It just doesn’t fit. It’s unbelievable.
Fortunately, Davinna Porter gave another excellent narration.
Fortunately, Davinna Porter gave another excellent narration.
August 4, 2018
First world problems in Edinburgh.
March 12, 2019
I guess it just wasn't what I was expecting. I thought the plot was weak and skimmed some of it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 422 reviews